Relational ownership in the sharing economy
Ivanova, Diana ; Buchs, Milena and Jack, Tullia LU
(2026)
In Consumption and Society
- Abstract
- Greater sharing of resources is widely promoted as a pathway to sufficiency, ecological sustainability and social equity. However, existing sharing economy scholarship has largely approached sharing through the lens of access, leaving underlying ownership structures and the associated power relations insufficiently examined. This article foregrounds ownership as a critical analytical lens on sharing. Drawing on 27 semi-structured interviews with sharing experts, we discuss ownership across four dimensions: decision-making, access and use, distribution of value, and responsibility and care. We show that specific ownership claims demonstrated by sharing initiatives – such as collective governance, shared access and distributed responsibility... (More)
- Greater sharing of resources is widely promoted as a pathway to sufficiency, ecological sustainability and social equity. However, existing sharing economy scholarship has largely approached sharing through the lens of access, leaving underlying ownership structures and the associated power relations insufficiently examined. This article foregrounds ownership as a critical analytical lens on sharing. Drawing on 27 semi-structured interviews with sharing experts, we discuss ownership across four dimensions: decision-making, access and use, distribution of value, and responsibility and care. We show that specific ownership claims demonstrated by sharing initiatives – such as collective governance, shared access and distributed responsibility – coexist with and are often constrained by dominant property systems. This study highlights key leverage points for advancing transformative sharing conceptualisations to be better aligned with inclusive collective wellbeing. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/cf022840-2f0a-482e-ad00-8208948de4e6
- author
- Ivanova, Diana
; Buchs, Milena
and Jack, Tullia
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-08-13
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Consumption and Society
- publisher
- Bristol University Press
- ISSN
- 2752-8499
- DOI
- 10.1332/27528499Y2026D000000085
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cf022840-2f0a-482e-ad00-8208948de4e6
- date added to LUP
- 2026-10-01 15:34:17
- date last changed
- 2026-10-07 10:21:50
@article{cf022840-2f0a-482e-ad00-8208948de4e6,
abstract = {{Greater sharing of resources is widely promoted as a pathway to sufficiency, ecological sustainability and social equity. However, existing sharing economy scholarship has largely approached sharing through the lens of access, leaving underlying ownership structures and the associated power relations insufficiently examined. This article foregrounds ownership as a critical analytical lens on sharing. Drawing on 27 semi-structured interviews with sharing experts, we discuss ownership across four dimensions: decision-making, access and use, distribution of value, and responsibility and care. We show that specific ownership claims demonstrated by sharing initiatives – such as collective governance, shared access and distributed responsibility – coexist with and are often constrained by dominant property systems. This study highlights key leverage points for advancing transformative sharing conceptualisations to be better aligned with inclusive collective wellbeing.}},
author = {{Ivanova, Diana and Buchs, Milena and Jack, Tullia}},
issn = {{2752-8499}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
publisher = {{Bristol University Press}},
series = {{Consumption and Society}},
title = {{Relational ownership in the sharing economy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2026D000000085}},
doi = {{10.1332/27528499Y2026D000000085}},
year = {{2026}},
}