1. THE SHARING
ECONOMY
F R A N K G A B R I E L H O C E S W U L F F
M . S C E C O N O M I C S A N D B U S I N E S S
A D M I NI S T R A T I O N

2. AGENDA
1. Introduction
2. Background (origins, disintegration, and the rise)
3. Theories (key models)
4. A ”mesh” business (sharing company)
5. Factors for participating in the Sharing Economy

3. 1. INTRODUCTION
“…COLLABORATION AND SHARING HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING OF
CIVILIZATION… A TRADITION THAT CONTINUES TODAY… ALONE OR TOGETHE R,
WE ARE HARD-WIRED TO SHARE” - OWYANG (2014)
• TIME magazine (2011) accredited the “Sharing Economy” to be one of ten ideas that will
change the world!
• Hard to define, not matured into an economic system. However,
– Sharing resources (tangible and intagible), time, space, skills, money – ”sharing the economy”
(deleøkonomi)
– System that dictates access over ownership (contrary to our traditional economic system)
– Based on two market players, the provider/supplier (of the products) and the user/consumer (of
the products)
– Seeks to optimize underutilized assets (e.g. guitar, camara, car, lawnmover, trailer, boat,
expensive clother, machines, etc.) and redistribute it elsewhere
• Would othwerwise just collect dust – idling capacity
• It has been estimated that roughly 80% of the items people own are used less than once in a
month!
• Have you ever questioned yourself how many hours they are unused, or for that sake used?
Was it worth the purchase? How would you feel if you could access them whenever needed

4. • PwC estimates the Sharing Economy will become a US$ 335 billion industry by
2025 on a global scale, compared with the 2013 US$ 15 billion industry, hence
referring to this as a “megatrend”

5. 2. BACKGROUND
• Ex. Paleolithic ancestors gathered into tribes of twenty-five to one hundred
people to collect plants and hunt wild animals. Subsequent to a kill, the meat
was shared with everyone. Land and other resources were, likewise, equally
shared. This “cooperative principle” keeps repeating itself throughout history
– Took a more sophisticated turn  Romans viewed sharing as res publica (things
set aside for public use, e.g. roads, library, parks and public facilities) and res
communis (things common to all, e.g. water, nature, wildlife, even language and
public knowledge – considered common heritage to mankind)
“Clearly, sharing is a primitive concept. We've been bartering and cooperating since the
beginning of time. If we didn't have money, we have traded time, meals, favors, or
personal belongings, and many cultures still do the same” – TechRepublic

6. BUT…IN THE 21ST CENTURY
4 dominant forces were responsible for disintigrating the ”sharing” mindset,
pushing us to become a (hyper)consumer
1. Power of Persuasion (Edward Bernays – ”father of PR” – ”the inventor of
modern consumerism”) – manipulated the consumers’ psychology and
emotions (e.g. got women to smoke, taboo before in time, invest in stocks,
eat the ”traditional” eggs and bacon breakfast)
2. The buy now, pay later (the unafforable became ”affordable”  fuelled
unhealthy spending habits)
3. The law of lifecyles (planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence) –
ensures repetitive purchases
4. The ”Just One More” factor (idiom: ”Keep up with the Joneses” now ”Call and
Raise the Joneses” i.e. be better than your neighbour, certain
competitiveness)

7. TODAY…
The Sharing Economy catalysts:
1. Financial recession (change in standard of living – new consumer habits were
formed)
– Re-evaluate their relationship with ownership!
– No coincidence many mesh startups were founded between 2008-2010 e.g. Airbnb,
Car2Go, TaskRabbit, etc.
2. Population growth and urban density (pressurizing cities infrastructure, changing
how community members interact with each other) – fertile ground for mesh
businesses (easy access to resources)
3. Climate change and sustainability (finite resources, infinite demand)  S.E. a
system that advocates to use resources more efficiently
4. Consumer distrust (especially towards global institutes, means people are more
open for new business models, systems, brands and lifestyles)
5. The Internet and mobile technologies (today we are connected to more people
than ever before) – social media helped to ”re-discover” our love for ”sharing”
(e.g. pictures, comments, experiences, videos, etc.)
“Collaborative Consumption is based on natural behavioral instincts around sharing and
exchanging that have in fact been suppressed by hyper-consumerism but are innate to
us, it has the potential to grow notably fast” – Botsman & Rogers (2010; 213)

8. 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Collaborative Consumption focuses on consuming
goods and services (i.e. resources) – collaboratively 
shared resources/economy
1. Product Service System
The product is “shared” (e.g. Netflix or Car2Go)
– We don’t want the DVD, but rather the movie it carries (
access economy)
2. Redistribution Market
Think eBay, pre-owned goods are redistributed (sold
on) - secondhand store too
3. Collaborative Lifestyle
Similar interests and/or needs meet to share less-
tangible assets (time, space, skills, money)
 GoMore (carpooling), Airbnb (space), Gym
“The shared use of a good or service by a group. Collaborative consumption differs from standard
commercial consumption in that the cost of purchasing the good or service is not borne by one individual,
but instead is divided across a larger group as the purchase price is recouped through renting or
exchanging”

9. Is ownership really that smart?

10. • The Sharing Economy is
growing, expanding and
evolving – all fast!
• MEGA-trend (PwC)
• March 2016
• 2014: only 6 industries!

11. MESH ”SWEET SPOT”
NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE SHARED IN THE SHARING ECONOMY!
e.g. flashlight
e.g. toothbrush e.g. smartphones
e.g. cars
Can be used for
marketing
campaigns e.g.
SEM, Content
Marketing, display
ads, etc.

12. NOTE!
• Why some people are resistant to
share (US data)
• Nordea (2014) found that 7 out of
10 Danes do not participate in the
S.E. as it has not been relevant for
them
personalizati
on

13. ”…resources which been digitalized
can be shared, and once they are
shareable they become accessible” -
Nielsen (2015)
- Digitalization is favorable/vital for
the Sharing Economy  optimizes
the idling capacity!
Ex. A carpool ride uploaded on
GoMore’s website (carpooling site)
makes it accessible for others
DIGITALIZATION

14. 4. CHARACTERISTICS – ”MESH” BUSINESSES
(B2C)
1. Offer something ”shareable” (and
preferrable durable – many people)
2. Internet and mobile tech are used to
track and access these shareable
products (e.g. Apps showing car
proximity)
3. Focus on physical goods and services
(due to the trust barrier)
4. Rely heavily on WOM and social
networks
NOTE: Mesh businesses may not satisfy
all elements  strive in that direction
”In the future, we’re not going to sell a thousand BMWs. We’re going to sell one BMW a
thousand times”

16. 5. FACTORS FOR
PARTICIPATING IN THE
SHARING ECONOMYDependents on the type of sharing services!
(e.g. Airbnb hosts tend to be female, while
GoMore drivers tend to be male)
However, the 5 sharing motives:
1. Curiousness (products available)
2. Practical (subscribe when they needed X
product)
3. Social (enjoyment from sharing, helping or
being helped) – ”human relatedness”
4. Environmental (ironically, is less dominant –
though, showing consideration for the
scarce resources and climate change)
5. Financial (one of the most dominant forces,
according to more than 50% of the

17. THANK
YOU!