Editorial: Sharing Economy: Paths to Government Innovation

Abstract

The concept of “sharing economy” has become an umbrella term increasingly relevant to both the daily lives of private individuals, and to the direction and operation of social and political systems. It thereby covers a large number of peer-sharing behaviours across several sectors, such as accommodation (Airbnb, couchsurfing), delivery and home services (Instacart), and transportation (Lyft, Uber) (Hassan, 2020). One of the key elements among the multiple definitions of the sharing economy concept is the sense of community implied in the sharing behaviours of involved actors (cf. Vith, Oberg, Ho llerer & Meyer, 2019; Mallison et al., 2020). The operation of sharing transactions via collaborative platforms, such as online connecting platforms, which are owned and controlled by the consumers or “users” themselves, is the main driver behind the sense of community surrounding the concept of the sharing economy (Hamari et al., 2016). Consequently, sharing with no true sense of community, collaboration or cooperation among the actors, even when sharing is not at all accompanied by economic transactions, or sharing via forprofit intermediaries, as in the case of Uber, do not count as examples of a genuine sharing economy (Belk, 2014).