Collaborative space: framework for collaborative consumption and the sharing economy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and introduce the new concept of the collaborative space. Design/methodology/approach Building on an extensive overview of past research and footing on extant conceptual work, the paper chooses an explicating conceptualization approach. Findings The paper presents the collaborative space, which features the three bipolar dimensions, namely, the type of consumption (access vs reownership), source of resource (company-owned vs consumer-owned) and the type of compensation (with vs without monetary fee). These dimensions open up multiple areas of the collaborative space, including the pseudo sharing economy, sharing ecology, redistribution markets and redistribution communities. Research limitations/implications The paper shows blind spots in the literature as well as the need to consider the consumption context to outline directions for future research. Practical implications For managers, this paper develops a foundation for entering, exploring and exploiting the collaborative space along the stages acquisition, distribution, consumption and compensation. Social implications Collaborative consumption is associated with community-building, resource saving and sustainability. The conceptualization of the collaborative spaces provides different options to enable more sustainable consumption and raise social exchange between consumers. Originality/value So far, an overarching framework that reveals similarities and differences of business models that are associated with collaborative consumption and the sharing economy is missing. This paper develops this framework, which is labelled the collaborative space.