Sustainability impacts of Sharing Economy in urban context: A case study of business models in accommodation and mobility sectors

The discourses about Sharing Economy are diverse and sometimes contradictory. Advocates of celebrate the practice as “pathways to sustainability” while some considered it as “nightmarish form of neoliberal capitalism”. To gain a better understanding of this emerging phenomenon, the aim of this resea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Huen, Wing Yu
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/36381/
Description
Summary:The discourses about Sharing Economy are diverse and sometimes contradictory. Advocates of celebrate the practice as “pathways to sustainability” while some considered it as “nightmarish form of neoliberal capitalism”. To gain a better understanding of this emerging phenomenon, the aim of this research is to identify the sustainable impacts of SE practices in accommodation and mobility sectors in the urban context. Also, the business models of 6 cases are analysed to see their influence on the potential to transform the current paradigm. Drawing on the cases, it is argued that the low-cost value proposition may bring more negative environmental impacts, and the social impacts are subject to the role of the company and how the user's relationship are constructed. There are potentials in motivating firms to provide higher value to its stakeholders due to the operational and reputation risks involved, as well as facilitate future innovation. Thus, sharing economy practices should be applied together with collective initiatives to achieve system transformation that lead to sustainable development.