Leveraging the power of the sharing economy

Online, technology-enabled peer-to-peer sharing platforms are reshaping how consumers perceive, purchase, and consume a wide range of consumer goods and services (Li & Lutz, 2019). As consumer familiarity with sharing platforms increases, this will fuel growth. Previous forecasts have estimated the sharing economy to grow from around $US15 billion in 2013 to more than $US335 billion by 2025 (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2015). Driving this growth will be demographics that previously have only ever played a supporting role, including women, the elderly, and an emerging global middle class (Rinne, 2019). For example, 2018 was the first year the majority of the global population was categorized as middle class. In the next ten years, this number is expected to double to 5.2 billion people (Kharas & Hamel, 2018). At the same time, women are expected to be responsible for over two-thirds of the rise in all disposable income across the next decade. Importantly, we are also seeing a new generation of socially aware millennials who are rejecting many of the things older generations see as fundamental economic necessities. The millennials have different values that prefer experiences over material possessions. The outcome may be a preference for access rather than ownership. If this is the case, we are likely to see exponential growth in the sharing economy across many sectors. As such, together, the nine papers that make up this special issue provide current, critical insight into what is shaping to be a major part of the global economy moving forward.