IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v191y2025ics0148296325000670.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The B2B sharing economy: Framework, implications, and future research

Author

Listed:
  • Benoit, Sabine
  • Merfeld, Katrin
  • Tunn, Vivian S.C.
  • Schaefers, Tobias
  • Andreassen, Tor Wallin

Abstract

The sharing economy (SE) has disrupted several sectors. Thus far, this has mainly occurred in consumer markets. Research has therefore focused on these sectors, leaving a research gap regarding the emergence of the SE in business-to-business (B2B) markets. We address this gap by first developing a literature-based framework defining the B2B SE as a service system composed of at least three actors (triadic + ), including an asset-light, intermediating platform that links at least two organizations, with one paying for temporary access to a physical asset from the other organization, for which granting this access is an ancillary service outside of the core business. We also delineate the B2B SE from related concepts, such as cooperatives and co-owning. Second, we provide managerial implications for platforms, incumbents, asset owners, and policymakers. Third, we outline areas for future research, for example, disruption trajectories, incumbent reactions, and the dark side of the B2B SE.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoit, Sabine & Merfeld, Katrin & Tunn, Vivian S.C. & Schaefers, Tobias & Andreassen, Tor Wallin, 2025. "The B2B sharing economy: Framework, implications, and future research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:191:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325000670
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115244
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296325000670
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115244?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Garcia Martin, Patricia Carolina & Schroeder, Andreas & Ziaee Bigdeli, Ali, 2019. "The value architecture of servitization: Expanding the research scope," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 438-449.
    2. Fritze, Martin P. & Urmetzer, Florian & Khan, Gohar F. & Sarstedt, Marko & Neely, Andy & Schäfers, Tobias, 2018. "From Goods to Services Consumption: A Social Network Analysis on Sharing Economy and Servitization Research," SMR - Journal of Service Management Research, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 2(3), pages 3-16.
    3. Caillaud, Bernard & Jullien, Bruno, 2003. "Chicken & Egg: Competition among Intermediation Service Providers," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(2), pages 309-328, Summer.
    4. Schaefers, Tobias & Falk, Tomas & Kumar, Ashish & Schamari, Julia, 2021. "More of the same? Effects of volume and variety of social media brand engagement behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 282-294.
    5. M.Ameziane Lasfer & Mario Levis, 1998. "The Determinants of the Leasing Decision of Small and Large Companies," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 4(2), pages 159-184, July.
    6. Wolfgang Ulaga & Christian Kowalkowski, 2022. "Servitization: A State-of-the-Art Overview and Future Directions," Springer Books, in: Bo Edvardsson & Bård Tronvoll (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management, pages 169-200, Springer.
    7. Irina V. Kozlenkova & Ju-Yeon Lee & Diandian Xiang & Robert W. Palmatier, 2021. "Sharing economy: International marketing strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(8), pages 1445-1473, October.
    8. Yuchen Zhang & Jingjing Li & Tony W. Tong, 2022. "Platform governance matters: How platform gatekeeping affects knowledge sharing among complementors," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 599-626, March.
    9. Arnold Tukker, 2004. "Eight types of product–service system: eight ways to sustainability? Experiences from SusProNet," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 246-260, July.
    10. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2003. "Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(4), pages 990-1029, June.
    11. Sutherland, Will & Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein, 2018. "The sharing economy and digital platforms: A review and research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 328-341.
    12. Mosaad, Mohamed & Benoit, Sabine & Jayawardhena, Chanaka, 2023. "The dark side of the sharing economy: A systematic literature review of externalities and their regulation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Wei Chen & Zaiyan Wei & Karen Xie, 2023. "Regulating Professional Players in Peer-to-Peer Markets: Evidence from Airbnb," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(5), pages 2893-2918, May.
    14. Belhadi, Amine & Kamble, Sachin & Benkhati, Imane & Gupta, Shivam & Mangla, Sachin Kumar, 2023. "Does strategic management of digital technologies influence electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and customer loyalty? Empirical insights from B2B platform economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    15. Klarin, Anton & Suseno, Yuliani, 2021. "A state-of-the-art review of the sharing economy: Scientometric mapping of the scholarship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 250-262.
    16. Daniel Guttentag, 2015. "Airbnb: disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism accommodation sector," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(12), pages 1192-1217, December.
    17. Wilhelms, Mark-Philipp & Merfeld, Katrin & Henkel, Sven, 2017. "Yours, mine, and ours: A user-centric analysis of opportunities and challenges in peer-to-peer asset sharing," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 771-781.
    18. Sabine Benoit, 2022. "Adapting Service Management for the Sharing Economy," Springer Books, in: Bo Edvardsson & Bård Tronvoll (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management, pages 107-125, Springer.
    19. Hui Li & Kannan Srinivasan, 2019. "Competitive Dynamics in the Sharing Economy: An Analysis in the Context of Airbnb and Hotels," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(3), pages 365-391, May.
    20. Godart, Frédéric & Pistilli, Luca, 2024. "The multifaceted concept of disruption: A typology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    21. Klein, Jan F. & Merfeld, Katrin & Wilhelms, Mark-Philipp & Falk, Tomas & Henkel, Sven, 2022. "Buying to share: How prosumption promotes purchases in peer-to-peer asset sharing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 171-183.
    22. Saif Benjaafar & Guangwen Kong & Xiang Li & Costas Courcoubetis, 2019. "Peer-to-Peer Product Sharing: Implications for Ownership, Usage, and Social Welfare in the Sharing Economy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(2), pages 477-493, February.
    23. Ruey‐Jer “Bryan” Jean & Daekwan Kim, 2021. "Signalling Strategies of Exporters on Internet Business‐to‐Business Platforms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(7), pages 1869-1898, November.
    24. Martin, Chris J., 2016. "The sharing economy: A pathway to sustainability or a nightmarish form of neoliberal capitalism?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 149-159.
    25. Dominika Wruk & Achim Oberg & Jennifer Klutt & Indre Maurer, 2019. "The Presentation of Self as Good and Right: How Value Propositions and Business Model Features are Linked in the Sharing Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 997-1021, November.
    26. Fleura Bardhi & Giana M. Eckhardt, 2012. "Access-Based Consumption: The Case of Car Sharing," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(4), pages 881-898.
    27. Zhou, Liying & Mao, Hongyi & Zhao, Taiyang & Wang, Valerie Lynette & Wang, Xiaodong & Zuo, Peng, 2022. "How B2B platform improves Buyers’ performance: Insights into platform’s substitution effect," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 72-80.
    28. Baines, Tim & Ziaee Bigdeli, Ali & Sousa, Rui & Schroeder, Andreas, 2020. "Framing the servitization transformation process: A model to understand and facilitate the servitization journey," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    29. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & David P. McIntyre & Arati Srinivasan, 2017. "Networks, platforms, and strategy: Emerging views and next steps," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 141-160, January.
    30. Hung‐Hao Chang & D. Daniel Sokol, 2022. "How incumbents respond to competition from innovative disruptors in the sharing economy—The impact of Airbnb on hotel performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 425-446, March.
    31. Raja, Jawwad Z. & Frandsen, Thomas & Kowalkowski, Christian & Jarmatz, Martin, 2020. "Learning to discover value: Value-based pricing and selling capabilities for services and solutions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 142-159.
    32. Glen L. Urban & Eric von Hippel, 1988. "Lead User Analyses for the Development of New Industrial Products," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 569-582, May.
    33. Chenglong Zhang & Jianqing Chen & Srinivasan Raghunathan, 2022. "Two-Sided Platform Competition in a Sharing Economy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(12), pages 8909-8932, December.
    34. Habibi, Mohammad Reza & Davidson, Alexander & Laroche, Michel, 2017. "What managers should know about the sharing economy," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 113-121.
    35. Khanra, Sayantan & Dhir, Amandeep & Parida, Vinit & Kohtamäki, Marko, 2021. "Servitization research: A review and bibliometric analysis of past achievements and future promises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 151-166.
    36. Shree, Deep & Kumar Singh, Rajesh & Paul, Justin & Hao, Andy & Xu, Shichun, 2021. "Digital platforms for business-to-business markets: A systematic review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 354-365.
    37. Belk, Russell, 2014. "You are what you can access: Sharing and collaborative consumption online," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1595-1600.
    38. Maximilian Bock & Martin Wiener & Carol Saunders, 2023. "Non-ownership business models in the manufacturing industry: Uncertainty-exploiting versus uncertainty-mitigating designs and the role of context factors," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-18, December.
    39. Benoit, Sabine & Baker, Thomas L. & Bolton, Ruth N. & Gruber, Thorsten & Kandampully, Jay, 2017. "A triadic framework for collaborative consumption (CC): Motives, activities and resources & capabilities of actors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 219-227.
    40. Andreas Reuschl & Victor Tiberius & Matthias Filser & Yixin Qiu, 2022. "Value configurations in sharing economy business models," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 89-112, January.
    41. Wolfgang Ulaga & Werner Reinartz, 2011. "Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully," Post-Print hal-00642039, HAL.
    42. Baojun Jiang & Lin Tian, 2018. "Collaborative Consumption: Strategic and Economic Implications of Product Sharing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1171-1188, March.
    43. Frank, Alejandro G. & Mendes, Glauco H.S. & Ayala, Néstor F. & Ghezzi, Antonio, 2019. "Servitization and Industry 4.0 convergence in the digital transformation of product firms: A business model innovation perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 341-351.
    44. Clayton M. Christensen & Rory McDonald & Elizabeth J. Altman & Jonathan E. Palmer, 2018. "Disruptive Innovation: An Intellectual History and Directions for Future Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(7), pages 1043-1078, November.
    45. Raghu Garud & Arun Kumaraswamy & Anna Roberts & Le Xu, 2022. "Liminal movement by digital platform‐based sharing economy ventures: The case of Uber Technologies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 447-475, March.
    46. Palacios, Miguel & Martinez-Corral, Alberto & Nisar, Arsalan & Grijalvo, Mercedes, 2016. "Crowdsourcing and organizational forms: Emerging trends and research implications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1834-1839.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akbari, Morteza & Foroudi, Pantea & Khodayari, Maryam & Zaman Fashami, Rahime & Shahabaldini parizi, Zahra & Shahriari, Elmira, 2022. "Sharing Your Assets: A Holistic Review of Sharing Economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 604-625.
    2. Liu, He & Li, Xuerong & Wang, Shouyang, 2021. "A bibliometric analysis of 30 years of platform research: Developing the research agenda for platforms, the associated technologies and social impacts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Benoit, Sabine & Wang, Yonggui & Teng, Lefa & Hampson, Daniel P. & Li, Xia, 2022. "Innovation in the sharing economy: A framework and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 207-216.
    4. Bian, Yiwen & Cui, Yitong & Yan, Shuai & Han, Xiaohua, 2021. "Optimal strategy of a customer-to-customer sharing platform: Whether to launch its own sharing service?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    5. Hartl, Barbara & Marth, Sarah & Hofmann, Eva & Penz, Elfriede, 2024. "‘One bad apple won’t spoil the bunch’ – Representations of the “sharing economy”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Mauro Capestro & Greta Chiavegato, 2023. "Il consumo dei beni di lusso nel contesto della sharing economy: un caso di studio italiano," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(1), pages 53-70.
    7. Panniello, Umberto & Natalicchio, Angelo & Ardito, Lorenzo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2024. "A cross-sector exploration of the barriers to customer satisfaction in the sharing economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    8. Huynh Thi Thuy Giang & Luu Tien Dung, 2025. "Sharing economy and retailer sustainable performance: the mechanisms via business model innovation and digital capabilities," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-33, December.
    9. Jialei Li & Wei Wang, 2024. "From Renting Economy to Sharing Economy: How Do Bike-Sharing Platforms Grow in the Digital Era?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8097-8117, June.
    10. Schneckenberg, Dirk & Roth, Steffen & Velamuri, Vivek K., 2023. "Deparadoxification and value focus in sharing ventures: Concealing paradoxes in strategic decision-making," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    11. Yuya Mitake & Atsuto Nagayama & Yusuke Tsutsui & Yoshiki Shimomura, 2022. "Exploring Motivations and Barriers to Participate in Skill-Sharing Service: Insights from Case Study in Western Part of Tokyo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    12. Rong, Ke & Luo, Yining, 2023. "Toward born sharing: The sharing economy evolution enabled by the digital ecosystems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    13. Khalek, Sk Abu & Chakraborty, Anirban, 2023. "Access or collaboration? A typology of sharing economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    14. Lim, Weng Marc, 2020. "The sharing economy: A marketing perspective," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 4-13.
    15. Palátová, P. & Rinn, R. & Machoň, M. & Paluš, H. & Purwestri, R.C. & Jarský, V., 2023. "Sharing economy in the forestry sector: Opportunities and barriers," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    16. Guangling Zhang & Liying Wang & Pengfei Shi, 2019. "Research on Sharing Intention Formation Mechanism Based on the Burden of Ownership and Fashion Consciousness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Choi, Tsan-Ming & He, Yanyan, 2019. "Peer-to-peer collaborative consumption for fashion products in the sharing economy: Platform operations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 49-65.
    18. Syed Tariq Anwar, 2023. "The sharing economy and collaborative consumption: Strategic issues and global entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 60-88, March.
    19. Dirk Schneckenberg & Steffen Roth & Vivek Velamuri, 2023. "Deparadoxification and value focus in sharing ventures: Concealing paradoxes in strategic decision-making," Post-Print hal-04056130, HAL.
    20. Jan Frederic Nerbel & Markus Kreutzer, 2023. "Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:191:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325000670. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.