IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i8p4213-d533544.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impacts of the Sharing Economy on Urban Sustainability: The Perceptions of Municipal Governments and Sharing Organisations

Author

Listed:
  • Lucie Enochsson

    (IIIEE, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden)

  • Yuliya Voytenko Palgan

    (IIIEE, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden)

  • Andrius Plepys

    (IIIEE, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden)

  • Oksana Mont

    (IIIEE, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden)

Abstract

By changing the institutionalised practices associated with resource distribution, the sharing economy could support sustainable urban transformations. However, its impacts on urban sustainability are unknown and contested, and key actors hold different perceptions about them. Understanding how they frame these impacts could help solve conflicts and outline what can be done to influence the development of the sharing economy in a way that fosters urban sustainability. This study explores the diversity of these frames across actors (sharing economy organisations and municipalities), segments (accommodation, bicycle, and car sharing), and cities (Amsterdam and Toronto). A framework of the impacts on urban sustainability was developed following a systematic literature review. This then guided the analysis of secondary data and 51 interviews with key actors. Results show that accommodation sharing is framed most negatively due to its impact on urban liveability. Bicycle sharing is surrounded by less conflict. Still, in Amsterdam, which has a well-functioning bicycle infrastructure, it is viewed less positively than in Toronto. Car sharing is the most positively framed segment in Amsterdam as its potentials to lower emissions align with municipal sustainability agendas. Practical insights for negotiations between sharing economy organisations and municipalities to advance urban sustainability are proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucie Enochsson & Yuliya Voytenko Palgan & Andrius Plepys & Oksana Mont, 2021. "Impacts of the Sharing Economy on Urban Sustainability: The Perceptions of Municipal Governments and Sharing Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-31, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4213-:d:533544
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4213/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4213/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Irene Rubino & Cristina Coscia & Rocco Curto, 2020. "Identifying Spatial Relationships between Built Heritage Resources and Short-Term Rentals before the Covid-19 Pandemic: Exploratory Perspectives on Sustainability Issues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Lu-Yi Qiu & Ling-Yun He, 2018. "Bike Sharing and the Economy, the Environment, and Health-Related Externalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-10, April.
    3. Michelini, Laura & Principato, Ludovica & Iasevoli, Gennaro, 2018. "Understanding Food Sharing Models to Tackle Sustainability Challenges," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 205-217.
    4. Libby Porter & Desiree Fields & Ani Landau-Ward & Dallas Rogers & Jathan Sadowski & Sophia Maalsen & Rob Kitchin & Oliver Dawkins & Gareth Young & Lisa K Bates, 2019. "Planning, Land and Housing in the Digital Data Revolution/The Politics of Digital Transformations of Housing/Digital Innovations, PropTech and Housing – the View from Melbourne/Digital Housing and Ren," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 575-603, August.
    5. Mohammed Alraeeini & Qiuyan Zhong & Elena Antarciuc, 2019. "Analysing Drivers and Barriers of Accommodation Sharing in Dubai Using the Grey-DEMATEL Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-24, October.
    6. Petra Schneider & Lukas Folkens & Andreas Meyer & Tino Fauk, 2019. "Sustainability and Dimensions of a Nexus Approach in a Sharing Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, February.
    7. Shaheen, Susan PhD & Cohen, Adam & Chan, Nelson & Bansal, Apaar, 2020. "Chapter 13 - Sharing strategies: carsharing, shared micromobility (bikesharing and scooter sharing), transportation network companies, microtransit, and other innovative mobility modes," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt0z9711dw, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    8. Kim, Kyeongsu, 2015. "Can carsharing meet the mobility needs for the low-income neighborhoods? Lessons from carsharing usage patterns in New York City," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 249-260.
    9. Zhifu Mi & D’Maris Coffman, 2019. "The sharing economy promotes sustainable societies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-3, December.
    10. Sundararajan, Arun, 2016. "The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262034573, December.
    11. JinHyo Joseph Yun & Xiaofei Zhao & Jinxi Wu & John C. Yi & KyungBae Park & WooYoung Jung, 2020. "Business Model, Open Innovation, and Sustainability in Car Sharing Industry—Comparing Three Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-27, March.
    12. Gu, Tianqi & Kim, Inhi & Currie, Graham, 2019. "To be or not to be dockless: Empirical analysis of dockless bikeshare development in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 122-147.
    13. 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.
    14. Roma, Paolo & Panniello, Umberto & Lo Nigro, Giovanna, 2019. "Sharing economy and incumbents' pricing strategy: The impact of Airbnb on the hospitality industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 17-29.
    15. Nicole Gurran & Peter Phibbs, 2017. "When Tourists Move In: How Should Urban Planners Respond to Airbnb?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(1), pages 80-92, January.
    16. Susan Shaheen & Nelson Chan & Helen Micheaux, 2015. "One-way carsharing’s evolution and operator perspectives from the Americas," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 519-536, May.
    17. Konstantinos Pelechrinis & Christos Zacharias & Marios Kokkodis & Theodoros Lappas, 2017. "Economic impact and policy implications from urban shared transportation: The case of Pittsburgh’s shared bike system," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Fanying Zheng & Fu Gu & Wujie Zhang & Jianfeng Guo, 2019. "Is Bicycle Sharing an Environmental Practice? Evidence from a Life Cycle Assessment Based on Behavioral Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, March.
    19. de Lange, Deborah & Valliere, Dave, 2020. "Investor preferences between the sharing economy and incumbent firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 37-47.
    20. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    21. Hans Verboven & Lise Vanherck, 2016. "The sustainability paradox of the sharing economy," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 303-314, December.
    22. Ana María Arbeláez Vélez & Andrius Plepys, 2021. "Car Sharing as a Strategy to Address GHG Emissions in the Transport System: Evaluation of Effects of Car Sharing in Amsterdam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    23. Elliot Fishman & Simon Washington & Narelle Haworth, 2013. "Bike Share: A Synthesis of the Literature," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 148-165, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michaël Distelmans & Ilse Scheerlinck, 2021. "Institutional Strategies in the Ridesharing Economy: A Content Analysis Based on Uber’s Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Shouheng Sun & Shengjie Dong & Qi Wu & Xuejiao Tian, 2023. "How to Survive in the Shadow of Sharing Economy Giants: Business Model Innovation for Small and Medium-Sized Platforms," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    3. Dan Wang & Liang Yan & Fangli Ruan, 2022. "A Combined IO-DEMATEL Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Effects of the Sharing Related Industries Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Dan-Cristian Dabija & Luiela Magdalena Csorba & Florin-Lucian Isac & Sergiu Rusu, 2023. "Managing Sustainable Sharing Economy Platforms: A Stimulus–Organism–Response Based Structural Equation Modelling on an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Viktorija Bobinaite & Inga Konstantinaviciute & Arvydas Galinis & Mária Bartek-Lesi & Viktor Rácz & Bettina Dézsi, 2022. "Energy Sufficiency in the Household Sector of Lithuania and Hungary: The Case of Heated Floor Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Radosław Wolniak, 2022. "Sharing Economies’ Initiatives in Municipal Authorities’ Perspective: Research Evidence from Poland in the Context of Smart Cities’ Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.

    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. Andrei Boar & Ramon Bastida & Frederic Marimon, 2020. "A Systematic Literature Review. Relationships between the Sharing Economy, Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Haibo Hu & Tao Huang & Yang Cheng & Haitao Lu, 2019. "The Evolution of Sustainable Business Model Innovation: Evidence from a Sharing Economy Platform in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Meisam Ranjbari & Gustavo Morales-Alonso & Ruth Carrasco-Gallego, 2018. "Conceptualizing the Sharing Economy through Presenting a Comprehensive Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-24, July.
    4. Ouassim Manout & Azise Oumar Diallo & Thibault Gloriot, 2023. "Implications of pricing and fleet size strategies on shared bikes and e-scooters: a case study from Lyon, France," Working Papers hal-04017908, HAL.
    5. Dan Wang & Liang Yan & Fangli Ruan, 2022. "A Combined IO-DEMATEL Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Effects of the Sharing Related Industries Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Gugerell, Katharina & Penker, Marianne & Kieninger, Pia, 2019. "What are participants of cow sharing arrangements actually sharing? A property rights analysis on cow sharing arrangements in the European Alps," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Xufeng Liu & Hongmin Chen, 2020. "Sharing Economy: Promote Its Potential to Sustainability by Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Haotian Ma & Xinlu Chen & Zhilei Zhen & Qian Wang, 2023. "Bicycle-sharing in Beijing: An Assessment of Economic, Environmental, and Health Effects, and Identification of Key Drivers of Environmental Performance," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 285-316, March.
    9. Sunio, Varsolo & Laperal, Miguel & Mateo-Babiano, Iderlina, 2020. "Social enterprise as catalyst of transformation in the micro-mobility sector," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 145-157.
    10. Xinwei Ma & Ruiming Cao & Jianbiao Wang, 2019. "Effects of Psychological Factors on Modal Shift from Car to Dockless Bike Sharing: A Case Study of Nanjing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Boons, Frank & Bocken, Nancy, 2018. "Towards a sharing economy – Innovating ecologies of business models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 40-52.
    12. Yuanyuan Zhang & Yuming Zhang, 2018. "Associations between Public Transit Usage and Bikesharing Behaviors in The United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, June.
    13. David Dann & Raphael Müller & Ann-Catherin Werner & Timm Teubner & Alexander Mädche & Christoph Spengel, 2022. "How do tax compliance labels impact sharing platform consumers? An empirical study on the interplay of trust, moral, and intention to book," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 409-439, September.
    14. Emmanuelle Reuter, 2022. "Hybrid business models in the sharing economy: The role of business model design for managing the environmental paradox," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 603-618, February.
    15. Radzimski, Adam & Dzięcielski, Michał, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between bike-sharing and public transport in Poznań, Poland," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 189-202.
    16. Juan Luis Jiménez & Armando Ortuño & Jorge V. Pérez-Rodríguez, 2022. "How does AirBnb affect local Spanish tourism markets?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(5), pages 2515-2545, May.
    17. Frederik Plewnia & Edeltraud Guenther, 2017. "Advancing a sustainable sharing economy with interdisciplinary research [Der Beitrag interdisziplinärer Forschung zu einer nachhaltigen Sharing Economy]," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 117-124, June.
    18. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Everding, Sebastian, 2020. "Do hybrids impede sustainability? How semantic reorientations and governance reforms can produce and preserve sustainability in sharing business models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 174-185.
    19. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Hyungkyoo Kim, 2020. "Seasonal Impacts of Particulate Matter Levels on Bike Sharing in Seoul, South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-17, June.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4213-:d:533544. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.