The Social Context of Business: The Sharing Economy

The Sharing Economy
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The Sharing Economy
In the recent past, many areas of human life have experienced disruption due to the rise of the internet of things. The capitalist economy has not been left behind and as revealed by Rifkin (2014), it is being overtaken by a new economic model. This model has been facilitated by the ability of consumers to not only share knowledge but also other physical products such as homes and cars. Thus, the focus of this paper is on this economic model, commonly referred to as the sharing economy. Specifically, this paper will discuss what the sharing economy entails and its sustainability. A number of articles have been published in the popular media discussing the sharing economy and in some, it is revealed that the sharing economy is the future, while others believe that people still want some personal space and as such, they are uncomfortable sharing with strangers.
One evident characteristic of the sharing economy is that it allows people to temporarily gain access to goods and services without having to completely own them (Belk 2014, p.1595). Thus, it has allowed people to make better use of resources by facilitating utilization. In fact, the sharing economy has not only facilitated the efficient utilization of resources but has also kept the consumption of goods and services down (Geissinger et al., 2018). With efficient utilization of resources, consumers are able to limit their ownership to commodities they cannot otherwise have access to through sharing, which, in this case, are very few. Belk (2014, p.1597) indicates that the sharing economy has actually reduced redundancy among consumers by ensuring that consumers can use a service without necessarily having ownership. In this age of the internet of things, people can carpool when going to work or taking their kids to school, which facilitates the effective utilization of cars. Thus, other than the internet, consumers themselves are disrupting the traditional economic models such as capitalism.
An article published in The New York Times, May 16, 2019, indicate that despite its associated benefits, the sharing economy is becoming quite a challenge to a number of people, especially due to the awkwardness it presents to people in social settings. Thus, instead of people actually enjoying the sharing experience, they are forced to tolerate each other and their participation in the experience becomes limited. This could be attributed to the fear of an invasion of personal space and boundaries, especially when "sharing in," which is why it is easier for people to share with friends than to share with a stranger (Belk 2010, p.726). It is common for people who are familiar with each other to share but this can become a bit complex when it comes to strangers. In addition, even the service or product being shared matters. For instance, The New York Times article indicates that sharing a meal in a restaurant is more complex because the personalities of the individuals sharing the meal could negatively impact the experience. For people who feel that sharing denies them the opportunity to make choices, it becomes quite difficult to embrace the sharing economy. And as Bel...