Edward Elgar Publishing Handbook of the Sharing Economy

With the radical growth in the ubiquity of digital platforms, the sharing economy is here to stay. This Handbook explores the nature and direction of the sharing economy, interrogating its key dynamics and evolution over the past decade and critiquing its effect on society. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, this Handbook analyses labour, governance, trust and consumption in the contemporary sharing economy. It questions the apparent contradiction between its components: the moral economy of small-scale communal sharing versus the far-flung reaches of the market economy. Chapters explore ways to resolve this paradox, theorizing hybrid economic forms and considering the replacement of human trust inherent in the sharing economy with a transactional reputation economy. Featuring a variety of both conceptual explorations and empirical investigations in a variety of different cross-cultural contexts, this Handbook illustrates how and, more importantly, why the sharing economy has reshaped marketplaces, and will continue to disrupt them as it develops. Written in an accessible style, this thorough Handbook offers crucial insights for researchers across a variety of disciplines interested in the trajectories of modern consumption, as well as students studying the sharing economy. Practitioners, policy makers and public speakers working in and around the sharing economy will also benefit from this book's unique analysis of trends in consumer economics. Contributors include: A. Arvidsson, G. Avram, F. Bardhi, H. Bartling, M. Baz Radwan, R. Belk, H.H. Chang, A. Chattopadhyay, R. Corten, D. Dalli, A. DeCrop, N. Drozdova, G. Eckhardt, T. Eriksson, E. Fischer, F. Fortezza, A. Gandini, A. Gessinger, A. Graul, A. Gruen, A.J. Hawley, I. Kleppe, S. Kurtmollaiev, M. Laamanen, C. Laurell, C.X. Li, A. Light, R.J. Lutz, J. Mallargé, K. Mikolajewska-Zaj c, L. Mimoun, M. Möhlmann, O. Mont, J. Morales, A. Mukherjee, C. Oberg, L.K. Ozanne, E. Papaoikonomou, G. Patsiaouras, C. Pitt, K. Plangger, M. Rocas-Royo, A. Ryan, C. Sandstrom, M. Saren, K. Strzyczkowski, W. Suetzl, T. Teubner, C. Valor, P. van den Bussche, G. von Richthofen, Y. Voytenko Palgen, S. Wahlen, T. Widlok, P. Zidda, L. Zvolska Review 'This Handbook offers wide-ranging investigations and essays into the sharing economy. It takes the reader through a deep and critical look at this new way of organizing markets and society. While exposing the promise, practices, and paradoxes of these systems, the authors succeed in inspiring us to think how these platforms are changing how we consume, sell, and think about and care for the world. It offers fresh insights that I expect to influence my research and teaching in important ways for a long time.' --Christine Moorman, Duke University, US and Editor in Chief, Journal of Marketing 'The sharing economy is fundamentally altering firms and markets, yet key questions about the future of the economy and society remain unanswered. Belk, Eckhardt and Bardhi provide a sweeping view of emerging thinking, spanning topics from blockchain and big data to rhetoric and risk. A must-read for any serious scholar.' --Arun Sundararajan, New York University, US and author of The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism 'This is a must-read collection for anyone seeking a deeper appreciation of the sharing economy and why and how it works. Twenty-eight chapters explore the paradoxes between the moral economy of ''sharing'' the market economy of ''commerce,'' and the reputation economy on which everything is based. If you want a greater sense of the benefits and dilemmas of the sharing economy read this book.' --Susan Fournier, Boston University, US About the Author Edited by Russell W. Belk, Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing and York University Distinguished Research Professor, Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada, Giana M. Eckhardt, Profe