Sharing Economy: Using is the new Owning

Explore the sharing economy: its logic, origins, and impact. Learn how digital platforms enable "using over owning," its economic and sustainability aspects, and key sectors like mobility and housing.

Sharing Economy: Using is the new owning

Wiebke Adler, a student of the MBA Digital Marketing & Data Management, explains the functional logic of a sharing economy in her guest article. She delves into the origins of this economic principle, highlights the economic sectors relevant to sharing, and answers the question of how social sharing actually is.

The sharing economy is an economic principle that is constantly evolving. Simply put, it involves the use of technology to facilitate the exchange of goods or services between two or more parties.

Sharing does not primarily mean dividing (which would be the English word "to divide"), but rather communal use. This means, in contrast to dividing, that you don't have less of something by letting other people share your possession.

Dividing = I give you some of my pizza, and as a result, I have less pizza myself.

Sharing = You need a hole in the wall, and I own a drill that I don't currently need. You are welcome to use it until your need is met, and then you return it to me in the same condition.

Where does this idea of exchange come from?

The economic viability of shared goods use ends where the effort for coordination exceeds the gain. This applies when you want to do someone a favor or know that person well.