Welcome to the Ecosystem of the Collaborative Economy

The sharing economy’s popularity is increasing. The term, and

organizations often associated with it, such as Airbnb and Uber,

is featured daily in the media. However it is not always clear

what does or doesn’t belong to the collaborative economy;

and what the collaborative economy looks like from the ‘inside’.

Therefore we have created this ecosystem.

What is the collaborative economy?

The collaborative economy in the broad sense refers to “economic systems of

decentralized networks and marketplaces that unlock the value of underused assets by

matching needs and haves, in ways that bypass traditional institutions.” For instance,

borrowing and renting private consumer goods through Peerby, bypassing traditional

retailers; renting accommodations through Airbnb; bypassing the traditional hotel;

requesting a ride through the Uber app, without the use of a traditional taxi company.

Classifying the various collaborative economy initiatives

Similar to the traditional economy, we can classify the collaborative economy based on

the different markets and trading forms. Currently the sharing economy platforms are

active in ten different markets: goods, space, knowledge, energy, transportation,

logistics, healthcare, food, money and services. Within these markets we distinguish

various trading forms, such as buying, renting, lending, giving, exchanging and sharing.

Within the collaborative economy we distinguish two types of organizations: the most

well-known is the peer-to-peer platform, or also referred to as the person-to-person

marketplace. It enables its users to directly match supply and demand. For instance an

app or a website where people can buy or borrow goods from others. The textbook

example of the online peer-to-peer marketplaces in the Netherlands is Marktplaats.nl

(comparable to Ebay), where millions of people sell goods to each other. The best know

platform for borrowing goods in the Netherlands is Peerby. A variation to the peer-to-

peer platform is the cooperative. Collaborative economy cooperations are

characterized by small groups of people who work together to meet common needs.

For instance, a group of self-employed people who establish a ‘Bread Fund’ to insure

themselves against loss of income, due to the incapacity to work. Or neighbors

investing together in solar energy.

The second type of organization is the peer-to-business-to-peer marketplace, or a

marketplace where businesses act as intermediates between two people.

The trade of private goods still takes place, however the meeting between the peers

doesn’t. For instance the company Iambnb that acts as a service-provider renting out

apartments through Airbnb while people are on their holiday. Or ParkFlyRent, a

company that rents out people’s cars to inbound travelers at different airports in

Europe.

The traditional economy

The private sector has been providing products to consumers for a long time. Many

businesses still use traditional ways of trading. These are indicated in the ecosystem in

the category business-to-consumer. However an increasing number of businesses are

inspired by - and are implementing - the principles of the collaborative economy in

their business strategies. They provide access to a product or service in a similar way

as the collaborative economy does. Carmakers are now offering fleets of shared cars.

Examples are BMW collaborating with Sixt DriveNow launching a carsharing service in

multiple countries, and Daimler-Benz developing Car2Go. These companies consider

their clients not as consumers, but as peers. By providing the vehicle at the time and

place the client needs it, they can compete with the local offer of individuals of the

peer-to-peer platforms. Companies that succeed with this approach, move towards the

collaborative economy and are categorized in the ecosystem as business-to-peer.

Checklist classifying inside and around the collaborative economy

1. Identify the organizational form:

Peer-to-peer | peer-to-business-to-peer | business-to-peer | business-to-consumer.

2. Which trading forms are used?

Renting | borrowing | lending | buying | giving | exchanging | swapping | sharing.

3. Within which market is the initiative active?

Goods | space | transportation | logistics | energy | money | food | healthcare |

knowledge | services.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the collaborative and the traditional economy?

The collaborative economy is part of the traditional economy. Within the collaborative

economy the products and services traded are private; or it may also refer to a group

of people united in a cooperative. Outside the collaborative economy goods and

services are being provided, but there it is the company or organization that owns

them. In short, within the collaborative economy trade takes place between

individuals. Outside the collaborative economy trade takes place between companies,

among companies and individuals.

What about business-to-business?

The private sector has been trading business-to-business for a long time. The efficient

use of existing capacity has always been important to companies. The collaborative

economy principles will enable them to maximize their existing capacity. There are an

increasing number of business-to-business marketplaces that enable companies to

trade products and services amongst each other. For instance, hospitals that rent out

medical equipment to each other; or an industrial area where various companies rent

out their overcapacity to each other.

How commercial are collaborative economy platforms?

It is a returning question in the societal debate, whether collaborative economy

organizations facilitate the sharing of goods; often added with the statement that by

sharing goods, there shouldn’t be financial transactions or profits for the platform

organization. Business models within the collaborative economy vary considerably;

from companies for profit - sometimes with shareholders - to social enterprises,

enterprises who strive for societal profit as well as financial profit and organizations

that share the profits with their own users and the planet. The social character often

attributed to many of the collaborative economy platforms, doesn’t say anything about

the way the enterprises are organized within the collaborative economy.

What’s new about the collaborative economy?

The collaborative economy has existed offline for ages. Today one can still find several

flea and second hand markets and markets where goods are exchanged without a

financial transaction taking place. In addition there are an increasing number of public

bookcases and share boxes, where individuals freely share goods with each other. And

people lend goods to neighbors, friends or family offline all the time. The big difference

lies in the possibilities of the Internet. The age-old collaborative economy is making a

exponential leap thanks to modern technology. Products and services can now be

traded amongst individuals on an increasingly large scale. That’s because the

collaborative economy platforms develop the digital means that make reciprocal trade

as easy as possible; making it accessible for everyone with Internet connection. In

addition, the platforms build trust between strangers, allowing transactions to take

place outside one’s personal network.

How does the collaborative economy relate to eBay?

Ebay is a veteran within the collaborative economy; an early example of a platform

where people sell goods to each other. A lot of the newer platforms facilitate renting

instead of buying, but the peer-to-peer organizational form remains the same.

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