Consumer Sharing: Collaborative Consumption, from Theoretical Roots to New Opportunities

Abstract

In this chapter, I argue that to build an appropriate framework for understanding collaborative consumption in its contemporary form, we need to consider the deep and nuanced literature on human cooperation as well as work specific to modern sharing systems. Though it is beyond the scope of this chapter to provide an exhaustive discussion, snapshots from leading thinkers in multiple traditions allow us to conceptualize modern collaborative consumption systems and offer predictions about their optimal design and trajectory. At the same time, this review highlights the failure of any one perspective to address completely the dynamics of contemporary collaborative consumption. As such, collaborative consumption presents a rich opportunity to apply consumer psychology’s multidisciplinary perspective in a domain of theoretical and practical importance.

Keywords: sharing, collaborative consumption, consumer behavior

JEL Classification: D7, M31, C71