On-going research at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary) surveys the sustainability aspects of innovative business models putting a special emphasis on the impacts of the operations of sharing economy businesses.
The sharing economy undoubtedly is one of the most interesting developments of the last decade not only from a business perspective, but also from the perspective of the environmental and social impacts of transactions on the marketplace. While early research regarding the sharing of resources took a rather optimistic stance, current practices of sharing economy businesses raise a number issues, which should be handled by policy makers to secure a sustainable development path. The impacts of induced travel by apartment sharing platforms, the spreading of environmental load by community based GPS navigation services and other similar, earlier mostly unforeseen or overlooked impacts require more substantial research based on actual data arising from the use of such services.
Preliminary results presented at the ISDRS Conference in Bogota, Colombia in 2017 provided a review of the related literature and some insights into the operations of a regional car sharing company, Oszkar, which operates an internet platform for long distance trips between towns in Hungary and abroad. We introduced a general characterization of the users (both drivers and passengers) and their attitude towards car sharing and the services provided by the enterprise.
Results showed that the service is used by a broader set of individuals than expected (e.g. women use the services as often as men and elderly people are also catching up) and that many users consider the social aspects of the service (e.g. connecting with other like-minded users and making friends) more important than comfort or savings in time and cost.
The second phase of the project is based on the database provided by the company for the last ten years of its operations. Data available includes the details of the trips offered by the drivers, actual trips undertaken and the characteristics of drivers offering their services.
Based on this database and using network theory as a backdrop we analysed the dynamics of the development of the service, which started out in Hungary, but now covers several surrounding countries, e.g. Austria and Germany.
The presentation will demonstrate our findings regarding the spread of the service and its possible environmental and social impacts. We will also make an attempt to put the car sharing service in a broader context, namely regional and long distance personal transportation and to show how such car sharing services may influence already existing transportation infrastructure and businesses operating in the sector.
Keywords:
sharing economy, environmental and social impacts, rebound effect, network dynamics
References
Hart, S. L., & Milstein, M. B., 2003. Creating sustainable value. Academy of Management Executive. 17, 56-67.
Schaltegger, S., Hansen, E.G. & Ludeke-Freund, F., 2015. Business Models for Sustainability: Origins, Present Research, and Future Avenues. Organization & Environment, September
Zilahy, G., 2016. Sustainable Business Models – What Do Management Theories Say? Budapest Management Journal
5a. Corporate sustainability and CSR
