Collaborative consumption

[5] The first detailed explanation of collaborative consumption in the modern era was in a paper from Marcus Felson and Joe L. Spaeth in 1978.

Botsman defines three systems that constitute collaborative consumption: Distribution markets where services match haves and wants so that personal unused assets can be redistributed where they will be put to better use.

These different systems bring about change in society by providing new employment opportunities, including ways for people to earn money peer-to-peer, and decreasing the ecological impact on the environment.

There are broadly two forms of collaborative consumption: Focusing on redistribution systems only, the Canadian-based "Kijiji Secondhand Economy Index" of 2016,[18] estimated that about 85% of consumers acquired or disposed of pre-owned goods through second-hand marketplaces (second-hand purchase and resale), donation, or barter, through either online or offline exchange channels.

believe that collaborative economy, particularly in its commons-based peer production aspect, can cause major changes to the economic system of capitalism and reduce worldwide inequality.

[21]: 8 Collaborative consumption challenges business scholars and practitioners alike because it induces a two-sided consumer role which goes beyond the classic notion of a buyer/consumer, who typically has no input in the production or distribution process.

[22] Companies have traditionally sold products and services to consumers; they now start pulling on[clarification needed] their resources too through co-creation[23] or prosumption.

[22] According to Scaraboto,[clarification needed] this means that individuals are able to "switch roles, engage in embedded entrepreneurship and collaborate to produce and access resources".

A collaborative consumption system means therefore a resource circulation system in which the individual is not only a mere "consumer" but also an obtainer who has the opportunity to endorse, if wanted or needed, a "provider" role (e.g. Kijiji, Craigslist, eBay), as follows:[2] Through collaborative consumption, consumers become part of the value creation process, not as formal workers, employees, or suppliers, but as informal suppliers (i.e.

For example, on online platforms such as classified ads or auctions websites, consumers directly provide and obtain resources or services.

For example, the Canadian-based carpool website Amigo Express does not allow obtainers (riders) and providers (drivers) to get into contact to arrange the terms of the ride.

Rather, each agent needs to separately contact and pay a fee to the website in order to, respectively, obtain and provide the service.

Conversely, using TheCarpoolingNetwork enables consumers to arrange themselves the terms and conditions of the exchange, and so the website acts as a facilitator, not as a mediator.

[24] Others have a donationware mode of exchange, whereby website use is free but financial donations are requested or accepted to offset production and maintenance costs (e.g.

[citation needed] Collaborative consumption is a sort of economic arrangement in which participants mutualize access to products or services, in addition to finding original ways to individual ownership.

Collaborative lifestyles refer to community-based platforms that allow consumers to engage in monetized exchanges through social peer-to-peer processes for services or access to resources such as money or skills.

[33] In these systems, people with similar needs or interests band together to mutualize and exchange less-tangible assets such as time, space, skills, and money.