The Potential Of The Shared Economy In The Socio-Innovative Development

Abstract

The shared economy is a new model of the reproduction of economic and social benefits, based on the joint consumption, production, financing of a particular type of product or service. The goal of the study is to justify the development potential of a shared economy to solve the problems of social and innovative development of the economy. As a result of the analysis of approaches to the definition of a shared economy, three components of a shared economy have been identified. The authors made a comparative analysis of the equity and market economies. Based on a comparison of the characteristics of the shared economy and the functions of social innovation, the possibility of applying the concept of shared economy in the development of the economy of the public sector, the creation of public goods and the solution of social problems in society is justified. The potential of applying this model with the predominance of public benefits of realized objects, as well as with the development of social innovations, is justified. The theoretical significance of the results lies in the justification for the application of the shared economy model in the development of the public sector. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in the possibility of using this model to optimize interactions between economic agents in conditions of high resource constraints.

Keywords: Shared economypublic sectordigitalization of processessocial innovations

Introduction

The transformation of socio-economic processes caused by global trends in digitalization contributes to changes in the process of reproduction of goods in general. At the same time, interest in the study of a shared economy, as a new model for building economic relations, has formed relatively recently. Satisfying the needs of society in terms of resources based on providing access, rather than property rights, helps to reduce transaction costs due to the specificity of assets. Such an alternative use of specific assets creates a new mechanism for the use of benefits, allowing, on the one hand, to reduce the cost of ownership and use of resources, and on the other - to increase the efficiency of existing resources. The use of the resource based on employment rather than ownership may be sufficient to solve the existing problem and positively affect the cost structure (Haase & Pick, 2016; Hofmann, Sæbø, Braccini, & Za, 2019).

Problem Statement

In the analysis and modeling of social development and the public sector, a shared economy can be considered as an alternative model for creating public goods. The core of this model is the sharing of resources. It can act as a way to more rational use of assets, as well as be focused on creating a new product or service. In addition, joint consumption creates new conditions for the development of social innovation, which creates additional opportunities and prospects for interaction between members of society. The transformation of public sector organizations caused by digitalization and forcing hierarchies to replace markets for the efficient distribution of limited public resources (Hoggett, 1996) has created the conditions for finding a more efficient way to reproduce goods. In this study, interest in the concept of a shared economy is raised as a source of solutions to the problems of the public sector.

Research Questions

The rapid introduction of a new business model in economic processes, primarily affects the transformation of institutions and key elements of their components. In the current realities, the development of digital platforms (Mäntymäki, Baiyere, & Islam, 2019), as well as the need for certain resources, creates an environment for building new norms and rules for the interaction of economic agents. However, the emerging informal norms of interaction during the dissemination of this model require their further formalization and the development of a special regulation mechanism.

Currently, despite a discussion of the negative impact of the shared economy on established economic institutions and behavior patterns, it is important to concentrate and identify the development potential of this concept in order to increase public welfare.

Purpose of the Study

To achieve this goal, a review of the scientific literature was carried out. The review contributes to the analysis of the conceptual apparatus and the theoretical and methodological base of the study. A comparative analysis was carried out in order to identify and disclose the specific features of the shared economy, the influence of the elements of the shared economy on the implementation of the functions of the social sphere was justified.

Research Methods

To achieve the goal of this study, at the first stage, within the framework of a comparative analysis of the shared and market economies, specific features of the shared economy were identified and revealed. At the second stage, the functions of social innovations are determined and the possibility of their implementation using shared economy tools.

The research information base is Russian and foreign studies on this topic, presented in the international and Russian databases Web of Science, Scopus, Elibrary. The research method is a systematic analysis of the existing elements of a shared economy that affect the direction of development of social innovations.

Findings

Conclusion

Based on the study, with the goal of a comparative analysis of the forms of economic relations in a market and shared economy in the social sphere, the following theoretical and practical results were obtained.

Firstly, as a result of the analysis of approaches to determining a shared economy, three components of a shared economy have been identified. They include the joint reproduction of a good or the implementation of one of the functions of this process, the use of digital platforms and other resources as an environment for organizing the interaction of economic agents, improving the efficiency of asset use as a result of the implementation of this model, and equality of participants in the reproduction of the good.

Secondly, a comparative analysis of the equity and market economies is made. Due to the fact that the main differences are related to the transformation of the respective institutions, economic agents, economic interests, transactions, transaction costs, interaction mechanisms, enforcement (control) mechanisms, the role of economic agents, guarantor, pricing mechanism, formation of supply and demand.

Thirdly, based on a comparison of the characteristics of the shared economy and the functions of social innovation, the possibility of applying the concept of shared economy in the development of the economy of the public sector, the creation of public goods and the solution of social problems in society is justified.

The theoretical significance of the results lies in the justification for the application of the shared economy model in the development of the public sector. The practical significance lies in the possibility of their application in determining the directions of development of the institutional environment of social and innovative activity.

Acknowledgments

The study was conducted with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 20-010-00333.

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