Although the term‘sharing economy’ may be unknown to many people, the truth is that more and more companies around the world are betting on implementing this model of economy, which experienced its particular boom in 2010. In fact, it is estimated that this economic model, based on collaboration, is growing between 15% and 17% worldwide.

That said, the key to the sharing economy is to facilitate the exchange of goods and services between different companies. In this way, it is no longer necessary for a company to have a certain asset, but it is sufficient only to have access to that asset.

What is the sharing economy?

The collaborative economy is an economic model that is based on the rental, purchase, sale or loan of products or services, through a technological platform that regulates transactions, depending on the needs of a company and not so much on the economic benefits.

While in the traditional economy products and services are exchanged for money, in the collaborative economy this exchange is carried out out out of necessity, favoring a mutual collaboration between two or more companies, or between individuals and companies.

When talking about this model of collaborative economy, the first companies that come to mind are those of rental of homes for tourist purposes, which through the collaboration between owners who make their homes available to the interest of guests, get benefits for all parties.

Different types of sharing economy

There are different types of sharing economy that vary depending on the needs,as well as the products or services offered to exchange:

Collaborative finance

Collaborative finance is one of the keys to the collaborative economy,highlighting microcredits and crowdfunding as one of the main formulas for making finance collaboratively.

Microcredits are small loans to companies with little economic capacity, to help them in their growth and in achieving objectives. On the other hand, crowdfunding focuses on disseminating an initiative that requires external funding, so that companies or individuals make donations in an interested way, with a certain purpose.

Collaborative consumption

In collaborative consumption, it is the interested parties who get in touch to produce an exchange of products or services,usually in an altruistic way.

When making this type of consumption, it is usually the users who contact each other through different web platforms,which allows them to make the exchange informally, without being accompanied by money.

Open knowledge

When we talk about open knowledge we are referring to spreading the knowledge of a company or a professional, so that anyone who wants to could have access to it,without any type of legal or administrative restriction.

In general, open knowledge is carried out through digital platforms to which the user must turn to access the information.

Collaborative production

Collaborative production is based on the dissemination of all kinds of projects and services through digital platforms.

Main advantages of the sharing economy

That the sharing economy is changing the way we understand consumption is due to the multiple advantages offered by this model:

  • Economic savings:a company through the different collaborative consumption platforms available, can access different products and services at a much cheaper price, and thus satisfy a need you may have.
  • Sharing: The sharing economy is based on the idea of sharing the different assets of one company, so that they can be taken advantage of by a different company. One of the clearest examples are the companies to share a car on certain routes, which make available to users a platform that allows you to save on the costs of a trip.
  • Preservation of the environment:this model of economy also collaborates with the preservation of the environment, since through favoring the reuse of products, the generation of waste and its impact on the environment is reduced.
  • Wider offer: the collaborative economy favors that we have access to a greater number of products or services, different from those usually found in the traditional market.

conclusion

The collaborative economy is based on the interaction between two or more subjects, and there may be a digital intermediary involved, with the aim of satisfying a need and obtaining mutual benefits.

Increasingly popular in the business world, the collaborative economy is shown as one of the most effective formulas for entrepreneurs and new companies.