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For more than 20 years, society’s behavior has changed in terms of daily consumption.

In the interest of economic rationality, people, without knowing each other or being part of the same family, agree to live together, travel in the same vehicle, work in the same space and participate in common projects. They decide to join forces in activities such as production, distribution and consumption.

In other words, they have a new approach to economics, which involves collaboration and a spirit of sharing: it is commonly referred to as “the collaborative economy” or “the sharing economy”.

A question challenges us: why did this concept appear?

Several factors have contributed to the advent of the sharing economy: the development of IT tools and mobile technology (smartphones, tablets), the globalization of the economy, the global economic crises and the environmental watch fueled by ecological awareness of the negative externalities of economic activity.

Indeed, we are witnessing a deterioration in the efficiency of the resources used. Demailly and Novel (2014) agree with this idea, arguing that: “For those in the sharing economy, it is nothing more or less than an underutilization of material goods, capital, and therefore an economic and environmental waste.”

We cannot consider the theme of sharing as recent, since the exchange of goods and services has existed, in many different ways, for a very long time: agricultural mutual cooperatives, insurance mutual and agricultural cooperatives already existed before the 21st Century. In other words, the idea of enjoying the good or service without owning it was part of people’s consumption strategies.

Also, the expansion of the sharing economy responds to the contemporary demands of people concerned about the quality of the environment and the degradation caused by the fierce economic activities on natural resources since the Industrial Revolution.

The sharing economy is a social phenomenon, in that it has allowed ordinary people to use their surplus resources in many forms and to consume in a mutual and altruistic way.

It is also environmental, because the sharing economy makes it possible to absorb excess capacity (infrastructure needs, car needs, etc.), reduce the exploitation of natural resources, and meet the needs of those that are most disadvantaged in society.

So, what is the “instrument” that has enabled the expansion of this economic phenomenon?

The notion of the sharing economy is in its conceptualization phase and does not yet have a consensus on its definition. It only dates back to the early 1990s. Indeed:

Collaborative economics is a concept carried by successful essayists such as J. Rifkin, R. Botsman or F. Turner, activists like Mr. Bauwens, media like Shareable in the United States, think tanks and do tanks like OuiShare in France, or by some entrepreneurs and start-up managers, and even more and more large companies. (Massé et al. 2015)

The conceptualization of the sharing economy is incipient, its advantages and disadvantages are not yet well defined. Although it is well received, it does not have an epistemological definition. In an ironic note, Bostman says: “The sharing economy lacks a shared definition.”

The sharing economy has become a global phenomenon. Thus, can it represent an economic model that competes with the traditional economy? What are the advantages of this new economy? Will it contribute to the sustainability of the economy?