International business strategy is a widely investigated topic, with a plethora of related research. Aspects such as the internationalization process and the challenges faced when entering a foreign market have been widely examined, with the majority of existing literature linked to multinational corporations and companies of a traditional nature. However, there is a lack of research based on companies operating within the sharing economy. This is in contrast to the attention that has been given to the study of small entrepreneurial firms, such as international new ventures and born globals. Hence making the sharing economy a valuable area of investigation in terms of internationalization.   With more and more companies breaking away from the traditional norms of operation, this modern approach to business requires a deeper understanding. Due to the very nature of the sharing economy, companies are highly likely to internationalize and do so from an early stage, and knowledge of the challenges related to the process is therefore vital. Such recognition provided the motivation for this study, in the belief that it will provide valuable knowledge to companies, as well as contribute to the existing body of literature.   This study sets out to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the challenges faced by sharing economy companies when internationalizing. Furthermore, the study seeks to examine the effects such challenges have on the company and how they can be overcome. Research was carried out through a qualitative case study of six companies, out of which; four have already internationalized and two are yet to internationalize. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the founders and senior managers, with questions relating to both internal and external challenges. The challenges were examined and their impact on the internationalization process explained.   The researchers conclude that both internal and external challenges impacted the internationalization process, and that many challenges were somewhat interconnected. From the challenges identified, the following were considered critical: networks, business model, funding and leadership decision-making. Overcoming such challenges can lessen the effects of other challenges and make the internationalization process more successful.

Inspired by the recent rise in interest surrounding the Sharing Economy, this report seeks to provide insight into the potential for sharing in cities. I focus my attention on land; as one of the scarcest resources in urban areas land holds some of the greatest potential for sharing. I strive to develop an awareness of the challenges against and opportunities for shareable approaches to land use and development of city-owned land. Through interviews and archival research I explore a variety of projects, programs and initiatives in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA. Based on my findings I provide suggestions for the City of Austin in developing a more shareable approach to land use and development. / text

The concept of the sharing economy has gained increased attention among academicresearch and practitioners alike. The sharing economy presents a shift from the traditionalcommerce way of business to a more collaborative sharing of resources. Companies suchas Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit have contributed to the raising popularity of sharingservices, by providing consumers with a platform to engage in peer-to-peer sharing. Inaddition, Web 2.0 has proven to be an essential factor in the rigorous growth of the sharingeconomy among consumers, by connecting them and enabling consumer engagement.Despite academic researchers devoting more attention to the sharing economy, there hasbeen a lack of research addressing specific influences that Web 2.0 has on the consumerin the sharing economy. In order to fill this gap, this research seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the consumerperspective by providing valuable insights into how Web 2.0 affects consumer behaviorwithin the sharing economy. Therefore, this research first aims to identify the aspects thatdrive consumers to consider the sharing economy as an alternative to traditional options.Following this, the research intends to uncover how both companies and peer consumersin the sharing economy attempt to influence potential consumers’ consideration of asharing option. Finally, it is equally important to highlight how participation and Web 2.0affects the outcomes. To fulfill this purpose, a qualitative study has been conducted among users of the sharingeconomy. The sample group for the semi-structured interviews was selected based ontheir shared characteristic of belonging to Generation Y and having used a sharing optionin the past. In order to add a degree of credibility to our findings, a product manager fromthe sharing economy shared comments and insights in regards to the data gathered duringthe interviews. Several themes were derived from the gathered data through the analysis and discussionin regards to the drivers, influencing factors and outcomes of the participation in thesharing economy. In terms of the drivers, the first theme is financial considerations, whoseimportance is dependent on the nature of the sharing option. The second theme is the needfor experience, which includes authentic and local experiences. Finally, the theme ofsecurity considerations is concerned with the perception of risk of participation in thesharing economy. Within the company influencing factors, the first theme of onlinemarketing is subjected to factors such as presentation and delivery which affect thecredibility of these activities. Meanwhile, the second theme of consumer referral systemsenjoys more credibility due to the overwhelming involvement of peers. On the other hand,influences by other consumers show the importance of trust in peers through eWOM,including reviews and recommendations, as part of the identified receiving consumerengagement theme. The final influencing factors are part of the third-party theme, whichincludes the importance of online news and pop culture as a source of awareness. Lastly,the identified themes in terms of outcomes after participating in the sharing economyrevolve around the change in concerns regarding risk and uncertainty, which affect thedegree of online trust. Finally, the creating consumer engagement theme shows that thequality of the sharing experience motivates the consideration to engage in eWOM and inturn become an advocate for sharing options.

5 Abstract A significance of platforms based on sharing economy principle in tourism has been continuously increasing. Currently, the most significant phenomenon is Airbnb, which allows residents to offer their homes for tourists. Even though Airbnb still works on basic peer to peer principle of sharing economy, due to uncontrolled development, it has been leading to a diversion from values of sharing economy. Unlike Airbnb, couchsurfing still retains values of sharing economy and promotes sustainable tourism. However, there is not enough data about couchsurfing. For example, this platform does not have any public database, which would outline how many people were accommodated through Couchsurfing in particular destinations. The lack of data about couchsurfing is apparent in the academic sphere as well. The vast majority of studies is focused on sociological themes like motivations of people to use couchsurfing or mutual trust among its users. In the meantime, the spatial behaviour of these tourists has been therefore underestimated. Creation of a database of these tourists on international and Czech national scale including an exploration of spatial behaviour in Czechia is the main aim of this research. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for this research. The quantitative...

<div>The digital transformation of markets can remove traditional geographic restrictions, democratizing access to previously unattainable products, and enable individuals to extract rent from their personal assets. However, these digital innovations often have competitors and complementors that are not immune to the impact of local factors such as the local market structure, economic condition, and even demographics. This dissertation examines the geographic and demographic heterogeneity driven disparities in two digitally transformed markets, the financial and accommodations sectors respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>First, we study the impact of local financial market competition in managing online peer-to-peer loans. With the boom of financial technologies (FinTech), a critical question is whether the local financial market structure still matters. Unlike traditional retail financial institutions that are predominantly territorial, FinTech-based platforms, in particular peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, provide individuals equal access to funds by removing typical geographic restrictions. Combined with other benefits such as ease-of-use and lower interest rates, P2P lenders are increasingly threatening the traditional local lenders. A largely unanswered question in the literature is whether the local retail financial institutions strategically respond to the rise of such P2P platforms. Moreover, if the strategic reaction of traditional institutions continues the legacy of being territorial, borrowers will ultimately gain unevenly from the competition. That is, where a borrower lives may still matter. In this chapter, we devise multiple strategies to empirically analyze the extent and nature of the strategic response of traditional institutions to P2P lending. This includes: (1) utilization of a Probit model that leverages the richness of our local market data and (2) exploitation of bank mergers as exogenous shocks to local market structure. We find consistently that a borrower from a more competitive market is more likely to prepay, suggesting that local market structure plays a pivotal role in P2P borrowers' debt management. We validate the underlying mechanism by studying the improving credit profiles of borrowers and platforms' (exogenous) changes in pricing in moderating the main effect. This mechanism reveals that traditional banks, especially when their local market conditions support, credibly responds to the growth of P2P and are successful in attracting consumers back to traditional financial products. Relatedly, we document heterogeneity in the benefits that borrowers gain from the local market structure (using a machine learning algorithm) and verify the robustness of our main findings. We discuss the implications for P2P lending, other crowd-based markets, and local retail financial markets.</div><div><br></div><div>Second, we examines the heterogeneous economic spillover effects of a home sharing platform---Airbnb---on the growth of a complimentary local service---restaurants. By circumventing traditional land-use regulation and providing access to underutilized inventory, Airbnb is attracting visitors of a city to vicinities that are not traditional tourist destinations. Although visitors generally bring significant spending power, it is, however, not clear if the visitors use Airbnb primarily for lodging, thus, not contributing to the adjacent vicinity economy. To evaluate this, we focus on the impact of Airbnb on the restaurant employment growth across vicinities in New York City (NYC). Our results indicate that if the intensity of Airbnb activity (Airbnb reviews per household) increases by 1\%, the restaurant employment in an average area grows by approximately 1.03\%. We also investigate the role of demographics and market concentration in driving the variation. Notably, restaurants in areas with a relatively high number of Black residents do not benefit from the economic spillover of Airbnb activity. Also, restaurants in more competitive areas reap the benefit from this spillover most. We validate the underlying mechanism behind the main result by evaluating the impact of Airbnb on Yelp visitor reviews -- areas with increasing Airbnb activity experience a surge in their share of NYC visitor reviews. This result is further validated by evaluating the impact of a unique Airbnb neighborhood level policy recently implemented in New Orleans. </div>

Background: In recent years, the Swedish taxi industry has undergone a number of changes as a result of increased digitalisation in a deregulated market. Most market players have emerged as a result of the freedom of establishment, which in turn has led to higher competition. Among these new entrants, the ride-hailing business model has had an impact by taking a traditional service and performing it differently. This thesis will thus examine how this approach has affected the Swedish taxi industry in more detail. Purpose: The thesis aims to increase understanding of the aspects of the ride-hailing business model that are specifically distinguished by the company Uber. The following secondary purpose is to identify the impact this specific business model has on the Swedish taxi industry as a result of Uber's establishment on the Swedish market. Method: The thesis is an abductive case study of qualitative character. The empirical data has been collected through three distinct approaches, which are the collection of scientific material, semi-structured interviews with three respondents and a Social Media Analysis consisting of data from approximately 100 independent articles and media publications. Furthermore, these three types of empirical data have been selected via a strategic selection. Conclusion: The result of this thesis shows that the specific aspects that stand out in Uber Sweden's use of the ride-hailing business model are value creation, differentiation, innovation and social acceptance. The results also show that the ride-hailing business model has influenced the Swedish taxi industry in terms of the specific aspects' influence on the development of the taxi market and on government regulations. / Bakgrund: Under de senaste åren har den svenska taximarknaden genomgått en rad förändringar till följd av en ökad digitalisering på en avreglerad marknad. Det har uppkommit flertalet aktörer på marknaden till följd av den fria etableringsrätten, som i sin tur lett till en högre konkurrens. Bland dessa nya aktörer har affärsmodellen ride-hailing fått ett genomslag genom att ta en traditionell tjänst och utföra den annorlunda. Uppsatsen kommer därmed att närmare undersöka hur detta tillvägagångssätt har påverkat den svenska taximarknaden. Syfte: Uppsatsen syftar till att öka förståelsen för de aspekter av ride-hailing-affärsmodellen som specifikt utmärker sig hos företaget Uber. Det följande sekundära syftet avser att identifiera den påverkan som denna specifika affärsmodell haft på den svenska taxibranschen till följd av Ubers etablering på den svenska marknaden. Metod: Uppsatsen är en abduktiv fallstudie av kvalitativ karaktär. Empiri har insamlats via tre distinkta tillvägagångssätt, vilka är insamlande av vetenskapligt material, semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre respondenter samt en Social Media Analys bestående av data från cirka 100 fristående artiklar samt mediala publikationer. Vidare har dessa tre typer av empiriska data valts ut via ett strategiskt urval. Slutsats: Resultatet från denna uppsats visar att de specifika aspekterna som utmärker sig inom Uber Sveriges användning av ride-hailing-affärsmodellen är värdeskapande, differentiering, innovation och social acceptans. Vidare visar resultatet på att ride-hailing-affärsmodellen har påverkat den svenska taximarknaden i avseende på de specifika aspekternas inflytande på utvecklingen av taxibranschen samt kring statliga regleringar.

Les espaces de coworking sont des espaces de travail partagés par des individus de plusieurs organisations au sein d’un espace ouvert. Cette thèse analyse le développement d’un marché du coworking en Ile-de-France au regard des modalités de réalisation du travail dans ces espaces. Le rôle de la proximité physique dans le développement de pratiques collaboratives y est observé dans un espace de coworking parisien. L’étude des croisements entre échanges marchands et non-marchands permet de montrer que les effets de réciprocité contribuent à renforcer les liens entre coworkers. Les espaces peuvent faciliter les projets entrepreneuriaux par un apprentissage entre pairs et l’accès à des ressources communes au sein de l’espace. Cela nécessite cependant que les gestionnaires de coworking organisent la collaboration et la rendent visible. Ils font du coworking une nouvelle forme de service immobilier qui articule espace physique et service informel de mise en relation des travailleurs. La valeur des espaces de coworking est alors coproduite par les utilisateurs. Cette thèse resitue également le développement du coworking en Ile-de-France par rapport à un ensemble de politiques publiques. Les collectivités territoriales ont contribué à structurer le marché avant que des promoteurs immobiliers n’opèrent un changement d’échelle dans la notion-même de coworking. L’opérateur de coworking devient un intermédiaire permettant de mutualiser la demande de bureaux des petites entreprises en zone métropolitaine, et est amené à prendre une place au sein de la chaîne de valeur de l’immobilier / Coworking spaces are flexible workspaces shared by individuals from different organizations in an open-plan space. This thesis analyses the development of a coworking market in the Greater Paris region in light of the working arrangements in those spaces. The role of proximity in collaboration is observed in a Parisian coworking space. The overlap between commercial and non-commercial exchanges shows that reciprocity contributes to reinforcing ties between coworkers. Coworking spaces can encourage entrepreneurial projects through peer learning and the access to resources in the space. However, this requires the work of coworking managers who are key in organizing collaboration and making it visible. They are thus creating a new form of real estate service that ties physical space to an informal networking service between coworkers. The value in coworking spaces is therefore coproduced by its users. This research also shows that the development of coworking in Greater Paris was first structured by local public policies, and that real estate developers are now scaling up the idea of coworking. Coworking space operators are becoming intermediaries enabling small companies to share their offices in metropolitan regions, thus positioning themselves in the corporate real estate value chain

Sharing economy services have grown significantly in the last decade. Thereby, P2P accommodation sharing services represent one of the largest sectors and play a crucial role in the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to explain the relationship between motives as well as concerns and the customer satisfaction of users in accommodation sharing services. Furthermore, it is investigated if the generation is affecting this relationship. In order to answer the research questions a quantitative method was used. A survey was carried out, which delivered 157 valid responses from existing users of accommodation sharing services. The findings of this research support the positive impact of the motives and the negative impact of the concerns on customer satisfaction. However, no effect of generation on the relationship could be found, whereas there is an indication that nationality might be an influencing factor. Since only the motives and concerns of existing users are studied, the sample is limited to a small share of the whole population, which has already used accommodation sharing services. The paper tests empirically the concept of generation and its impact on the relationship between the motives as well as concerns and the customer satisfaction in the setting of accommodation sharing services. This study shows that it is important for P2P accommodation sharing platform providers and hosts of P2P accommodations to deal with the concerns of the customers as well as to address aspects of the motives in their marketing campaigns to increase the customer satisfaction.

THE SHARING ECONOMY AND DIGITALIZATION: CHALLENGE FOR COMPLEX MODIFICATION OF LABOR LAW? ABSTRACT This diploma thesis discusses the phenomenon of last decade called sharing economy, which has many different forms and names. In its purest meaning, the sharing economy concerns behavior of economically active entities that, in order to reduce their own costs or to use their spare capacity, share free resources. As the best examples of sharing economy, we can name capital platform Airbnb, where people share their unused immovable in order to generate profit or work platform BlaBlaCar trough which people reduce their car costs while travelling one-off long-distance trips. However, as mentioned above, sharing economy has many different forms. One of them, which cannot be recognized as its pure form, is provided by Uber. Uber, as well as BlaBlaCar, created mobile platform trough which providers of transport services can get in touch with users of these services. Despite this similarity, there are several significant differences from which one can conclude that Uber is not a classic provider of information technology services, such as BlaBlaCar. That was also borne out by foreign courts, including European Court of Justice. On that basis, a question arises, whether Uber drivers really carry on the activity of...

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-05-12T13:17:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESEVFINALL-4.pdf: 4991570 bytes, checksum: febfa1a090272ed0c632821f9502039b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-12T13:17:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TESEVFINALL-4.pdf: 4991570 bytes, checksum: febfa1a090272ed0c632821f9502039b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-03 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation discusses the contemporary transformations especially acording to the sphere of consumption as a category of analysis to understand the social world. Such transformations come from both the rise and the propulsion of a society based on a culture of consumption. Which touch the social stratification as a survival strategy of the recent capitalism, resulting, among others, in a society of risk. The discussion ends with what is called sharing economy. Thererore, Io investigate this phenomenon Was necessary, since the understanding of 'social, economic and environmental sustainability' themes is essential for the maintenance of life on earth. This work sought to recognise the contemporary through the lenses of consumption econcompassing such interfaces as sociological, anthropological, political, philosophical, economic and socioenvironmental. It was attempted, from a complex perspective, to connecl consumerism and socio-environmental sustainability, based on lhe premise that recent sludies on the unsustainability of the classic economic model are expressed in the culture-world of an american way of thinking, feeling, and living. The modus operandi of this trajectory covered a series of meetings with academic supervisors and specialists in this subject, intense documentary research, bibliography, interviews, empirical observations, life histories, as Well as an ethnographic research in the North American soil. The construction of the dala occurred in difTerenl slages, by intertwining the understanding of the topics demanded by the researcher in a dialogical contact with the perspectives of the interlocutors of this research, resulting in this report. In the end, I propose that, concomitantly with the catastrophic discourse, it's seen the emergence of an social-economic altemative, a less individualistic impetus, a socioeconomic arrangement less reduced to competitiveness and economic profit is envisaged. A thought focused on sharing, the common good and public access, training a man which is less consumer and more collaborator, the homo colabora tus / O presente trabalho problematiza a questão das recentes transformações contemporâneas no que concerne especialmente à esfera do consumo como categoria de análise para a compreensão do mundo social. Tais transformações advindas da ascensão e propulsão de uma sociedade baseada na cultura do consumo perpassam a temática da estratificação social como estratégia de manutenção do capitalismo, resultando, entre outras, em uma sociedade do risco. Tal discussão encerra-se no que atualmenle denomina-se como economia de compartilhamento ou colaboração. Investigar esse fenómeno foi necessário, já que a compreensão das temáticas 'sustentabilidade social, económica e ambiental' é imprescindivel para a manutenção da vida na terra. Essa tese visou entender o contemporâneo pelas lentes do consumo em suas amplas interfaces, sejam elas sociológicas, antropológicas, políticas, filosóficas, económicas e socioambientais. Intentou-se, sob a perspectiva complexa, interligar consumismo, consumerismo e sustentabilidade socioambienlal, partindo da premissa de que os recentes estudos sobre a insustentabilidade do modelo económico clássico se expressa na cultura-mundo da coca-colonizaçào americana, e na obsolescência programada e globalizada de um american way de pensar, de sentir, de viver. O modos operandi desta trajetória encerrou uma série de reuniões com supervisores académicos e especialistas, intensa pesquisa documental, bibliográfia, realização de entrevistas, obsewaçóes empíricas, escutas de histórias de vida, bem como, uma pesquisa etnográfica em solo norte-americano. A construção dos dados ocorreu em diferentes etapas, perpassando o entendimento das temáticas demandadas por parte do pesquisador em contato dialógico com as perspectivas dos interlocutores dessa pesquisa. Ao final, proponho que, concomitantemente ao discurso catastrófico, surge uma alternativa económico-social, um ímpeto menos individualista, um arranjo socioeconômico menos reduzido à competitividade e ao lucro económico. Um pensamento voltado ao compartilhamento, ao bem comum e ao acesso público. Formador de um homem menos consumidor e mais colaborador, o homo colaboratus