During recent years the sharing economy has had an increased impact on the modern business climate, and the level of engagement among researchers has increased. The sharing economy is changing the way individuals perceive business and challenges traditional business models. Sharing economy firms are implementing innovative business approaches to face the dynamic business climate. Its peer-to-peer sharing philosophy is fighting against the increasing hyper-consumption we are facing. Previous scholars have discussed how traditional firms can gain market shares and internationalize through M&As and strategic partnerships. However, the research on how M&As and partnerships can be implemented among sharing economy firms is minimal. Also, the empirical studies regarding this field are inadequate. Accordingly, examining this research gap in practice and gaining a deeper understanding of the subject is highly relevant. This thesis aims to shed light on the motives behind sharing economy firms internationalizing, mainly through mergers and acquisitions or strategic partnerships, involving at least one sharing platform in the process. To accomplish the intentions of this study, a qualitative research approach has been conducted, with a diverse group of respondents from different parts of the world and operating in various areas within the sharing economy. Moreover, the empirical data has been collected through conducting findings from four semi-structured interviews. The outcome of this research implies that the motives for sharing economy firms to internationalize using M&As or strategic partnerships are beneficial regarding the sharing economy characteristics. For instance, the paper highlights how sharing economy firms have a comfortable path internationalizing into foreign markets but can struggle to gain platform user activity in the early stages in new markets. Therefore, are M&As and strategic partnerships strategic tools for sharing economy firms to acquire an already existing customer base or have strategic alliances that can ease cultural barriers and such when entering foreign markets.

There has been an increase in research on the internationalization of sharing economy firms. However most of this research has largely focused on mature markets. Very little attention has been given to the internationalization of sharing economy firms in emerging markets particularly those from Africa. The African continent is different from mature markets and the internationalization challenges of sharing economy firms are therefore dissimilar.  This study seeks to fill the existing knowledge gap by exploring the internationalization challenges faced by sharing economy firms from an emerging African market perspective. We also seek to understand the internationalization process of African sharing economy firms. Finally we seek to provide solutions on how African sharing economy firms can manage the challenges they face. This research was conducted using qualitative case studies of eight companies. Two have internationalized within and beyond Africa. Four have internationalized within Africa while two are yet to internationalize. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with founders and operations managers of the different sharing economy firms.  The empirical findings show that African sharecoms can internationalize in a unique internationalization sequence, which starts with gradual internationalization to a “foreign gateway market” followed by rapid internationalization to other foreign markets. The study identified funding as the greatest challenge faced by African sharing economy firms while low adoption rates and mindset were the dominant psychic distance obstacles. The study also revealed that in Africa, technology is solely not enough by itself and extra effort needs to be undertaken to ensure successful internationalization of sharing economy firms. The research concluded that regulatory challenges are industry-specific rather than targeting sharing economy firms. Further, networks were an important combining factor facilitating the internationalization process and overcoming some challenges.