Collaborative Consumption or the Rise of the Two-Sided Consumer

Abstract

While considerable investigative work has focused on that process from a managerial standpoint, little academic research has sought to conceptualize collaborative consumption from a marketing viewpoint. This paper performs a review of empirical, managerial and theoretical research into the phenomenon. The authors draw upon past research to delineate the construct and then discuss its dimensionalities. Next, they develop a conceptual framework of collaborative consumption and then analyse the implications of the latter from the theoretical, practical and societal perspectives. By modelling the concept based on three key thrusts, namely the manner in which consumers partake in collaborative consumption, the transfer of ownership and use, and the channels used by consumers to engage in collaborative practices, and the intervention of the consumer as the key to collaboration, the analysis brings to the fore the multidimensional aspect of collaborative consumption and the centrality of a two-sided instead of a one-sided consumer role.