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Market Formation in the Sharing Economy: Findings and Implications from the Sub-economies of Airbnb

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Social Dynamics in a Systems Perspective

Part of the book series: New Economic Windows ((NEW))

Abstract

Research in the sharing economy predominately focuses on issues related to the exchange parties and the sharing platforms, ignoring the secondary market of the numerous entrepreneurs emerging around sharing ecosystems. By conducting an exploratory study, this chapter first identified the secondary market entrepreneurs supporting the Airbnb ecosystem and then, it investigated how they impact the sharing accommodation experiences by categorising their services based on the Porter's value chain model. The study also investigated the ability of these entrepreneurs to shape and form new ‘hospitality’ markets by categorising their market forming capabilities according to the “learning with the market” framework. Findings reveal that the services provided by these entrepreneurs: are similar to the accommodation services provided in the commercialised hospitality context; and they influence the market practices of the ‘trading’ actors participating in the Airbnb ecosystem. Consequently, the sub-economies created by the secondary market of these entrepreneurs are shaping and evolving the sharing accommodation market to a commercialised ‘authentic’ hospitality experience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, University of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia

    Marianna Sigala

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  1. Marianna Sigala
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Correspondence to Marianna Sigala .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. "Sapienza" University of Rome , Rome, Italy

    Sergio Barile

  2. Salerno University , Salerno, Italy

    Marco Pellicano

  3. Salerno University , Salerno, Italy

    Francesco Polese

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Sigala, M. (2018). Market Formation in the Sharing Economy: Findings and Implications from the Sub-economies of Airbnb. In: Barile, S., Pellicano, M., Polese, F. (eds) Social Dynamics in a Systems Perspective. New Economic Windows. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61967-5_9

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