The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business

Ioanna Constantiou; Ben Eaton; Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen

doi:10.1109/HICSS.2016.164

The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business

Ioanna Constantiou, Ben Eaton, Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen

Aalto University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review

Abstract

A number of sharing economy start-ups have taken both digital and physical product markets by storm. These start-ups operate on two-sided platforms and enable sharing of physical products or services based on physical assets. Interestingly, they are subject to both the dynamics of the digital world (i.e., network effects), and the constraints of the physical world (i.e., issues of accountability when physical property is destroyed). We investigate how Airbnb, a sharing platform, evolve into a sustainable business with an in-depth case analysis based on data retrieved from a number of blogs providing information about Airbnb’s actions. Our analysis with insights from platform economics and
information infrastructures depicts two phases in the evolution process: creating the user base and augmenting the platform. With the two complementary theoretical perspectives we can offer a deeper understanding of the evolution of sharing platforms into sustainable and competitive businesses.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016)
Editors	Ralph H. Sprague, Tung X. Bui
Number of pages	10
Place of Publication	Loa Alamitos, CA
Publisher	IEEE
Publication date	2016
Pages	1297-1306
Article number	7427343
ISBN (Print)	9781479983896
ISBN (Electronic)	9780769556703
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2016.164
Publication status	Published - 2016
Event	49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016 - Kauai, Hawaii, United States Duration: 5 Jan 2016 → 8 Jan 2016 Conference number: 49 http://www.hicss.org/

Conference

Conference	49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016
Number	49
Country/Territory	United States
City	Kauai, Hawaii
Period	05/01/2016 → 08/01/2016
Internet address	http://www.hicss.org/

Series	Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
ISSN	1060-3425

Access to Document

10.1109/HICSS.2016.164Licence: Unspecified

https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/hicss/2016/5670/00/5670b297.pdfLicence: Unspecified

Handle.net

Persistent link

Cite this

Constantiou, Ioanna ; Eaton, Ben ; Tuunainen, Virpi Kristiina. / The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business. Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016). editor / Ralph H. Sprague ; Tung X. Bui. Loa Alamitos, CA : IEEE, 2016. pp. 1297-1306 (Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences).

@inproceedings{d5da4066de8b4f87a67500cad52bb81b,

title = "The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business",

abstract = "A number of sharing economy start-ups have taken both digital and physical product markets by storm. These start-ups operate on two-sided platforms and enable sharing of physical products or services based on physical assets. Interestingly, they are subject to both the dynamics of the digital world (i.e., network effects), and the constraints of the physical world (i.e., issues of accountability when physical property is destroyed). We investigate how Airbnb, a sharing platform, evolve into a sustainable business with an in-depth case analysis based on data retrieved from a number of blogs providing information about Airbnb{\textquoteright}s actions. Our analysis with insights from platform economics andinformation infrastructures depicts two phases in the evolution process: creating the user base and augmenting the platform. With the two complementary theoretical perspectives we can offer a deeper understanding of the evolution of sharing platforms into sustainable and competitive businesses.",

author = "Ioanna Constantiou and Ben Eaton and Tuunainen, {Virpi Kristiina}",

year = "2016",

doi = "10.1109/HICSS.2016.164",

language = "English",

isbn = "9781479983896",

series = "Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences",

publisher = "IEEE",

pages = "1297--1306",

editor = "Sprague, {Ralph H.} and Bui, {Tung X.}",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016)",

address = "United States",

note = "49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016 ; Conference date: 05-01-2016 Through 08-01-2016",

url = "http://www.hicss.org/",

}

Constantiou, I , Eaton, B & Tuunainen, VK 2016, The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business. in RH Sprague & TX Bui (eds), Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016)., 7427343, IEEE, Loa Alamitos, CA, Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 1297-1306, 49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016, Kauai, Hawaii, United States, 05/01/2016. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2016.164

The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business. / Constantiou, Ioanna ; Eaton, Ben; Tuunainen, Virpi Kristiina.
Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016). ed. / Ralph H. Sprague; Tung X. Bui. Loa Alamitos, CA: IEEE, 2016. p. 1297-1306 7427343 (Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business

AU - Constantiou, Ioanna

AU - Eaton, Ben

AU - Tuunainen, Virpi Kristiina

N1 - Conference code: 49

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - A number of sharing economy start-ups have taken both digital and physical product markets by storm. These start-ups operate on two-sided platforms and enable sharing of physical products or services based on physical assets. Interestingly, they are subject to both the dynamics of the digital world (i.e., network effects), and the constraints of the physical world (i.e., issues of accountability when physical property is destroyed). We investigate how Airbnb, a sharing platform, evolve into a sustainable business with an in-depth case analysis based on data retrieved from a number of blogs providing information about Airbnb’s actions. Our analysis with insights from platform economics andinformation infrastructures depicts two phases in the evolution process: creating the user base and augmenting the platform. With the two complementary theoretical perspectives we can offer a deeper understanding of the evolution of sharing platforms into sustainable and competitive businesses.

AB - A number of sharing economy start-ups have taken both digital and physical product markets by storm. These start-ups operate on two-sided platforms and enable sharing of physical products or services based on physical assets. Interestingly, they are subject to both the dynamics of the digital world (i.e., network effects), and the constraints of the physical world (i.e., issues of accountability when physical property is destroyed). We investigate how Airbnb, a sharing platform, evolve into a sustainable business with an in-depth case analysis based on data retrieved from a number of blogs providing information about Airbnb’s actions. Our analysis with insights from platform economics andinformation infrastructures depicts two phases in the evolution process: creating the user base and augmenting the platform. With the two complementary theoretical perspectives we can offer a deeper understanding of the evolution of sharing platforms into sustainable and competitive businesses.

U2 - 10.1109/HICSS.2016.164

DO - 10.1109/HICSS.2016.164

M3 - Article in proceedings

SN - 9781479983896

T3 - Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

SP - 1297

EP - 1306

BT - Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016)

A2 - Sprague, Ralph H.

A2 - Bui, Tung X.

PB - IEEE

CY - Loa Alamitos, CA

T2 - 49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016

Y2 - 5 January 2016 through 8 January 2016

ER -

Constantiou I , Eaton B, Tuunainen VK. The Evolution of a Sharing Platform into a Sustainable Business. In Sprague RH, Bui TX, editors, Proceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016). Loa Alamitos, CA: IEEE. 2016. p. 1297-1306. 7427343. (Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences). doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2016.164