sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

The Collaborative Economy in the Age of Digital Disruption

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 9966

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
DEKIS Research Group, Catholic University of Ávila, Ávila, Spain
Interests: digital economy; digital business models; technological entrepreneurship; digital business strategy; marketing digital; digitalization and rural development; central bank digital currencies; social economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Digital Economy & Knowledge and Information Society (DEKIS) Research Group, Catholic University of Ávila, 05005 Ávila, Spain
Interests: fiscal policy and taxation; CBDC; taxation; digital economy; collaborative economy, tax; redistribution; central bank digital currency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Digital Economy& Knowledge and Information Society (DEKIS) Research Group, Catholic University of Ávila, 05005 Ávila, Spain
Interests: corporate social responsibility; collaborative economy; common good; digital economy; earning management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, new technologies have been driving the strengthening of a digital ecosystem. In this context, new disruptive economic models are appearing that question the traditional balances and forms of economic and social organization. The consolidation of a cultural change, especially among the new generations, puts pressure on the transformation of traditional consumption patterns. Increased awareness of environmental sustainability is driving a transition toward more sustainable economic models in which access to assets is prioritized over their ownership.

The recent rapid growth of the collaborative economy in the global economy is evidence of its capacity to generate new employment and wealth opportunities. This new disruptive economic model contributes to boosting entrepreneurship, competitiveness, and innovation. On the other hand, the efficiency and sustainability gains derived from the use of underutilized assets and the greater supply and access to goods and services at a lower price reflect the potential for the development of these business models based on digital platforms.

This Special Issue aims to bring together recent developments in the field of the collaborative economy and the platform economy. These challenges relate to emerging business models that use digital platforms to connect different users and operate in different sectors and include among others:

 - Collaborative transportation: app-based short-distance ride-sharing services, long-distance ride-sharing services, carpooling, car-sharing networks, or parking sharing platforms;

- Collaborative accommodation: home-sharing; peer-to-peer rental platforms; home-swapping platforms or online-only vacation rental platforms;

- Collaborative finance: crowdfunding platforms (rewards-based crowdfunding or equity crowdfunding); lending platforms (peer-to-peer consumer lending or investor to SME lending);

- Collaborative e-learning: shared learning platform, open online courses, P2P education, etc.;

- On-demand household services: crowdsourced delivery networks (generalized “A-to-B” delivery networks or specialized, on-demand delivery services such as grocery delivery services or local restaurant delivery services); on-demand household chores (handyman and general DIY services or Specialized household services);

- On-demand professional services: large online-only freelancer marketplaces or specialized on-demand professional service platforms.

Prof. Dr. Javier Jorge-Vázquez
Prof. Dr. Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso
Prof. Dr. Mª Peana Chivite-Cebolla
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Collaborative economy
  • Sharing economy
  • Digitalization
  • New technologies
  • Digital platforms
  • Collaborative platforms
  • Peer economy
  • Platform economy, Collaborative consumption
  • Gig economy
  • on-demand economy
  • Access economy
  • Commoning economy
  • Carsharing
  • Crowdfunding
  • Homesharing
  • Shared learning platforms

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 2410 KiB  
Article
Supply Chain Scheduling Optimization in an Agricultural Socialized Service Platform Based on the Coordination Degree
by Lingjingyuan Xu and Jianming Yao
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16290; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316290 - 6 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1805
Abstract
In order to create a sustainable agricultural production system and meet the multi-stage and differentiated production needs of farmers, this study proposes to build an agricultural service platform to dispatch agricultural service providers. Reasonably handling the collaborative relationship between farmers and service providers [...] Read more.
In order to create a sustainable agricultural production system and meet the multi-stage and differentiated production needs of farmers, this study proposes to build an agricultural service platform to dispatch agricultural service providers. Reasonably handling the collaborative relationship between farmers and service providers is a key issue in platform scheduling. Based on the analysis of the operation characteristics of the agricultural service platform, this study redefines the core issue of handling the collaborative relationship—the coordination degree—from the special characteristics of agricultural services, then analyzes it in depth and proposes a portrayal method. On this basis, a multi-stage and multi-objective scheduling optimization model, which integrally reflects the service utility and service combination operation efficiency, is constructed, and an improved genetic algorithm is proposed for solving it. Then, this study designs a numerical experiment which describes the multi-stage decision making of farmers, and the simulation results show that the optimization model can provide a balanced multi-objective supplier scheduling solution for them. Further, the validity and feasibility of the model and algorithm are verified through comparative tests of optimization effects and sensitive analysis. This study contributes to research on sustainable agriculture by modeling collaboration between smallholder farmers and agricultural service providers, and provides an effective decision-making tool for agricultural service platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Collaborative Economy in the Age of Digital Disruption)
Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1498 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Online/Offline Social Network-Based Model for Crowdfunding Support in Developing Countries: The Case of Nigeria
by Kanayo Ogwu, Patrick Hickey, Okeoma John-Paul Okeke, Adnan ul Haque, Elias Pimenidis and Eugene Kozlovski
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9333; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159333 - 29 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2304
Abstract
This paper is one of the first attempts to address the fundamental barriers to the adoption of online crowdfunding mechanisms in a developing country by offering a new online/offline fundraising model. The focus is on Nigeria as a typical example of an environment [...] Read more.
This paper is one of the first attempts to address the fundamental barriers to the adoption of online crowdfunding mechanisms in a developing country by offering a new online/offline fundraising model. The focus is on Nigeria as a typical example of an environment that, unlike that in the developed world, is not fully conducive to social networking as a crowdfunding platform due to both economic and technological issues. Using a mixed research method, the study first compares the state of the art in crowdfunding in a developed and developing economy by interviewing two groups of 20 entrepreneurs from the UK and Nigeria, respectively. The differences between those in terms of crowdfunding facilitation are identified, and propositions for the Nigerian market are formulated. These are then tested statistically by surveying 160 randomly selected Nigerian fundraisers. Based on the outcomes of the thematic analysis and statistical modelling, a unique integrated online/offline crowdfunding model is proposed. It is particularly aimed at supporting entrepreneurial activities and related policymaking that can have a key impact on further social and economic development of these countries. The proposed model can be considered as an alternative novel fundraising instrument in regions where socioeconomic and technological challenges inhibit the adoption of traditional crowdfunding approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Collaborative Economy in the Age of Digital Disruption)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 365 KiB  
Article
Crowdfunding for Independent Print Media: E-Commerce, Marketing, and Business Development
by Peter Konhäusner, Marius Thielmann, Veronica Câmpian and Dan-Cristian Dabija
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 11100; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131911100 - 8 Oct 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4165
Abstract
Crowdfunding, as an alternative method to fundraising, triggers increased awareness in society, while it is also an effective marketing tool for campaign runners. The production and release of independent print media poses significant hurdles in terms of financing. Including the community in raising [...] Read more.
Crowdfunding, as an alternative method to fundraising, triggers increased awareness in society, while it is also an effective marketing tool for campaign runners. The production and release of independent print media poses significant hurdles in terms of financing. Including the community in raising funds through crowdfunding seems like a good possible alternative. This paper examines which types of crowdfunding the independent print media use, and why, and also focuses on the possible types of crowdfunding that are the best fit for organizations. The study applies a case example approach on a total of thirty independent print publications that have relied on crowdfunding. We found that independent print media focus on reward-based crowdfunding for the launch of publications, the method being not used solely for fundraising, but also specifically for community building. Practitioners benefit from the insights by being enabled to draft campaigns that are better-suited to the specific needs of the independent media target group, and to secure financing for the start of the operations. The approach of this study is of special value, as the research and empirical insights into the independent media sector are limited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Collaborative Economy in the Age of Digital Disruption)
Back to TopTop