1.
Challenges to Participation
in the Sharing Economy
Airi Lampinen (@airi_)
Mobile Life Centre, Stockholm University
Open Commons Kongress
April 29, 2015

2.
Access > Ownership

3.
Unused Value = Waste

4.
The sharing economy
is an emerging phenomenon
that encompasses
the use of networked tools
to enable a range of
social and economic exchanges,
such as hospitality exchange,
ridesharing, and recycling of goods.

5.
“Sharing economy” and “collaborative consumption”
work great as summons for bringing people together
based on shared interest in the phenomenon.
The terms are not necessarily very helpful
analytically. Both can mean different things for different
people, even when it comes to specific platforms.
Drawing the boundaries of “what counts as the sharing
economy” is tricky and not necessarily very productive.

6.
Peer production &
‘sharing’ online
Antecedents

7.
Hospitality &
intercultural exchanges
• Hospitality as an exchange that incorporates both
material and symbolic transactions
(Brotheron, 1999)
• Hospitality as a fundamental form of social
interaction that establishes solidarity
(Selwyn, 2000)
Antecedents

8.
Monetary & Non-Monetary
Peer-to-Peer Exchange

9.
Starting points
• “ONLINE” & “OFFLINE” INTEGRATED:
Platform-enabled peer-to-peer exchange
typically entails face-to-face interaction and
often concerns physical assets
• ON THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL:
Social and financial motivations are often
intertwined; need not be contradictory

10.
• INTERPERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
to participation in the sharing economy
• FOCUS ON SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
that take place in the context of peer-to-peer
exchange services
• BASED ON A SERIES OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES
of non-monetary and monetary forms of peer-to-
peer exchange
This talk

11.
1. Fears of indebtedness & free-riding
2. When motivation isn’t enough
3. Reluctant peripheral participants
4. Discrimination
Four challenges
to participation

12.
1
Indebtedness may be
a bigger concern than
free-riding

13.
Local online exchange
Knocking on the door of an exchange partner:
Can I trust a stranger? How will the interaction go?
Lampinen, A., Lehtinen, V., Cheshire, C., & Suhonen, E. (2013) Indebtedness and reciprocity in local online
exchange. CSCW’13 Proceedings of the ACM 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work.
Suhonen, E., Lampinen, A., Cheshire, C. & Antin, J. (2010) Everyday Favors: A Case Study of a Local Online Gift
Exchange System. Proceedings of the ACM 2010 international conference on Supporting group work.

14.
Social'exchange'is'vital'to'social'
interac1on,'community,'and'solidarity'
'
The$norm$of$reciprocity$
$ $ reciprocity$can$increase$solidarity$
between$exchange$partners$through$
either$symbolic$or$communica8ve$
value$over$and$above$the$instrumental$
value$of$the$benefits$provided $$
$(Molm$et$al.$$2007)$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Sense$of$Indebtedness$
$ a$state$of$tension$having$mo5va5onal$
proper5es$such$that$the$greater$its$
magnitude,$the$greater$will$be$the$
efforts$to$reduce$it $$
$(Greenberg$and$Shapiro,$1971)$
$
$
$
$
$
$

15.
Eagerness(To(Contribute(
• Consistent)expression)of)reward)from)
contribu5ng)something)of)value)to)others)in)
the)community)
• Receiving)an)item)or)favor)from)others)o<en)
led)to)desire)to)give)something)away)
Aversion(to(Indebtedness(and(
Percep7ons(of(Fairness(
• Common)descrip5ons)of)uncomfortable,)
awkward,)unpleasant)feelings)of)
indebtedness)when)receiving)something)
without)giving)anything)in)return)
• It)was)generally)considered)be@er)to)give%too%
much)than)to)feel)indebted)to)others)
)So…how)do)
users)respond)to)
feelings)of)
indebtedness?)
Primary(Themes(From(User(Descrip7ons(
of(Exchange(Experiences(
(

16.
! I!gave!him!a!li+le!cash!for!coffee!so!that!also!
made!me!feel!good!that!I!at!least!somehow!paid!
the!favor!back!to!him.!So!then;!I!did!not!feel!at!
all!that!I!would!have!been!a!burden. !
Lessening'the'Discomforts'of'Indebtedness:'
Offering(small(tokens(of(apprecia3on
'(
(

17.
Lessening'the'Discomforts'of'Indebtedness:'
Understanding+&+accep/ng+the+indirect+
nature+of+generalized+exchange+
+
It#feels#like# okay,#I#can#borrow#this .##
And#then#if#someone#needs,#for#instance,##
a#hammer#from#me,#I ll#lend#it.##
That#way#we ll#be#okay#with#the#
community. #

18.
Maybe&it&could&have&been&even&smoother&if&
&in&the&offer&there&would&have&been&a&men7on&
of&sharing&the&costs&of&gas &
Lessening'the'Discomforts'of'Indebtedness:'
Managing&expecta,ons&
Framing&offers&and&requests&carefully&
&

19.
“Yeah,'there'was'then'a'li/le'bit'of'a'hassle,'I'had'a'lot'
of'work'and'he'was'always'busy'in'the'evenings.''
But'then,'I'took'the'a<tude'that'he'has'to'come'and'
pick'it'up'from'me'from'here'if'he'wants'to'borrow'it”''
Lessening'the'Discomforts'of'Indebtedness:'
Minimizing'efforts'needed''
in'exchange'processes'
'
'

20.
Lessening!the!Discomforts!of!Indebtedness:!
Bartering)and)Exchanging))
for)a)Third)Party)
)
! I!just!said!that!I!can!keep!an!eye!out!
for!skates!of!his!size!and!then!there!
happened!to!be!a!pair![on!offer]. !

21.
2
Motivation alone
isn’t always enough

22.
Local Online Exchange
for Single Parents
Lampinen, A., Huotari, K., Cheshire, C. (2014).
Access to Participation in the Sharing Economy:
The Case of Local Online Exchange in a Single Parents’ Network.
Extended abstract presented at Internet Research 15, Daegu, South Korea.

23.
• Participants wanted to connect with
others in similar situations and
shared experiences
• At the same time, they needed
resources that others in similar
circumstances were likely to lack
• Hard to cater to both of these needs
at once
Challenge I

24.
“Part of the problem with being a
single parent is it’s kind of a vicious
circle. Because you’re a single parent,
you tend to not have enough time.
Because you don’t have enough time,
it’s harder to get the resources that
you would need to make being a
single parent easier.”
–Mother of two adopted children

25.
“It’s just now that they’re a little bit
older that I’m starting to be able to do
some things. When the kids are
younger, you just can’t go anywhere.
Well, you get to go places where you
can take your kids, basically. It’s that
or you stay home. ”
–Mother of two adopted children

26.
“Most of the time, I do spend my life as
a single parent. The challenges are
definitely time management, trying to
figure out my life around my kid, being
able to get my finances in order. ”
“Then, being a single parent, it’s not
so easy to travel, so in the same area
is definitely important also.”
–Mother of of a six-month-old son

27.
• To flourish, local online exchange
necessitates (some kind of) critical
mass of participation
• Yet, participants expressed a strong
need for trust & privacy: a need for
being in control over who gets to
hear their concerns
• Again, hard to achieve both at once
ChallengeII

28.
“I’m a single parent in that my son’s
father and I aren’t together, but I’m
actually getting remarried. I have a
partner in the house, and my son’s
father and I co-parent. I feel like
there’s a place in there where, sort of
having—like really wanting to
understand and make sure that I’m in
the right grouping.”
–Mother of a five-year-old son

29.
“With single parents, it’s hard because
even though there might be a big group
of people who are single parents, we all
have different experiences and we’re all
in different places with that and different
levels of acceptance or happiness with it.
Some people, it’s their own choice to be
single. Some people, it’s not.”
–Father of a seven-year-old son and
a four-year-old daughter

30.
• The perceived risks of participation are very
contextual
• Identifying and articulating the ties that could
bind people together as a community is hard –
subtle yet significant differences to address
• For whom is it easy to take part in different types
of ‘sharing economy’ activities?
• While direct monetary investment may not be
required, other issues, such as the necessity to
plan ahead and commit time, may block access
to participation and its benefits
Conclusion

31.
Alternative approach:
Pop-up initiatives
One way to address this challenge
is to create light-weight forms of participation
that do not necessitate long-term commitments
and the creation of close relationships.

32.
3
Social Context and
Peripheral Participants

33.
The sharing economy reconfigures
social life in urban settings.
It affects not only those who choose
to participate but also those who are
excluded, those who do not wish to
participate, and/or those who get
pulled into exchange processes
without their own initiative.

34.
Network hospitality
Opening one’s home to a stranger requires trust,
so does staying with a previously unfamiliar person.
Lampinen, A. (2014) Account Sharing in the Context of Networked Hospitality Exchange.
CSCW’14 Proceedings of the ACM 2014 conference on Computer supported cooperative work.
Ikkala, T., & Lampinen, A. (2015) Monetizing Network Hospitality: Hospitality and Sociability in the Context
of Airbnb. CSCW’15 Proceedings of the ACM 2015 conference on Computer supported cooperative work.

35.
Social context and
peripheral participants
• The host-guest relationship does not take place in
a vacuum.
• Peripheral participant that can get pulled into the
hospitality exchange, such as family members,
housemates, neighbors, a possible landlord…

36.
v
Challenges)Related)to)Account)Sharing))
in)the)Context)of)Network)Hospitality)
1. Presen(ng*mul(ple*people*in*a*single*
profile*
2. Coordina(ng*nego(a(ons*over*access*to*
domes(c*space*
3. Represen(ng*in*a*fair*way*the*reputa(on*
hosts*have*accumulated*together*over*
(me*

37.
v
“Right&now,&it’s&just&male,&
female,&or&mul5ple&people.&
And&then&you&can&put&mul5ple&
pictures&or&you&can&describe,&
but&there’s&no&way&to&actually&
say&we&are&this&person,&this&
person&and&this&person.&And&
not&all&of&us&have&a&way&to&log&
in&and&see&the&site&unless&we&
just&share&my&login.”&"
Challenge"I:"
Presen&ng(Mul&ple(People(in(One(Profile((
"(
(

38.
v
Challenge(II:((
Nego%a%ng(over((
Access(to(Domes%c(Spaces((
(
”Yeah%usually%the%way%we%do%it%is%
he%checks%the%account,%but%he%
sends%me%the%details%and%then%
we%discuss%whether%those%days%
work%and%then%I%respond%to%him%
and%he%writes%back%and%then%he%
starts%cc'ing%me%on%any%email%
exchanges%he%has.”((
%

39.
“Yeah,&I&would&guess&that&we'd&
probably&write&it,&because&I&bet,&like,&
if&we&had&a&really&fun&:me,&then&we&
would&probably&want&to,&like,&sit&
together,&and&say,&oh,&this&was&fun,&
that&was&fun,&and&write&about&it.&
And&if&we&were&like,&a&li>le&peeved,&
then&I&think&we&would&want&to,&like,&
talk&together&about&how&to&be&polite&
but&also&be&honest”.&"
&
Challenge"III:"""
Sharing(the(Benefits(of((
a(Trustworthy(Reputa6on("
(
(

40.
• Key$challenges$of#account#sharing#in#the#context#of#
networked#hospitality#exchange#include##
1. presen8ng#mul8ple#people#with#a#single#profile#
2. coordina8ng#and#nego8a8ng#responding#to#CouchRequests#
3. sharing#the#benefits#of#a#good#reputa8on#in#a#fair#way##
#
• Similar$issues$may#occur#in#other#instances#of#network#
hospitality#as#well#as#in#systems#that#facilitate#online#
exchange#or#ridesharing#
#
• Amidst#the$rising$rhetoric$of$a$‘reputa6on$economy’,#
what#are#the#inclusions,#exclusions,#and#inequali8es#that#
reputa8on#metrics#may#renew#or#create,#especially#if#they#
fail#to#acknowledge#people’s#account#sharing#prac8ces?#
Conclusion$
$

41.
4
Homophily and
Discrimination

42.
Sociability & Money
in Network Hospitality
• Social and financial motivations are intertwined;
need not be contradictory
• Pleasant and meaningful social encounters are an
important motivation for participation in hospitality
exchange (Germann Molz, 2014)

43.
Social motivations:
Meeting new people
“For me, it’s not that easy to meet people here in Helsinki.
Of course, I could go to a bar or something, but it’s not
that easy for people of my age to meet people like that.
But sometimes I have really nice conversations
and moments with my guests, people who are total
strangers to me.” (Alfonso, 53)

44.
Social motivations:
Adding excitement to
everyday life
“[...] if we would not do this, it could be even a bit dull
sometimes, you know, since our everyday life pretty much
consists of just working and taking kids to their hobbies
and so on. It can be quite hectic.” (Sami, 31)

45.
Remote hosts valued the
social nature of hosting, too
“One of the most gratifying things has been the personal
hand-written messages I have received from my guests.
Airbnb automatically reminds people to write the reviews,
but no one asks the guest to leave you a personal note.
[…] They give you a warm feeling.” (Pertti, 33)

46.
Selecting guests:
Homophily
“I try to give a good picture of who I am in the profile
because then the guest who is interested in staying
at my place will likely be a kind of person whom I am
interested in hosting. For example, I state here that I
am not into drinking or smoking and that I really like
to talk to people. And mostly the guests who end up
at my place are quite similar to me.” (Sophia, 22)

47.
Selecting guests:
Discrimination
“Well, if I think about who we have declined most,
they’re probably Russian people.
We’ve hosted Russian guests, but still I notice
that I think twice before I accept.
It’s a big and diverse country,
and I know I shouldn’t think this way, but still...” (Ida, 35)

48.
Price determination involves
social considerations
“I could sure get more guests if I would lower the
price. [...] But I've wanted to keep the price a bit high
’cause I want to— How should I put it? Well, sort of
reach a slightly higher standard. [...] And maybe the
higher price keeps the worst troublemakers and
exploiters away.” (Pia, 25)
“[T]he good thing in keeping the price a bit low […]
is that you get to choose [the guests] […].
For the host, it is easier that way.” (Pertti, 33)

49.
Homophily and Discrimination
in Network Hospitality
• Desire to experience “strangeness”, yet selectivity
regarding which “strangers” to engage with
• Homophily (the tendency of individuals to
associate and bond with similar others) as a
potential source of discrimination
• Can monetary transactions and lessened
obligations for intense socializing create room for
increased openness to diversity in comparison to
non-monetary forms of hospitality?

50.
Let’s complicate
the dominant narrative of
“the sharing economy”

51.
1. Fear of indebtedness can hinder participation
2. Motivation alone isn’t (always) enough:
Structural and logistical barriers
3. Participation doesn’t happen in a vacuum:
Social context & peripheral participants
4. Discrimination can stem from the tendency to
socialize with those similar to ‘us’
Four challenges
to participation

52.
Thank you!
Questions?
Airi Lampinen (@airi_)
Mobile Life Centre
Stockholm University
http://airilampinen.fi/publications

53.
Photo credits
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson/109052424
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/katewares/9505200323/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/alisonchrisAne/11288183315/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/49024304@N00/4521267075/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualfarmboy/80878746
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/demiller/142176230/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/5601019859/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisgold/8446028761/sizes/l/in/
photostream/

54.
This presentation leverages materials
from the following conference talks:
• Ikkala, T., & Lampinen, A. (2015) Monetizing Network Hospitality: Hospitality and
Sociability in the Context of Airbnb. CSCW’15 Proceedings of the ACM 2015
conference on Computer supported cooperative work.
• Lampinen, A., Lehtinen, V., Cheshire, C., & Suhonen, E. (2013) Indebtedness and
reciprocity in local online exchange. CSCW’13 Proceedings of the ACM 2013
conference on Computer supported cooperative work.
• Lampinen, A. (2014) Account Sharing in the Context of Networked Hospitality
Exchange. CSCW’14 Proceedings of the ACM 2014 conference on Computer
supported cooperative work.
• Lampinen, A., Huotari, K., Cheshire, C. (2014). Access to Participation in the Sharing
Economy: The Case of Local Online Exchange in a Single Parents’ Network.
Extended abstract presented at Internet Research 15, Daegu, South Korea.
• Suhonen, E., Lampinen, A., Cheshire, C. & Antin, J. (2010) Everyday Favors: A Case
Study of a Local Online Gift Exchange System. Proceedings of the ACM 2010
international conference on Supporting group work.