The Rise of the Sharing Economy

Access is the New Ownership

Kevin Govender

• Publisher: Tracey McDonald Publishers
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781776260980
• eBook ISBN: 9781776260997
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Agribusiness
• Index: Business

Is access the alternative to ownership?

In 2011, the sharing economy was dubbed by Time magazine as one of the 'Ten ideas that will change the world' and it has been widely hailed as a major growth sector, by sources ranging from Fortune magazine, to the World Economic Forum, to former President Obama.

The sharing economy is a new economic model that focuses on access to assets or resources, instead of ownership. It has exploded in popularity over recent years and has disrupted a significant number of mature industries such as accommodation, automotive, and entertainment. The total value of the global sharing economy is estimated to grow from $14 billion in 2014 to $335 billion by 2025.

With limited resources, the desire to become more environmentally conscious, the high cost and burdens of ownership, and a rapidly growing population, living increasingly in densely populated cities, consumers are faced with greater challenges and opportunities to fill their consumption needs.

People are experiencing a significant value shift with a desire to reconnect with products and services in a more meaningful way, are becoming more cost and environmentally conscious, and are prioritising experience over ownership. An organisation's ability to reimagine and reinvent its business model to offer unique opportunities for humanising technology and developing innovative sharing platforms, such as Uber and Airbnb, would be a game changer for them.

While the Fourth Industrial Revolution and COVID-19 pandemic are influencing and changing consumer behaviour, organisations are facing a dilemma that is affecting the future of their profitability, existence, and sustainability.

In The Rise of the Sharing Economy, Kevin Govender shares his insights and expertise on the evolution of the sharing economy, consumer behaviour, and alternative business models, and empowers consumers to rediscover and realise the enormous benefits of access over ownership, and the potential savings in time, money, space and the opportunity. Access is a cultural and socio-economic phenomenon that is transforming businesses, consumers, the way we live, work, learn, consume, commute and play.

Access is the new ownership.

Access is the New Ownership

KEVIN GOVENDER

First published by Tracey McDonald Publishers, 2021

Suite No. 53, Private Bag X903, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021

www.traceymcdonaldpublishers.com

Copyright © Kevin Govender, 2021

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-77626-098-0

e-ISBN 978-1-77626-099-7

Text design and typesetting by Patricia Crain, Empressa

Cover design by Tomangopawpadilla

Graphics by Racheal Kazembe

Back cover photograph by Karolina Koeberg

Digital conversion by Wouter Reinders

CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

IMPRINT PAGE

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS THE SHARING ECONOMY?

CHAPTER 2 HOW THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IS SHAPING THE SHARING ECONOMY

CHAPTER 3 SHIFT IN CONSUMER ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR

CHAPTER 4 THE BURDENS OF OWNERSHIP

CHAPTER 5 THE RISE OF THE SHARING ECONOMY IN SOUTH AFRICA

CHAPTER 6 KEY CONSUMER DRIVERS

CHAPTER 7 REGULATION AND LEGISLATION

CHAPTER 8 ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS CREATION

CHAPTER 9 DISRUPTORS DISRUPTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

CHAPTER 10 CHANGING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS

CHAPTER 11 THE SHARING ECONOMY PRODUCT CATEGORIES

CHAPTER 12 CAR SHARING

CHAPTER 13 ACCOMMODATION SHARING

CHAPTER 14 BOOK SHARING

CHAPTER 15 MUSIC SHARING

CHAPTER 16 MEDIA SHARING (MOVIES AND TV SERIES)

CHAPTER 17 BIKE SHARING

CHAPTER 18 THE EVOLUTION OF THE SHARING ECONOMY

CHAPTER 19 THE FUTURE OF THE SHARING ECONOMY

CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF ACRONYMS

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

STAY IN TOUCH WITH KEVIN GOVENDER

FOREWORD

This is a timely and very important book on the sharing economy and how business models of traditional businesses have been disrupted by this new form of value creation.

It is timely because of the need for many countries on the African continent to find new business models that create value for all, and provide entrepreneurship options for Africa’s burgeoning youthful population amid rising unemployment in many countries – South Africa being a case in point. Furthermore, this book is timely as restrictions imposed by many governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have also had an impact on the business models underlying the sharing economy.

When I started talking to Kevin early in 2021 about research that had formed the core of his Masters of Management research at Wits Business School, I was intrigued by the subject and inspired by the passion with which he narrated the subject of his research – The Shift from Ownership to Access in South Africa: The Shared Economy. At the time, I had released my first book Nuts & Bolts, which focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems for Africa’s development. His research made so much sense in respect of the importance of entrepreneurship in building more inclusive economies. We discussed the process of getting his work published as a book and I was happy when he informed me he had decided to work on getting it published. Kevin is a seasoned business executive with diverse public and private sector experience. This book combines his experience, incredible intellect, consulting background and research outcomes into an important resource for entrepreneurs, businesses and any person interested in innovation, and I am honoured to write the foreword to what I believe is one of the most important works to be published in recent times.

Africa is a very youthful continent, with over 60% of its population being under the age of 25 years. Africa is on the cusp of a growing working population and middle class. Digitalisation offers numerous opportunities for Africa’s youth and working population to provide their skills to the rest of the world, in an era where physical presence is not a prerequisite for one to be gainfully employed. A lot of the recent increase in entrepreneurial activity in Africa has been driven by the opportunities presented by digitalisation – E-commerce, Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, to name a few. The growth of entrepreneurial activity has also highlighted the glaring challenges that Africa faces, such as lack of funding to develop many of the ideas, as well as poor infrastructure to get the goods and services to consumers. Africa’s youth have become part of the solution to many challenges that the continent faces.

This book shines a spotlight on the changing environment for many businesses, as well as consumer preferences and choices. The changing environment and consumer preferences have impacted many business models and how value, or goods, or services, are delivered to consumers. The concept of the sharing economy is discussed as alternative means and options of delivering value that was previously not available. The sharing economy, through its characteristic sets of practices and economic models that are enabled by technology and digitalisation, enables individuals and organisations to share access to products, services and experiences. It is becoming a viable option for access to assets owned by third parties, where these assets are mostly underutilised. It is the new form of ownership. In fact, it challenges the whole concept of ownership. Why does one own an asset? Is it being used for most of its useful life, or do we need it only sometimes, and perhaps not that frequently? Could it be used differently to the way it is currently being used? What is the cost of ownership of the asset, including maintenance of the asset? Is it important to own the asset or access it as and when it is required? These are very important questions that are expertly dealt with.

I recall reading a story of how IBM turned a huge liability that it had of maintaining ownership of patents, most of which it rarely had use for, into additional revenue streams through licensing and joint ventures. Then there was the concept of timeshare, which allowed people to access blocks of time at a holid...

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• 9781776260997