Commercial Orientation in Grassroots Social Innovation: Insights From the Sharing Economy

Martin, C. J., Upham, P., & Budd, L. (2015). “Commercial Orientation in Grassroots Social Innovation: Insights From the Sharing Economy.” Ecological Economics 118 (August): 240–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.08.001.

Abstract:

There is growing interest in the roles of the sharing economy and grassroots innovation in the transition to sustainable societies. Grassroots innovation research has tended to assume a sharp distinction between grassroots organisations and businesses within niches of socio-technical innovation. However, the non-profit sector literature identifies a tendency for non-profit organisations to actually become more commercially-oriented over time. Seeking to account for this tendency, we develop a conceptual model of the dynamics of grassroots organisations within socio-technical niches. Using a case study of Freegle, a grassroots organisation within the sharing economy niche, we apply the conceptual model to illustrate the causes, processes and outcomes of grassroots niche organisations becoming more commercially-oriented. We show that a grassroots organisation may be subject to coercive and indirect (isomorphic) pressures to become more commercially-oriented and highlight the ambiguities of this dynamic. Furthermore, we highlight that global niche actors may exert coercive pressures that limit the enactment and propagation of the practices and values of grassroots organisations. We conclude by highlighting the need for further research exploring the desirability and feasibility of protecting grassroots organisations from pressures to become more commercially-oriented.

Collaborative Consumption / Sharing Economy

(C2C recycling)

‘The groups themselves provide an online platform for people to freely and directly give unwanted (i.e., underutilised) items to others in their local area (rather than sending them to their local authority waste system).’

‘Advocates of this perspective argue that the sharing economy holds the potential to liberate society from the practices of hyper-consumption (Botsman and Rogers, 2011), and could create “a potential new pathway to sustainability” (Heinrichs, 2013: 228). Advocates justify such expectations arguing that sharing access to goods and services creates the opportunity for vastly more efficient utilisation of resources (from cars to accommodation), which in turn will reduce the scale of economic activity and hence yield environmental benefits.

Furthermore, advocates also claim that sharing access to resources builds social capital (as citizens interact in the process of ‘sharing’), and allows for more equitable distribution of goods and services (as access costs are lower than ownership costs).’ (p.240-241)