[Air-L] The Sharing Economy in Europe: Developments, practices, and contradictions

[Cristina Miguel]

Dear all,


I’m happy to share our new open-access book titled The Sharing Economy in Europe: Developments, practices, and contradictions, available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-86897-0



The edited collection The Sharing Economy in Europe: Developments, Practices, and Contradictions was initiated by the participants of the COST Action CA16121 ‘From Sharing to Caring: Examining Socio- Technical Aspects of the Collaborative Economy’ supported by the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Association. The COST Action started in 2017 and provided for participants comprehensive knowledge and experiences on the sharing (collaborative) economy, as well as networking with scholars, professionals, and practitioners working in the area. Approaching the end of the COST Action, the group of editors generated conception of this volume and invited scholars to contribute with the original papers.



The book is organised in several parts that consist of eighteen chapters in which authors explore sharing economy, its features, developments, and prospects from the perspective of economy, legislation, Information technologies, communication, and sociology. The studies provide answers to the questions: How is the sharing economy understood nowadays? What roles does the sharing economy play in sharing and redistribution of goods and services across the population in order to maximise their functionality, monetary exchange, and other aspects important to societies? How the contexts of public policies, legislation, digital plat- forms, and other infrastructure interrelate with the development and function of the sharing economy? What are the contradictions of the development and recent trends in the sharing economy? What experi-ences and achievements in the sharing economy creation and practising are characteristic to European countries?



The editors of the book express special acknowledgements to the COST Action CA16121 ‘Sharing & Caring’ that created a background for collaboration of the editors and contributors and funded the publication of this book in open access. Also, special thanks to Prof. Russell Belk who wrote the Foreword.


Best wishes,

Dr. Cristina Miguel
Senior Lecturer
Department of Applied IT
University of Gotheburg