Communications of the ACM

Home/Opinion/Articles/How Traditional Firms Must Compete in the Sharing.../Abstract

Technology strategy and management

How Traditional Firms Must Compete in the Sharing Economy

By Michael A. Cusumano
Communications of the ACM, January 2015, Vol. 58 No. 1, Pages 32-34
10.1145/2688487
Comments

View as: Print Mobile App ACM Digital Library In the Digital Edition Share:

How Traditional Firms Must Compete in the Sharing Economy, illustration — Credit: Andrij Borys Associates / Shutterstock

Traditional companies now have another set of competitors to worry about—Internet startups in the "sharing economy." These new companies are actually Web platforms that bring together individuals who have underutilized assets with people who would like to rent those assets short-term. The assets targeted by these startups range from spare time for everyday tasks (TaskRabbit, Fiverr) and spare time and automobiles to drive people around (Uber, Lyft) to extra rooms (Airbnb, Flipkey, Roomba) and occasionally used tools and other household items (Streetbank, Snap-Goods/Simplist).^9,12

Sharing-economy startups are in many ways a logical outgrowth of social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterist, and Trip Advisor, which bring together people with common interests to share ideas, information, or personal observations. They threaten established companies to the extent that peer-to-peer networks can grow exponentially through the power of platform dynamics and network effects (see my previous Communications columns "The Evolution of Platform Thinking," January 2010, and "Platform Wars Come to Social Media," April 2011).

No entries found

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.