Sharing economy or just utilization of new business models? - Norway

The year 2019 was when the sharing economy and its collaborative consumption was starting to make a bigger impact on Norwegian society and way of life. With international hospitality and mobility services leading the way, also several digital platforms developed domestically saw noticeable growth in its users and revenue. New legislation was put in place to support an orderly transition to an economy that makes better use of idle resources. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a major temporary setback to this development. The sharing economy offers a quick and cheap way of matching supply with demand for goods and services. The main innovation in the business model of the sharing economy lies in the technological platforms such as smartphone apps which bring demand and supply together. There are two main types of sharing platforms: peer-to-peer (P2P) and business-to-consumer (B2C). In P2P demand and supply are matched via a digital platform developed and operated by a third entity who usually charges a fee of a fixed percentage of each transactions’ payment. Typical examples are platforms such as Airbnb and Uber, two major players in the sharing economy. Due to the growing popularity of the P2P business models, more traditional commercial firms are also adapting their economic model to incorporate this concept of “sharing” into their companys portyfolio. This type of business (B2C) implies direct contact between the commercial provider and their customers via sharing platform apps or by adapiting the providers own app or platform. The aim of the paper is to define and delineate sharing economy within the P2P and B2C plattforms. We find that although the underlying business model of the sharing economy keeps growing, the consumption within the P2P segment in Norway is still limited, while there is an increase in the B2C segment. Further, based on data from the Norwegian Tax Authority, the paper will demonstrate the limitations and the challenges of estimating a proper price index for accommodation within the sharing economy.