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Own or use: Some devices are of course shared with the neighbors. But the expert found that others are afraid of contact.
Sharing the use of things? In certain areas, this has a tradition in Switzerland. On the other hand, only 3 percent of the population use the existing offers regularly. This is the result of a study conducted by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on the sharing economy.
Link to the HSLU study
Sharing Economy is a collective term for companies, business models, platforms and online and offline communities that enable shared use of resources. In short: It’s about sharing things (e.g. cars) instead of owning them.
Legend:
Dominik Georgi is a professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. He led a study on the sharing economy.
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The project leader of the study is Dominik Georgi. 5,000 people were interviewed for the study. “75 percent of them know the sharing economy offers.” But: “Only around 25 percent have already used a corresponding offer,” he says. According to the results of the study, the offers are used regularly by only three percent.
sustainability
Borrowing instead of owning is considered sustainable because resources are saved. But this social benefit alone rarely leads to people behaving accordingly. «For many of us it is the case that we also need a personal benefit. I just don’t act accordingly for more sustainability,” says Georgi.
Legend:
When sharing cars, there are often reservations.
key stone
Sharing works well at flea markets and on second-hand online platforms – which in this case is passing on. If something is passed on, the previous owner is not interested in whether it still works afterwards or in what condition it is. This is completely different when sharing cars, for example: “Our survey showed that there is a risk that the car is damaged or that it has crumbs from the previous owner in it.” That’s why many people have reservations about taking part in such partial campaigns, explains Georgi.
Sharing as a trend in cities?
There are more sharing economy offers in the cities than in the countryside. But they are used with the same intensity, says Georgi. The study found that the inclination towards the sharing economy is even higher in rural areas. “In the country you know your neighbors better. So you’re more used to exchanging something.”
The marketing professor speaks of the fear of contact that generally prevented people from sharing the use of something. “In order to promote the sharing economy, it would have to become something completely normal.” Both the platforms themselves and the communities could contribute to this.
In some areas, parts in Switzerland are already quite normal, says Georgi. Here in particular there is a long tradition of the idea of partition. “Cooperatives have existed for 150 years. And for residents of apartment buildings, it is completely normal to share the washing machine. In addition, there is probably the longest-established car-sharing platform in Switzerland.”