Mia Larson, professor of business administration at Karlstad Business School, and Cecilia Cassinger, senior lecturer at Lund University, recently published the article “Platform Stories: The Role of Ideological Narratives in the Development of a Tourism Sharing Business Model”.
Mia Larson, tell us what your article is about
– It is about how an entrepreneur in adventure tourism creates a new digital sharing platform. In our article, we show the importance of attractive narratives in creating legitimacy, engagement and interest for the platform among its users, investors and those operating it. In this case, the narratives revolve around sharing resources, sustainability, an identity linked to adventure sports, as well as profit-making.
– Over time, the focus of the narratives changed. Initially, the focus was on the advantages of the sharing economy, which then shifted to environmental and social sustainability, a shared identity within the adventure sports community and financial sustainability. This reflects the contested logic that characterises the sharing economy, as it embodies both a social logic and a business logic – a type of fusion between the desire to make the world a better place and a strong belief in the principles behind a free market.
How did you conduct your research study?
– We followed the entrepreneur for two years, so this was a longitudinal study that resulted in a large amount of qualitative data. We interviewed the entrepreneur and his team on a regular basis during these two years – we observed them in their work, both in real life and through their communication channels, and monitored how the platform changed over time.
– Cecilia and I demonstrate the importance of managing different ideological narratives around these logics to succeed with a sharing platform. It is about conveying a balanced story about passion and profit where the platform enables social and environmental sustainability, while also generating financial opportunities and work.
Explain “sharing-based business”
– A sharing-based business is a business model where a platform company builds its operations on enabling private individuals to share resources with each other. It is about maximising the use of resources by sharing, renting, exchanging or lending with the help of digital platforms. Airbnb and Uber are two of the most well-known examples.
What was it about this that caught your attention?
– I have been interested in how digital development creates new opportunities for the tourism industry for a long time. When the sharing economy took off about fifteen years ago, I followed its development and later created this project.
The project was funded by BFUF (the R&D Fund of the Swedish Tourism and Hospitality Industry).
