Project

Potential of the Industrial Collaborative Economy (WICE)

In Germany, a new sharing economy has emerged, and with it new “Business-to-Consumer“ (B2C) models and “Consumer-to-Consumer“ (C2C) models, all of which are based on innovative forms of property rights and usage models. The next step on the growth trajectory of the sharing economy is the “Business-to-Business (B2B)“ model. New forms of usage and property rights are the driver of this new “Industrial Collaborative Economy.” New service concepts and forms of contracting, such as chemicals leasing or machine leasing, are seen as a main driver of growth, innovation and sustainability for businesses and society alike. To date, however, the prevalence of these new business models is still limited. With the trend towards digitalization of the economy, however, it is expected that the diffusion of the new usage and property rights models will experience a decisive push.

The project seeks to study the conditions that enable the change towards the Industrial Collaborative Economy, to assess its economic, political and societal impacts, and to recommend policies that can support the change and mitigate potential risks.

To understand the basic characteristics of the Industrial Collaborative Economy, the project will review the existing literature and relevant theories to develop a new conceptualization of this new phenomenon. Based on qualitative and quantitative empirical analyses, opportunities and constraints as well as the current and future importance of these new usage and property rights models will be identified. Finally, the project will develop policy recommendations that can be used to promote the change toward the Collaborative Economy, to exploit its full potential and to cope with unintended consequences.

Publications

Duration

9.2015-8.2017

Client

  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) im Rahmen der Innovations- und Technikanalyse (ITA)