Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025)
June 2025

Articles

Clarifying the sharing, gig, and on-demand economies and their implications for entrepreneurship: A systematic literature review

Published 2025-06-30

  • Gustav Hägg
    • ,
  • Agnieszka Kurczewska

Gustav Hägg
Malmö University

Agnieszka Kurczewska
University of Łódź

Abstract

Objective: The article aims to develop conceptual clarity around the three distinct terms emanating from the growing platform economy, i.e., the sharing, gig, and on-demand economies and link them to entrepreneurship.

Research Design & Methods: We applied the aggregative systematic review methodology. We did it to clarify and operationalise the differences among the on-demand, gig, and sharing economies, as well as seek to address implications for how each specific type of platform economy concept influences entrepreneurship and impacts our understanding of it.

Findings: The article sets out to define and increase understanding of what is behind the on-demand, gig, and sharing economies. We argue that the lack of consistent definitions of all three phenomena has resulted in several misconceptions and perhaps reduced potential progress with further studies, which now require more knowledge structuring and organisation regarding the three concepts.

Implications & Recommendations: The article provides important nuances to concretise fundamental distinctions among the three concepts and their implications for platform entrepreneurship. Although, at first glance, the differences might seem subtle, they are essential to address a rising complexity related to entrepreneurship.

Contribution & Value Added: Through its findings, the article presents criteria for enhancing conceptual clarity among the sharing, gig, and on-demand economies as well as links these three concepts to entrepreneurship. By doing so, the article also identifies some intersections with different entrepreneurship forms.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, the gig economy, the sharing economy, the on-demand economy, SLR

(PDF) Save

Author Biography

Gustav Hägg

Associate professor at Malmö University with a PhD in the research field of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial learning focused on reflective thinking. His current research interests include theorizing learning in entrepreneurship education and the post-entrepreneurship education career of graduates through alumni research. He also has a general interest in entrepreneurial decision-making and the role of ethics in relation to entrepreneurship and the context of digitalization.

Agnieszka Kurczewska

Associate professor in the field of entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz in Poland. She is also a visiting professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. Agnieszka is president of the European Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ECSB). Her research interests include entrepreneurship, small and medium sized enterprises and small and medium sized enterprises.

References

  1. Acs, Z.J. (2022). The digital platform economy and the entrepreneurial state: A European dilemma. In Questioning the entrepreneurial state: Status-quo, pitfalls, and the need for credible innovation policy (pp. 317-344). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94273-1_17
  2. Acquier, A., Daudigeos, T., & Pinkse, J. (2017). Promises and paradoxes of the sharing economy: An organizing framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 125, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.07.006
  3. Ahsan, M. (2020). Entrepreneurship and ethics in the sharing economy: A critical perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 161(1), 19-33.
  4. Autio, E. (2017). Digitalisation, ecosystems, entrepreneurship and policy. Perspectives into Topical Issues in Society and Ways to Support Political Decision-Making: Government’s Analysis, Research and Assessment Activities Policy Brief, 20.
  5. Barnes, S.J., & Mattsson, J. (2016). Understanding current and future issues in collaborative consumption: A four-stage Delphi study. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 104, 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.01.006
  6. Berger, T., Frey, C.B., Levin, G., & Danda, S.R. (2019). Uber happy? Work and well-being in the ‘gig economy’. Economic Policy, 34(99), 429-477. https://doi.org/10.1093/epolic/eiz007
  7. Bick, G. (2019). Uber SA: disruption of the local taxi industry?. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 9(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-05-2019-0099
  8. Botsman, R. (2013, November 21). The sharing economy lacks a shared definition. Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3022028/the-sharing-economy-lacks-a-shared-definition on June 1, 2024.
  9. Bruyat, C., & Julien, P.-A. (2001). Defining the field of research in entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(2), 165-180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(99)00043-9
  10. Burtch, G., Carnahan, S., & Greenwood, B.N. (2016). Can you gig it? An empirical examination of the gig-economy and entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2016(1), 14466. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2744352
  11. Cockayne, D.G. (2016). Sharing and neoliberal discourse: The economic function of sharing in the digital on-demand economy. Geoforum, 77, 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.10.005
  12. Cohen, J.E. (2017). Law for the platform economy. UC Davis Law Review, 51, 133-204.
  13. Cutolo, D., & Kenney, M. (2022). Entrepreneurship in the platform economy: Power asymmetries and risk. In The Routledge handbook of comparative economic systems (pp. 360-377). Routledge.
  14. Curtis, S.K., & Mont, O. (2020). Sharing economy business models for sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 266, 121519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121519
  15. De Stefano, V. (2016). The rise of the just-in-time workforce: On-demand work, crowdwork, and labor protection in the gig-economy. Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal, 37(3), 461-471. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2682602
  16. Elia, G., Margherita, A., & Passiante, G. (2020). Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 150, 119791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119791
  17. Forde, C., Stuart, M., Joyce, S., Oliver, L., Valizade, D., Alberti, G., & Carson, C. (2017). The social protection of workers in the platform economy. University of Leeds, European Parliament, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
  18. Gartner, W.B. (1988). ‘Who is an entrepreneur?’ is the wrong question. American Journal of Small Business, 12(4), 11-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225878801200401
  19. Garud, R., Kumaraswamy, A., Roberts, A., & Xu, L. (2022). Liminal movement by digital platform-based sharing economy ventures: The case of Uber Technologies. Strategic Management Journal, 43(3), 447-475. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3148
  20. Geissinger, A., Laurell, C., & Sandström, C. (2020). Digital disruption beyond Uber and Airbnb—Tracking the long tail of the sharing economy. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 155, 119323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.06.012
  21. Ghezzi, A., & Cavallo, A. (2020). Agile business model innovation in digital entrepreneurship: Lean startup approaches. Journal of Business Research, 110, 519-537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.05.001
  22. Gough, D., Thomas, J., & Oliver, S. (2012). Clarifying differences between review designs and methods. Systematic Reviews, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-1-28
  23. Grinevich, V., Huber, F., Karataş-Özkan, M., & Yavuz, Ç. (2019). Green entrepreneurship in the sharing economy: Utilizing multiplicity of institutional logics. Small Business Economics, 52(4), 859-876. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9935-x
  24. Hamari, J., Sjöklint, M., & Ukkonen, A. (2016). The sharing economy: Why people participate in collaborative consumption. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 67(9), 2047-2059. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23552
  25. Hägg, G., & Gabrielsson, J. (2020). A systematic literature review of the evolution of pedagogy in entrepreneurial education research. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2018-0272
  26. Hägg, G., & Kurczewska, A. (2021). Breaking the rules to reach the top? The ethical dimension bound to the opportunity process. In Contextual heterogeneity in entrepreneurship research (pp. 41-60). Edward Elgar Publishing.
  27. Hägg, G., & Kurczewska, A. (2022). Entrepreneurship education: Scholarly progress and future challenges (p. 101). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003194972
  28. Kenney, M., & Zysman, J. (2019). Work and value creation in the platform economy. In Work and labor in the digital age (Vol. 33, pp. 13-41). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320190000033002
  29. Kirzner, I.M. (1979). Perception, opportunity, and profit: Studies in the theory of entrepreneurship. University of Chicago Press.
  30. Kraus, S., Durst, S., Ferreira, J.J., Veiga, P., Kailer, N., & Weinmann, A. (2022a). Digital transformation in business and management research: An overview of the current status quo. International Journal of Information Management, 63, 102466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2021.102466
  31. Kraus, S., Kanbach, D.K., Krysta, P.M., Steinhoff, M.M., & Tomini, N. (2022b). Facebook and the creation of the metaverse: Radical business model innovation or incremental transformation?. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2021-0984
  32. Landström, H. (2020). The evolution of entrepreneurship as a scholarly field. Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, 16(2), 65-243. https://doi.org/10.1561/0300000083
  33. Liang, Y., Aroles, J., & Brandl, B. (2022). Charting platform capitalism: Definitions, concepts and ideologies. New Technology, Work and Employment, 37(2), 308-327. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12234
  34. Mallinson, D.J., Morçöl, G., Yoo, E., Azim, S.F., Levine, E., & Shafi, S. (2020). Sharing economy: A systematic thematic analysis of the literature. Information Polity, 25(2), 143-158. https://doi.org/3233/IP-190190
  35. Martin, C.J. (2016). The sharing economy: A pathway to sustainability or a nightmarish form of neoliberal capitalism?. Ecological Economics, 121, 149-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.11.027
  36. McAfee, A., & Brynjolfsson, E. (2017). Machine, platform, crowd: Harnessing our digital future. WW Norton & Company.
  37. Nambisan, S. (2017). Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(6), 1029-1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12254
  38. Nambisan, S., & Baron, R.A. (2021). On the costs of digital entrepreneurship: Role conflict, stress, and venture performance in digital platform-based ecosystems. Journal of Business Research, 125, 520-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.06.037
  39. Novitz, T. (2021). Gig work as a manifestation of short-termism: Crafting a sustainable regulatory agenda. Industrial Law Journal, 50(4), 636-661. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwab027
  40. Parente, R.C., Geleilate, J.-M.G., & Rong, K. (2018). The sharing economy globalization phenomenon: A research agenda. Journal of International Management, 24(1), 52-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2017.10.001
  41. Pittaway, L., & Cope, J. (2007). Entrepreneurship education: A systematic review of the evidence. International Small Business Journal, 25(5), 479-510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242607080656
  42. Plewnia, F., & Guenther, E. (2018). Mapping the sharing economy for sustainability research. Management Decision, 56(3), 570-583. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2016-0766
  43. Ravenelle, A.J. (2017). Sharing economy workers: Selling, not sharing. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 10, 281-295. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsw043
  44. Sahut, J.M., Iandoli, L., & Teulon, F. (2021). The age of digital entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 56(3), 1159-1169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00260-8
  45. Schor, J.B. (2017). Does the sharing economy increase inequality within the eighty percent? Findings from a qualitative study of platform providers. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 10, 263-279. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsw047
  46. Schumpeter, J.A. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. Harvard University Press.
  47. Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791611
  48. Sutherland, W., & Jarrahi, M.H. (2018). The sharing economy and digital platforms: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 43, 328-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.07.004
  49. Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence‐informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375
  50. The Guardian. (2022, July 11). Uber files whistleblower lobbyist Mark MacGann. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jul/11/uber-files-whistleblower-lobbyist-mark-macgann on June 1, 2024.
  51. Wood, A.J., Martindale, N., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2023). Dynamics of contention in the gig economy: Rage against the platform, customer or state?. New Technology, Work and Employment, 38(2), 330-350. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12243
  52. Woodcock, J. (2020). The algorithmic panopticon at Deliveroo: Measurement, precarity, and the illusion of control. Ephemera: theory & politics in organizations, 20(3), 67-95.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.