How to bring the collaboration and sharing economy to the boardroom

Samuel makes the following recommendations for enterprises seeking deeper engagement with the collaborative economy:

Less buying, more sharing: "Big brands need to stop measuring success in terms of units sold, and think in terms of units used," she writes. 

Pursue partnerships that will open up collaboration: If you have a corporate culture and compensation structure that resists the idea of collaboration, look to partner with organizations that are more seasoned in sharing. "Companies that have traditionally relied on selling goods need to think about offering those goods on an access model, too," says Samuel. For example, she writes, "Daimler AG now provides by-the-minute car sharing through Car2Go."

Less consuming, more producing: The production economy is roaring back. Samuel cites the burgeoning maker movement, which enables greater production on both small and large scales. "Our data suggests that attracting small-scale producers and sellers is one area where any player could still find a competitive edge."

Less working, more freelancing: The collaborative economy is increasing self-employment in place of full-time employment, Samuel observes. "This means that companies will have new ways to source labor." This means organizations will be competing with both other employers for skills, as well as "competing with the increasingly viable option of web-enabled self-employment."

(Photo: Joe McKendrick.)