Sharing economy versus access economy a critical reflection on social interaction between peers

Disruptions caused by Web 2.0 and easily accessible technologies have had an impact on many thematic areas. In the economic sector these developments have resulted in the creation of a new business model: the sharing economy (SE). Despite its success in the last decade however, researchers are debating a clear definition without highlighting the key concept in terms of functions and processes that are fundamental to the SE model. Therefore, this paper focuses on functions of peers that are either consuming or providing, and elucidates the relation in accordance with business transactions in that both peers interact. Through a critical review of previous papers, we analyze the SE model by reflecting on prior definitions of sharing. We then compare motivations of peers to participate in the SE and, as a result, find discrepancies between providing and consuming peers in relation to their respective functions in the SE. Based on these findings, we introduce a theoretical framework that exemplifies the SE concept based on social interactions between peers and, thus, relates motivations of peers to transaction types and processes based on social interactions required.