Promoting a sharing economy in a small town : An empirical study assessing future potential and challenges in the town of Norrtälje

Sammanfattning: The concept sharing economy (collaborative economy or collaborative consumption) has recently gained attention in several cities over the world, with its promotion offering a prospective new path to sustainable development. In current research, most scholars cover global initiatives or initiatives in larger cities, but very few to none of them seem to have investigated the situation and potential in smaller cities. This empirical study therefore investigates both existing initiatives and work with collaborative consumption as well as the future potential and possible challenges for further promotion in a small town context, using Norrtälje town in Sweden as a case study for exploring the topic. In this study, a sharing economy is defined as a socio-economic system enabling consumers to gain access to commonly under-utilized physical assets in collaborative practices of sharing, borrowing, bartering, swapping, renting, redistributing, buying second-hand, repairing and rebuilding goods, instead of consuming new goods and/or owning privately, taking place either via online platforms or through physical infrastructure, possibly in exchange for financial compensation. A mixed method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used in this study. The data collection included semi-structured interviews with both sharing economy initiators and the Norrtälje municipality Sustainability strategist, an online survey shared with residents in Norrtälje, as well a qualitative desk-based study. The collected results were then analysed though the lens of a formed theoretical framework, covering the themes of conditions for success and important stakeholders in a sharing economy context, as well as drivers for starting or using these initiatives and possible environmental, social and economic benefits of implementing a sharing economy. The findings showed that 11 initiatives currently exist in Norrtälje, and that the Norrtälje residents generally are very positive towards using sharing economy services. Further, it was found that the municipality is not actively working with collaborative consumption, but has been, and still is, involved in a few sharing economy activities. The findings of this study contribute to discussions on the actual role of the municipality in a sharing economy context, suggesting that the involvement of the municipality indeed is very important in regards to sharing economy initiatives, but that it is unclear from a municipal perspective whether it is actually included in the role of the municipality to promote and work with sharing economy initiatives. The results from this study suggests that the future for sharing economy initiatives in Norrtälje town looks bright. However, some challenges were found in relation to the promotion of a sharing economy in a small town context, including the current political situation not prioritising municipal involvement, the economic situation of the municipality not being able to prioritise municipal involvement, difficulties in understanding the concept among those who work for the municipality, negative mindsets among municipal workers, and lack of funding to existing and possible future initiatives. These challenges might have to be overcome in order for sharing economy initiatives to be able to grow and thrive. Further, this study found that it is believed from a small town municipal perspective it most likely is easier for a larger city to work with sharing economy initiatives, while on the contrary existing scholars suggest that the small town context might indeed be more beneficial for these types of initiatives.