Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

Transcription

1 E-Book NO. 107 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy SAP Center for Business Insight Brief Q&A Case Study Inquiry E-Book Infographic

2 The Sharing Economy Has Hit the Big Time In spring 2014, Airbnb closed a round of funding that boosted the six-yearold home-sharing startup s value to more than US$10 billion, more than Hyatt, the hotel industry mainstay 51 years its senior. The deal sent a warning shot across the bows of industries being disrupted by peer-to-peer commerce: If established brands don t find a way to participate in the sharing economy (defined as networks of individuals providing goods and services to each other on an as-needed basis), the accelerating trend may well bowl them over. Here are 5 ways companies can take advantage of the sharing economy. Sources: Airbnb Has Closed Its $500M Round of Funding at a $10B Valuation, Led By TPG (TechCrunch, April 18, 2014); Hyatt Hotels Corporation Stock Quote & Summary Data (NASDAQ, accessed August 7, 2014) 2 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

3 1 Meet the Growing Demand for Sustainability As individuals become more aware of their environmental and social impact, they change their shopping and buying habits accordingly. Furthermore, if increasingly scarce and costly resources, such as office space, computer processing power, assembly lines, and intellectual property, are wasted, maximizing their value is basic risk mitigation. Read more in How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Sharing Economy. 3 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

4 2 Use Sharing Economy Companies to Pump Up Innovation Whether you call it outsourcing, crowdsourcing, or partnering, working with sharing-economy companies gives big brands a new source of expertise and broader perspective. Read more in How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Sharing Economy. 4 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

5 3 Expand Your Offerings and Reach into New Markets The net benefit for big companies is the ability to connect to the ecosystem for co-innovation, create new business models, and sell one product many times, whether that s by charging per use on a subscription model or by facilitating a secondary market for used goods. Jeremiah Owyang, founder of Crowd Companies Read more in the Q&A Taking Advantage of the Sharing Economy: Mistakes to Avoid. 5 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

6 4 Start Thinking in Network Platforms All sharing-economy companies are, in some way, in the business of sharing data. Mobile, social, geolocation, and shared platforms make it easy for buyers and sellers to evaluate each other and find the matches they need. For companies, the network captures transaction data so they can monitor performance and make data-backed decisions. Read more in How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Sharing Economy. 6 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

7 5 Prepare for the Pitfalls Companies need to be ready for the risks that come with participating in the collaboration economy. Here are some: Figure out who owns the IP. For crowdfunded or crowdsourced projects, companies need to be explicit from the beginning about how much of the intellectual property belongs to the individuals in the crowd. And they need to determine how they will share any resulting profits and how much they will share. Sort out liability issues. If a product designed by an independent maker but distributed by a major brand turns out to be a safety hazard, who is liable for any damages that might ensue? Don t sharewash. Companies have to be able to prove that their ability to bring greater scale, reach, and resources to the sharing economy supports broader goals, such as empowering individuals and helping them get more value from the goods and assets they already own. Otherwise, consumers are likely to write off the company s efforts as nothing more than a PR stunt. Read more in How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Sharing Economy. 7 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

8 There s More. To learn more, download the in-depth report How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Sharing Economy and the expert Q&A Taking Advantage of the Sharing Economy: Mistakes to Avoid. The SAP Center for Business Insight program supports the discovery and development of new research-based thinking to address the challenges of business and technology executives. 8 E-Book: 5 Ways to Strike It Rich in the Sharing Economy

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