Sharing Economy in Russia: Current Status, Barriers, Prospects and Role of Universities

Nowadays, information technology and the Internet are becoming a driver for a shared consumption economy (sharing economy). The paper aims to analyse the current level of use and prospects for the development of models of the sharing economy in Russia. We identify the effects of sharing consumption for the circular economy and study factors that stimulate the use of peer-to-peer models. One of the study’s tasks was to investigate the involvement of the young generation in the sharing economy, as the most promising part of the population. The study is based on the analysis of open Internet sources on the operation of sharing platforms in Russia and a survey among students at two Russian universities (RUDN University in Moscow and Kuban State University in Krasnodar) to identify the awareness of young people regarding sharing platforms. Analysis of the current state of sharing in Russia showed that the use of most types of sharing is at an initial stage. At the same time, the prospects for economic growth and population development are quite high. The article identifies several effects of digital platforms for sustainable development, the main of which are informed consumption and production. For the further growth of users of the sharing economy, the authors highlight the level of penetration of the Internet and the need for high-quality services on digital platforms. Educational organisations can also become a platform for the development of models of the sharing economy by involving students in sharing processes, as demonstrated by the survey.