Measuring value created by business models in the sharing economy

The sharing economy forms a modern sustainable trend, combining the economic and social-ethical benefits of using, rather than owning. The article studies such factors as social approval, economic choice and digital coordination influencing the effectiveness of business models of the sharing economy, but the full value of which has not yet been established. The methodological basis of the research includes neoclassical and neoinstitutional economic theories and the concept of economic collaboration. Among the research methods applied are a value-based approach to discussing the substance of collaborative consumption business models, a critical analysis of the peculiarities of the economic choice between saving and consumption, and a qualitative analysis of demand on the basis of a socially confirmed interest in collaborative consumption. The research develops five types of models for creating and redistributing income in the sharing economy and finds that the key advantage of the sharing economy is the confirmed demand of a new class of consumers, which reduces the probability of marketing mistakes. The authors state that any form of collaborative consumption for ensuring transparency of transactions and correctness of taxation should be regarded as a service. We design an alternative model for assessing the lower bound of the value created, which takes into account the frequency of consumers’ repeated requests to previously provided services, assuming that social approval shifts the line of choice and does not create a new value. The theoretical and practical significance of the research lies in the contribution to the value measurement of shared consumption based on consumer signals in the form of public approval (social initiative or testing) and profitability evaluation (lower bound) of the shared use by the consumer.