A Study on the Status and Demand Expansion of On-Demand Services

Recently, interest in the expansion of the on-demand economy is increasing. The on-demand economy refers to a business relationship that provides goods and services at any time to meet the consumer’s needs. The emergence of the on-demand economy is based on the proliferation of mobile devices, and on-demand services’ core business strategy is to maximize consumers’ utility by providing goods and services in real-time. In addition, the scope of the supply and service providers has expanded, from the existing transactions that was limited to enterprises, to the transaction of idle time and resources among individuals. On the other hand social costs have also arisen with the emergence of the on-demand economy, such as conflicts with existing operators or damage to consumers in the process of using services. The on-demand economy is a more efficient form of commerce based on the expansion of connectivity through mobile communication devices and the minimization of transaction costs. In Korea, where the service sector is less competitive than manufacturing, the development of an on-demand economy is particularly important. Therefore, it is very important to grasp the growth potential and scale of on-demand services for government policy. For this purpose, this study is composed as follows. Chapter 2 describes the underlying concepts and current status of the on-demand economy. In Chapter 3, I forecast the market size of major on-demand service sectors in terms of active users and the value of transactions. In Chapter 4, I suggest policy directions for the development of on-demand services.