Sharing Economy Platforms in the Face of Crises: A Conceptual Framework

Paul Belleflamme, Muxin Li and Anaïs Périlleux ()
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Paul Belleflamme: Louvain Institute of Data Analysis and Modeling in Economics and Statistics (LIDAM), Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Voie du Roman Pays, 34 bte L1.03.01, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Muxin Li: Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research (IGIER), Università Bocconi, Via Roberto Sarfatti, 25, 20136 Milano, Italy
Anaïs Périlleux: Louvain Institute of Data Analysis and Modeling in Economics and Statistics (LIDAM), Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche Travail, État et Societé (CIRTES)/Institute of Economic and Social Research (IRES) and Center for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 3 Place Montesquieu, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-21

Abstract: We propose a conceptual framework to analyze how crises dynamically affect the operations, performance, and strategic choices of digital platforms and how these effects impact their sustainability. Drawing on the theory of two-sided platforms, we propose a framework that considers two key dimensions: (1) the nature of shocks affecting each side of the platform and (2) the time horizon of their impact. We apply this framework to evaluate how sharing-economy platforms responded to the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on Airbnb, Uber Eats, and Prosper as illustrative cases.

Keywords: digital platforms; sharing economy; sustainability; network effects; crisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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