Platform Stories: The Role of Ideological Narratives in the Development of a Tourism Sharing Business Model

Mia Larson () and Cecilia Cassinger
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Mia Larson: Service Research Center, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Cecilia Cassinger: Department of Communication, Lund University, 251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden

Tourism and Hospitality, 2025, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: This article explores the development process of a sharing platform in the tourism industry, drawing on a longitudinal case study of a sharing-based business in adventure tourism in Sweden. The purpose is to explore how sharing business models emerge through processes of ideological narration—the strategic use of stories to shape and sustain a business. Over a two-year period, empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observations, and document study. The findings suggest that sharing business models are developed in processes of ideological narration designed to attract labour, capital, and users to a digital platform. Four master narratives are identified—sharing, sustainability, shared identity, and profit-making—narratives grounded in conflicting ideological logics. The dominance of these narratives shifts over time, reflecting different priorities and challenges encountered at various stages of a sharing business model’s development. This dynamic highlights the fluid and multi-faceted nature of narratives in shaping and sustaining sharing businesses in the tourism industry.

Keywords: sharing business models; digital platforms; ideological narratives; tourism businesses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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