Blockchain in the Sharing Economy : Will Blockchain Disrupt Today’s Winning Business Models?

The increasing popularity of sharing economy business models led to some of the most successful startups in the last ten years. Blockchain technology could disrupt these businesses, as it offers unique opportunities for automatization and for giving back the power to the users by decentralizing the settlement service. Most prior research focusses on either blockchain technology or the sharing economy. This paper provides insights into the characteristics of blockchain technology and the success factors of sharing economy businesses. Furthermore, the chances and challenges of using blockchain technology in the context of sharing economy business models are discussed. Based on that information, a general model for decentralized sharing economy organizations (DSEO) is given, discussing the design choices that are crucial to be made.