Print Email Facebook Twitter A Critical Framework for Examining Sustainability Claims of the Sharing Economy Title A Critical Framework for Examining Sustainability Claims of the Sharing Economy: Exploring the Tensions Within Platform Brand Discourses Author Beverland, Michael (University of Sussex) Cankurtaran, P. (TU Delft Marketing and Consumer Research) Loussaïef, Leila (ISC Paris, Paris) Date 2021 Abstract The sharing economy represents a market-driven response to the perceived inefficient resource use arising from materialism, and as such, offers the possibility of a more environmentally sustainable form of consumption. However, the sustainability benefits attributed to the sharing economy remain contentious and fraught with paradox. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of three sharing economy brands (Lime, Rent the Runway and BlaBlaCar) we identify that sustainability discourses compete with claims arising from the espoused benefits of immateriality and platform brands’ desire for rapid growth. We identify and explore three platform brand discourses (disrupting unsustainable leaders, guilt-free choice, and non-commercial appeals) and their associated practices. In doing so we identify that tensions between these discourses and practices give rise to three sustainability-related contradictions: displacement of sustainable alternatives, hidden materiality, and creeping usage. Our findings contribute to our understanding of the sharing economy and its role in sustainability. Subject access-based consumptionbrandingcritical discourse analysismaterialismsharing economysustainability To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:04570d44-2d74-41c6-bf20-22f045e5017f DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467211060331 Embargo date 2023-07-01 ISSN 0276-1467 Source Journal of Macromarketing, 42 (2022) (2), 214-230 Bibliographical note Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public. Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2021 Michael Beverland, P. Cankurtaran, Leila Loussaïef Files PDF 02761467211060331.pdf 960.39 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:04570d44-2d74-41c6-bf20-22f045e5017f/datastream/OBJ/view