The term “Share Economy” was established by Martin L. Weitzman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University. The result of his research showed that profit sharing between owners and employees leads to higher welfare under certain economic conditions.
Based on the fact, that e.g. electric drills are used on average only 20 minutes of their lifetime and office workplaces standing empty between 85 and 95 percent of their lifetime without use, the possession of objects loses its importance and is determined rather by different common consumption of sharing; which makes especially from ecological point of view. Share Economy is today a collective term for companies, business models, platforms, online and offline communities and practices that enable shared use of fully or partially unused resources. In the English-speaking world, the terms “Collaborative Consumption” and “Collaborative Economy” is also used. The French network OuiShare “[…] collaborative practices, shared governance, decentralization, smart cities […]”. The network considers the experimental and innovative practice of sharing, open and open knowledge, horizontal and open administrative structures as an opportunity to solve the challenges of our time.