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This study focuses on reflecting on the benefits of circular economy, from the perspective of sharing economy. It aims to assess the socioeconomic influence of social economy organizations, to understand the perceptions of top managers, intermediaries and employees about shared management practices, as well as the importance of resource management for their sustainability, through intelligent solutions which incorporate technology and governance models in the region.
In fact, sharing, networking and collaboration work are at the origin, status and social object of social organizations, cooperative movements and civil society. But are they willing to evolve, in line with the challenges of sharing economy?
Several studies (e.g., Spowers, 2018, Recommerce, 2019, I am Amsterdam, 2019) published by Ellen MacArthur Foundation indicate that, in the future, no sector will be imune to advances in technology, concerns about climate change and the transition to sharing economy, at the expense of the economy of asset ownership. To some extent, the evolution of economy is moving towards the combination of related concepts: smart, circular and sharing economy, which represent intelligent solutions to circulate at the highest level of utility, with the possibility of having shared resources. According to Taborda (2016), in the sectors of transport (e.g. Uber or Riversimple), tourism (e.g. Airbnb), housing (e.g. cohousing) and digital communities (e.g. Share) there is a growth in interest and users.
No study with coinciding objectives was identified, which relates the three concepts. Since the circular economy is a poorly researched area, some studies focused on green economy, natural capital, recycling, reuse of resources and initiatives of economic activities of the profitable sector, but few on the underlying sharing of the circular economy. The existing studies on the social economy show the social and economic importance of the entities that integrate it, but there are no known studies with examples of regulated resource sharing. On the other hand, there is information on smart cities, smart activities and initiatives, but no studies on smart regions and benefits of service sharing in non-profit sector have been identified.
It is believed that this research is pertinent and contributes to greater knowledge on the subject, for future thoughts, and that it is useful for social economy agents, involved in territorial development dynamics and in the establishment of formal partnerships. It is expected that the study can serve as a scientific and methodological basis for a regional investment project, based on the principles of both circular and sharing economy.
The following research question was asked: Is there a willingness of social economy actors to share resources? Based on the case study of Terra Quente Transmontana, a mixed methodology was used through various sources: an exploratory study through qualitative methodology, using an interview with those responsible for the organizations, introduced by materials for the dissemination of concepts and principles of circular economy, an organized script, followed by a questionnaire applied to the organizations’ employees. At the same time, a bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, which allowed the approximation to the object of the study. To achieve the general objective, four specific objectives were defined:
- 1.
Evaluate the economic impact of the organizations which compose the social economy, based on published data;
- 2.
Verify if the interest in sharing is related to the skills that the agents have, based on information from themselves, which leads the implementation of a training /information strategy;
- 3.
Analyse historical behaviours on resource sharing, based on testimonies of relevant agents;
- 4.
Verify the interest of social economy entities in sharing resources among themselves, obeying the principles of circular economy and that lead to a common strategy of action, based on testimonies of those responsible for the organization.