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The modern economy is postindustrial, and it is often called a new, innovative, knowledge-based economy, economy of competencies, and economy of networking. It should be noted that these definitions, on the one hand, have different meanings, and, on the other hand, characterize the same period of economic activity. Recently, the concept of digital economy has emerged in the economic theory and practice of a number of countries. This is due to the fact that the beginning of the 21st century has brought the development of digital technologies on the basis of the information revolution and globalization of the economy. Information in the society and business processes has become mans, it is transformed into knowledge, and socio-economic relations are increasingly transferred to the network space.
Digital economy operates at three levels - markets and industries, platforms and technologies, environment (Bershadsky et al., 2017). At the first level, suppliers and consumers interact, at the second level; competencies are formed for the development of markets and sectors of the economy. The third level is the environment that creates conditions for the development of platforms and technologies. Technological tools and management models are necessary for its successful operation and development. They will participate in all three levels, create “cross-cutting” technologies to operate in the global market and develop infrastructure for the digital economy (Mkrttchian et al., 2016).
The economy of joint consumption, or as it is also called “sharing economy”, is quite a new concept. It appeared in early 2000, and was associated with a new business model that sought to solve social problems, given the rapid population growth and the exhaustion of resources. This concept describes the interaction between people, some of whom have assets, but do not use them, and are ready to share these assets with other people to meet the needs of the latter. This concept has a certain historical conditioning of its origin. The undoubted advantage of the new model is the much higher efficiency of resource utilization. The main characteristics of the sharing economy are merchant or non-market transactions between suppliers and users, suppliers are individuals, professionals and non-professionals, the link between transactions is a digital device (platform). The sharing economy changes the pattern of production and consumption of goods and services. New technologies through digital platforms disrupt the links between supply and de and. All sectors are concerned through exchange relations based on mutual trust.
In the Oxford English Dictionary, the term of sharing economy is defined as “an economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either for free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet”. According to Belk (2007) “sharing is an alternative to private ownership that is emphasized in both marketplace exchange and gift giving. It should be noted that the collaborative economy is transforming the way people produce, consume, finance, and learn. The sharing economy is changing businesses and social relation by leveraging technology efficiently by linking supply and demand in a favorable environment. An economic and consumption model essentially based on the exchange, sharing, rental of goods and services that favors the use rather than the ownership (Botsman, 2014). Online platforms assist demand and supply match in a particular market by facilitating peer to peer (P2P) selling (eBay and Etsy), P2P sharing (Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit) and crowd sourcing (Mechanical Turks, Kickstarter, AngelList).