Collaborative Consumption & Change in Consumer Culture: Community More Important Than Property? {Trend! Study}

We have already written several times about the current collaborative consumption trend - the further development of social media, so to speak, which is no longer just about sharing information, but about consuming and sharing personal items with others over the Internet. A topic that is also becoming more and more important for the job market. Now there is a study on it.

The study: Unfortunately not independent

The study is, unfortunately, anything but independent: it became Airbnb, a marketplace for private accommodation, in collaboration with TNS Emnid and Professor Dr. Harald Heinrichs from Leuphana University published in Lüneburg. It can be downloaded here for free.

Of course, Airbnb does not want to use it to show unselfishly that the so-called Collaborative Consumption movement is more than a media phenomenon. After all, according to the company, more than 10 million overnight stays were mediated by Airbnb in just five months.

More than 55 Percentage of the Sharing Economy

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Unfortunately, the numbers and infographics of the study, unfortunately unilaterally based on Airbnb, are somewhat more accurate: More than every second German (55 per cent) is already part of the sharing economy. Apparently the majority of Germans have already gained experience with alternative forms of consumption.

No wonder, we live in a changing economy: sustainability aspects such as environmental compatibility (89 percent) or the sense of social responsibility Company (84 percent) are now almost as important for purchasing decisions as the price of a product or service.

Community more important than ownership

Other drivers for the ongoing co-consumption are so-called post-materialistic values: for Germans, possession and ownership are more important than other values ​​such as “community”, “creativity” and “variety” least important.

Surprising: Every fourth German is already an active co-consumer - this is what the Airbnb study names one of the four based on values, Trust and Income identified consumption types. These show that alternative forms of ownership are already widespread across all age and income groups.

Cleverly jumped on the sustainability train?

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study leader Professor Harald Heinrichs says:

“Be it buying from home to home, booking a homestay for vacation or sharing a rarely used item… The younger generation in particular has rediscovered the benefits of a sharing economy and is reviving it thanks to internet technology. There is great potential for a new one here Sustainability, which should also be supported politically and socially.”

I still think Airbnb is cleverly jumping on the sustainability bandwagon here. The Silicon Valley Foundation, which calls itself a not entirely immodest pioneer of the collaborative consumption movement, is itself a profit-making and by no means socially oriented company, one should always keep that in the back of one's mind.

Are we already all the world champions in part?

And whether the economy of sharing has finally arrived in Germany and the study provides proof of how Airbnb claims in its press release, one can be quite critical.

But that it will go more and more in this direction, if only because there are fewer and fewer people Money for expensive hotels, that's relative clear. In general, the economic trend is moving away from rigid ownership and towards more sustainability and flexibility.

From having to being

We are steering towards a change Economy out, recognized economic experts also see it that way. Away from having towards being, loosely based on Erich Fromm. Gunnar Froh, Managing Director of Airbnb in Germany, describes the company's approach accordingly:

“This is why Airbnb is like this successfully, because we create unique experiences that People mean more than material goods. The Airbnb study shows that the Society changed permanently and that it is actually more about access to individual experiences than about ownership.”

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