Winning in the sharing economy: Six keys to Airbnb’s success

Abstract

To understand competing in the sharing economy this paper looks at one of its leading brands, Airbnb. Six drivers of success emerge — conceptualising property owners as entrepreneurial hosts, seeing guests as seeking a home feel and adventure rather than just a room, demanding an outstanding interactive experience, scaling quickly, exercising outstanding leadership and having luck or timing. Uber, in contrast, is more transactional, without the emotional connection, and has a more aggressive, confrontational culture, which has created public relations and relationship issues that led to a company reset. Among the learnings is that there are payoffs from going beyond functionality, too often the route selected by technology-driven new businesses.