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Collaborative consumption is a powerful development which has a real economic impact in this world. It is amongst other driven by a shift in the mindset of people and by the technological advancement. Instead of throwing away things, individuals started to share things with others. Humankind realized that the way how we consume is not sustainable. Individuals consume too much which leads to a ‘throw-away’ culture that causes environmental pollution (Belk, 2014; Hamari, Sjöklint, & Ukkonen, 2016). The motivation for participating in collaborative consumption is manifold (Hamari et al., 2016). It can be different depending on the goods and business model.
When comparing developed and developing countries in the context of sharing economy, there are some significant differences. These differences refer, especially to the economic situation. In developed countries, there are already established structures where the government provides an appropriate environment or support to initiate the business. However, in developing countries, these structures are not available in the same way but sharing economy has the potential to bridge the gap. In this regard, sharing economy can support people in establishing an entrepreneurial mindset in developing countries. Through micro-entrepreneurship, people are able to create their own business. Both society and economy can benefit from these developments (Jain, 2015).
This research is focused on ride-hailing services because of its popularity in developing countries. The study is conducted in Pakistan where transportation is a big issue. It affects the whole society and especially poor people. Another group which is affected are women, as they don’t feel safe using public transport alone due to cultural barriers (Field & Vyborny, 2015). To overcome this issue the government is trying its best to launch new trains and bus services but still, the demand is higher than the supply. And the service charges are unnecessarily very high. To fulfill the needs of the customers, different ride-hailing services were launched by private companies.