What is Collaborative Platforms

The collaborative economy (CE) involves an intensification of direct or intermediated peer-to-peer trade, underpinned by robust digital infrastructures and processes, hence an increased use of new technologies and a redefinition of business activities. As an inherently connected economy, the CE is, therefore, prone to integrating the most recent technological advances including artificial intelligence, big data analysis, augmented reality, the smart grid, and blockchain technology. As an innovative payment and finance technology, the blockchain and cryptocurrencies could have potential implications for the CE. This chapter consists of a conceptual review analyzing how the CE connects with the blockchain technology. The chapter presents subsequently the organizational and managerial implications related to the use of blockchain technology in terms of governance, transaction costs, and user confidence. An illustrative case further examines the role of a prominent social media in the CE-blockchain nexus.