Developing and developed nations face demographic challenges in the coming decades. Aging populations are expected to strain health resources and social safety nets.Smart home technology (SHT) is touted as a means for simultaneously improving quality of life and independence, while also reducing the long-term costs of caring for an aging population. SHT also presents myriad governance and policy challenges, especially the protection and use of vast amounts of patient data. Alas, the governance and policy aspects of SHT research have been largely peripheral. The aims of this review are to cogently present the governance benefits and challenges of SHT and prompt greater engagement by policy scholars in myriad unanswered research questions. Specifically, it uses the collaborative governance framework to identify opportunities for, and barriers to, forward-thinking public and private collaboration. Research engagement by policy researchers is vital for effective governing of this burgeoning sector.
In this paper we present the results of our analyses of the existing literature on the sharing economy. It is important to understand the nature of the sharing economy, because its impacts on the larger economy, society, and governance are extensive and potentially deep and long lasting. Analyses of the 610 articles published between 2006 and 2018 show that there was a rapid increase in publications starting in 2014. Researchers in business, economics, technology, and environmental sciences were interested the most in the topic. There were relatively fewer publications in political science, public administration, and political science. Uber and Airbnb were the most studied platforms. The United States, China, and United Kingdom were the most commonly studied countries. A majority of the literature was a-theoretical. A majority of authors applied some empirical (qualitative and quantitative) research methods.
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