A Framework to Assess the Sustainability of Platform Economy: The Case of Barcelona Ecosystem

Abstract

This article presents a framework for evaluating the sustainability qualities of Platform Economy initiatives. It takes into account governance, economic model, technology, data policies, social responsibility and impact. The framework has been tested empirically in a sample of one hundred commons-based peer-to-peer production cases identified in Barcelona. Data collection was based on online ethnography and structured interviews. The results reveal the different levels and tendencies of pro-democratization. It appears that the cases that are more sustainable are also sustainable in other dimensions. The analysis found a correlation between governance and technology and data models, and it further demonstrated that governance is correlated with the economic model. Both results together indicate that the governance of a platform plays a central role in its overall approach.

Food Networks As Urban Commons: Case Study of a Portuguese “Prosumers” Group

“…In addition to Ostrom's and Hardin's “institutionalist” approach, other contemporary scholars conceive the commons as an arena for political struggle, collective action and social emancipation ( de Angelis, 2012 ; Harvey, 2013 ). In addition, the digital revolution has resulted in an increase of commons practices, by reducing the costs of collective action ( Benkler, 2002 ), and connecting with urban social movements and network effects, thereby increasing collaborative dynamics supported by digital platforms, particularly in cities ( Fuster Morell et al, 2018 ).…”

“…The framework incorporates cyberscholars' conceptions of the commons ( Benkler, 2002 ; Lessig, 2004 ; Rose, 1986 ) referring to their open access condition ( Fuster Morell, 2010 ) as revealing of their commons character. The framework has been developed into an empirical tool and used in the analysis of diverse cases in the city of Barcelona ( Fuster Morell and Espelt, 2019 ), including platform cooperatives for food consumption ( Espelt and Moreira, 2019 ). By looking at the type of organizations, adopted mechanisms for participation, economic goals, transparency, technological tools, knowledge licenses and social and environmental roles, the framework helps to determine the levels of accomplishment of commons principles and solidarity economy values.…”

“…Then we develop an analysis of what characterizes the food network as a commons. In this regard, we explore how the principles and democratic qualities of the experience match with well known commons principles ( Ostrom, 1990 ) and qualities ( Fuster Morell et al, 2018 ). We then look at the main dilemmas of its commoning practices, reflecting on the factors that eventually prevented the group from sustaining the commons.…”

“…Claiming “solidarity economy is Utopian unless we secure food sovereignty first” ( Solikon, 2015 ), people and movements reclaim food as a commons ( Vivero-Pol, 2017 ; Vivero-Pol et al, 2018) with the aim to take “control over the means of subsistence for the ends of maximizing life and social justice — not profits, nor the pursuit of money as an end in itself” ( Johnston, 2003 : cited in Sumner, 2011 ). Agroecological consumer groups ( Espelt et al, 2018 ), community-supported agriculture schemes and other collective socio-economic structures for food provision represent a type of resource systems that can be characterized as a commons, once certain principles ( Ostrom, 1990 ) and democratic qualities ( Fuster Morell et al, 2018 ; Fuster Morell and Espelt, 2019 ) are put in place, such as providing mechanisms for members participation, collective decision-making and promoting economic transparency. The growing debate on food as a commons is quite recent and has seen a quantitative and qualitative leap with Vivero-Pol et al's (2018) Handbook of Food as a Commons which gathers a wealth of theoretical and empirical research between and within disciplines, covering different cultures, “niches of resistance” and organizational scales.…”

“…In order to address this question, the article begins with a brief introduction to the theoretical framework and concepts that guide the analysis: from the classic design principles for governing a commons ( Ostrom, 1990 ) to more recent literature on the urban commons, social movements ( Harvey, 2013 ; de Angelis, 2012 ), and the qualities of commons-based initiatives ( Fuster Morell et al, 2018 ; Fuster Morell and Espelt, 2019 ). The following section outlines the adopted methodology to retrospectively develop the case, drawing upon an action-research design and triangulation methods, including ethnography, participant-observation, document analysis and semi-structured interviews.…”