Ethnographies of Collaborative Economies across Europe: Understanding Sharing and Caring

"Sharing economy" and "collaborative economy" refer to a proliferation of initiatives, business models, digital platforms and forms of work that characterise contemporary life: from community-led initiatives and activist campaigns, to the impact of global sharing platforms in contexts such as network hospitality, transportation, etc.

Sharing the common lens of ethnographic methods, this book presents in-depth examinations of collaborative economy phenomena.

The book combines qualitative research and ethnographic methodology with a range of different collaborative economy case studies and topics across Europe. It uniquely offers a truly interdisciplinary approach. It emerges from a unique, long-term, multinational, cross-European collaboration between researchers from various disciplines (e.g., sociology, anthropology, geography, business studies, law, computing, information systems), career stages, and epistemological backgrounds, brought together by a shared research interest in the collaborative economy.

This book is a further contribution to the in-depth qualitative understanding of the complexities of the collaborative economy phenomenon.

These rich accounts contribute to the painting of a complex landscape that spans several countries and regions, and diverse political, cultural, and organisational backdrops. This book also offers important reflections on the role of ethnographic researchers, and on their stance and outlook, that are of paramount interest across the disciplines involved in collaborative economy research.

Penny Travlou is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Geography and Theory (Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, University of Edinburgh). Her research focuses on spatial justice, the commons, collaborative practices, emerging networks and ethnography. She has been involved in international research projects funded by the EU and UK Research Councils. Since 2011, she has been doing ethnographic research on collaborative practices in emerging networks (e.g. digital art practitioners, collaborative economy initiatives, translocal migrants and refugees). Alongside her academic work, Penny is an activist on social justice and the commons. She has been actively involved in a number of grassroots and self-organised initiatives on housing and refugees' rights. She is Co-Director of the Feminist Autonomous Centre for Research in Athens, a non-profit independent research organisation that focuses on feminist and queer studies, participatory education and activism.

Luigina Ciolfi is Professor of Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork (Ireland). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Limerick and a Laurea (summa cum laude), from the University of Siena, both specialising in Human-Computer Interaction. Professor Ciolfi researches human practices and experiences of digital technologies in everyday settings, with a focus on collaboration, participation and placemaking. Her work connects computing, social sciences and design, and aims to understand and design digital technologies in a thoughtful and participatory way. Professor Ciolfi has published extensively in HCI and CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work). She has authored over 100 publications, including two monographs, and has edited several books and collections. She is an Associate Editor of the CSCW Journal, as well as a scientific referee for many conferences and journals in her field. She is a Senior Member of the ACM, Steering Committee Member of EUSSET - The European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies, and Member of the British Psychological Society.