The opening case describes the emergence of the sharing economy and how four companies, Uber, Airbnb, Turo, and Lyft have successfully taken their concepts to foreign markets. These companies have shattered traditional notions of business and indeed products themselves creating value for customers by solving daily problems. Your Discussion can focus on any of the following questions:
QUESTION 1: How are companies in the sharing economy like Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb changing the traditional norms of both business and products? Are there lessons that more traditional companies can learn from those in the sharing economy?
QUESTION 2: Many companies in the sharing economy have successfully taken their business to foreign markets as well. What challenges do you see for these companies as they expand into foreign markets?
QUESTION 3: Discuss the notion of the sharing industry. Why did it start? Does it fill a need that previously went unfilled? Do you see opportunities for new companies?