Online, Mobile, and Social Media Marketing Sharing Economy Changes in the techno
ID: 350531 • Letter: O
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Online, Mobile, and Social Media Marketing Sharing Economy Changes in the technological environment have created amazing opportunities for new business models while at the same time threatening traditional ones. For example, Airbnb has shaken up the hospitality industry by allowing people to rent out spare rooms or their entire homes to strangers. The Uber and Lyft ride-sharing businesses allow consumers to find a ride from people looking to eam extra money with their vehicles. And with Uber you don't have to worry about having enough cash or giving your credit card to the driver- payments and tips are all done through the Uber app. Traditional hotel and cab companies are crying foul, claiming that these businesses are not playing by the same regulatory rules to which they are subject. Others are concerned about safety amid reports of riders allegedly being attacked, kidnappings, and driver accidents, questioning the thoroughness of ackground checks of the 160,000-plus Uber drivers around the world. Some countries states, and cities have banned Uber because of these issues. 3-9. Desenbe how Ubers business model works and the role technology has played to its saccess What are the arguments for banning these types of businesses? What are the arguments for defending them? (AACSB Communication: Use of IT: Reflective Thinking Describe examples of two other businesses based on the sharing economy model and create a new basiness idea based on this concept.(MAC Reflective Thinking) 3-10. SB: Communication;Explanation / Answer
3-9. Uber’s business model works through exchange of service and money between two community members. It’s based on sharing economy model. Just like in the conventional business, Uber has a set of servers and clients. However, the servers are not the traditional cab drivers. In fact, Uber encourages anyone with a car to be an Uber driver. In other words, Uber drivers are crowd sourced from the regular community members.
Technology makes hailing a cab easy through Uber. For example, in traditional taxis, customers need to be present on the road in order to get a cab. Or in at least call the cab company in order to send a cab to their location. However, with Uber, all a customer needs to do is ask for a cab on the app and the system automatically allots the nearest cab to the customer. In addition, the payment process is also automated and customers can pay directly through the mobile app. These consumer conveniences has been made possible due to technology.
The argument for banning these types of businesses are that, they do not follow the traditional regulations. For example, a regular cab driver needs to follow government regulation in order to continue providing service. However, since Uber drivers are not technically cab drivers, they skip those regulations for safety, security, and legal system.
The argument for defending a business like Uber is that, it is not a cab service. It is a community of drivers and passengers. If a person took a ride from his/her friend, then the friend does not need to conform to the cab driver regulation. Same way within the community the Uber drivers are technically just another individual who is helping his/her community members around.
3-10. Two other examples of sharing economy model are Kickstrater and Homeaway. Kickstarter allows projects to be funded from the community member through crowdsourcing. Homeaway allows community members to share their real estate with travelers and tourists.
A new business idea for sharing economy could be sharing the cooking skills of community members. For example, a trained or professional cooks could offer their service to cook lunch or dinner for various events. The customers could book their services online and have these cooks come and cook for them. The billing could be on hourly basis.
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