Abstract

Pollution, resource depletion, and to a lesser extent, global warming called into question mass consumption. Public policies, media broadcasters, tech giants, and supranational entities (e.g., United Nations) nudged societies into alternative consumption forms that have been deemed more sustainable, such as collaborative consumption (CC). This paper aims at proposing a theoretical–empirical model that explains the materiality of sustainable collaborative practices through bike-sharing. The study further analyzes how connections, mediations, and inductions occur between individuals, platforms, and providers in bike-sharing systems of Porto Alegre in Southern Brazil and Vancouver's bike-sharing in Canada. We tracked these actants using the Actor–Network Theory through 30 interviews with consumers and managers. The findings suggest a dynamic ecosystem of mechanisms that mediate interactions and enact “sustainable collaborative consumption (SCC)” through digital solutions and physical equipment. The results illustrate that SCC is positively influenced by three avenues: (1) sustainable individual actions, (2 ) digital platforms, and (3) sustainable physical equipment.

摘要

污染、资源枯竭，以及在较小程度上，全球变暖引发了对大规模消费的质疑。公共政策、媒体广播公司、科技巨头和超国家实体（例如联合国）推动社会采用被认为更可持续的替代消费形式，例如协作消费 (CC)。本文旨在提出一个理论-经验模型，解释通过共享单车实现可持续合作实践的重要性。该研究进一步分析了巴西南部阿雷格里港的自行车共享系统和加拿大温哥华的自行车共享系统中个人、平台和提供者之间如何发生联系、调解和诱导。我们通过对消费者和管理者的 30 次访谈，使用演员网络理论跟踪了这些行为者。研究结果表明了一个动态的机制生态系统，通过数字解决方案和物理设备来调解互动并制定“可持续协作消费 (SCC)”。结果表明，SCC 受到三个途径的积极影响：(1) 可持续的个人行动，(2) 数字平台，以及 (3) 可持续的物理设备。