Sustainable Value Creation Through Sharing and Renting – Lessons Learned from the Outdoor Industry in Sweden

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to discuss how value can be created in new ways by sharing or renting service (e g products). This new type of businesses contributes to creating sustainable value both for the customers as well as for the environment. Today, it is no longer considered sustainable to always buy products, especially when it comes to products that will be used a few times. As a result, therefore, a sharing economy has emerged. It is both about renting out existing products against payment, but there are also examples of establishments where products are rented out free of charge. Lovelock and Gummesson (2004) addressed the non-ownership paradigm orrental paradigm almost 20 years ago but there is still lack of research in this area. Study design/Methodology/Approach: The study was designed as a case study where eight different cases were selected in Sweden. The cases are all business in the outdoor and tourism industry. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the managers as well as secondary data such as home pages, social media, and written materials. Findings: The study show that in particular the outdoor industry and tourism the phenomen on ofrenting seems to be well established for some type of service. There are some areas that have along history of renting meanwhile other is never. The result also show that some segments of customers seem to be more openminded to renting rather than buying. Originality/Value: Studies on the sharing economy is still a quite new phenomenon and this study contributes to a deeper knowledge. Practical implications: The study could be useful for business owners that are seeking new more sustainable ways to develop their industry from traditional selling products to renting them.