Sharing Business Models in Urban Development: Case Embassy of Sharing, Sweden

The uptake of circular and sharing economy is accelerating, especially in cities and urban areas. Sharing is considered as one of the key strategies in circular economy, and a way to deliver social impact. This study explores the emergence of sharing business models in the real estate industry. The aim is to establish how novel business models are introduced in an urban development project. We employ a single-case study approach, and focus on an extreme case from Malmö, Sweden. The new development comprises seven buildings, all with their unique take on environmental sustainability, sharing economy, and innovation. The project functions as a testbed for designing and implementing several sharing business models, such as, different types of shared spaces and restaurant services, a modern library, a local currency, as well as a community manager. We find that, engaging different organizations, including local start-ups, municipal actors, and youth organizations to the sharing community is essential. The role of the developer-owner is to allow experimentation through providing the physical space, in some cases below market pricing. The study highlights many opportunities, but also challenges when adopting sharing business models. The findings are useful to both established real estate developers looking for new ways to create societal impact, and new businesses aiming to enter the real estate market with a niche.