A systematic literature review: relationships between the sharing economy, sustainability and sustainable development goals

Abstract

The sharing economy is an umbrella term for different business models that seem to have a positive impact on sustainability. To achieve sustainable development, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an instrument and guide for countries and individuals. This paper sheds light on the relationships between the sharing economy, sustainability and SDGs through the content analysis of 74 papers from the database Web of Science that consider these factors through the topics of the environment, consumer values, business characteristics and urban impact regarding sectors such as mobility and accommodation. Results express that the sharing economy helps to achieve all SDGs. However, further research is needed because of the novelty of the topic and the existence of many gaps. The sharing economy has a positive effect on the dimensions of sustainability from the economic, social and environmental points of view.