The Sharing Economy As a Strategy for Institutional Sustainability: Evidence from the Brazilian Context

Authors

  • Márcio Rodrigues Rocha Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1057-5427
  • Domingos Xavier Anibal Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul
  • Ilda Conceição da costa Venácio Mabue Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul
  • Alexandre Borba da Silveira Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5620-2125

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37497/jsim.v13.id185.2026

Keywords:

Sharing economy, Institutional sustainability, Digital governance, Responsible consumption, Collaborative platforms

Abstract

Objective: To examine how collaborative platforms contribute to sustainable resource management by analyzing environmental, social, and governance impacts across four representative sectors in Brazil.

Method: A sequential mixed-methods approach is adopted, beginning with a systematic review of 26 articles from Q1/Q2 international journals published in 2024, followed by case studies on selected platforms (Airbnb, BlaBlaCar, Ecofood, and OLX). Qualitative data are examined through thematic content analysis using NVivo, while quantitative data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations in SPSS.

Results: The results highlight substantial contributions to sustainability: an estimated reduction of 1.6 million tons of CO₂ by BlaBlaCar, an 82% decrease in food waste by Ecofood, and a 57% extension of the useful life of goods on OLX. Recent literature confirms that digital trust, transparency, and adequate governance are critical conditions for the sustainability of these platforms. However, regulatory fragmentation, legal uncertainty, and digital exclusion persist, limiting scalability and the equitable distribution of benefits.

Relevance and contributions: The study contributes to the literature on institutional sustainable management by empirically demonstrating how governance and digital infrastructure condition the effectiveness of the sharing economy as a sustainability strategy.

Author Biographies

Márcio Rodrigues Rocha, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul

Mestrando em Administração, com área de concentração em Gestão Organizacional no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração (PPGA) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brasil (2024). Possui MBA na Nova Lei de Licitações (Lei nº 14.133/2021) e especializações em Auditoria, Docência no Ensino Superior, Administração de Pessoas, Direito Administrativo e Ciências Humanas e Sociais Aplicadas e o Mundo do Trabalho. É tecnólogo em Recursos Humanos, tecnólogo em Processos Gerenciais e bacharel em Administração. Atua como servidor público estadual no Rio Grande do Sul, com experiência em gestão administrativa e financeira na área educacional. Seus interesses de pesquisa incluem sustentabilidade, governança, políticas públicas, gestão organizacional e transição energética.

Domingos Xavier Anibal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul

Master’s student in Administration in the Graduate Program in Administration (PPGA) at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil (2025). Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Auditing from the Instituto Superior Mutasa (ISMU), Mozambique (2024), with a research project entitled “Profile of the procurement sector in companies in the city of Manica.”

His academic research interests include digital marketing, sustainable tourism, consumer behavior in digital environments, digital strategies for the promotion of tourism destinations, and the use of digital platforms in the development of sustainable tourism.

Ilda Conceição da costa Venácio Mabue, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul

Master’s student in Administration in the Graduate Program in Administration (PPGA) at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil (2025). Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Administration and Hospital Management from the Universidade Zambeze, Mozambique (2021), with a research project entitled “Analysis of Food Inventory Management at the Warehouse of the Provincial Hospital of Tete.”

Alexandre Borba da Silveira, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande do Sul

Postdoctoral fellow at UNISINOS (2026); holds a postdoctoral degree in Strategy from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR, 2024) and a PhD in Business Administration from UNISINOS, Brazil (2020). He was a visiting professor in the Graduate Program in Administration at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG, 2025) and a visiting researcher at the University of Southern Denmark (2019).

He is currently a professor of Digital Marketing, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy at IFRS, UNISINOS, and UNILASALLE. His current research interests include digital marketing, marketing innovation, marketing arrangements, consumer behavior, and coopetition, with a focus on digital consumption and digital platforms, using qualitative research methods such as interviews, ethnography, and netnography.

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Published

2026-03-19

How to Cite

Rodrigues Rocha, M., Anibal, D. X. ., Mabue, I. C. da costa V., & Silveira, A. B. da . (2026). The Sharing Economy As a Strategy for Institutional Sustainability: Evidence from the Brazilian Context. Journal of Sustainable Institutional Management , 13, e0185. https://doi.org/10.37497/jsim.v13.id185.2026

Issue

Vol. 13 (2026): January - December (in progress)

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