Sunday, 22 March 2015

Sujavna 2015 (12)

Sunday 22, March 2015 1630 hrs

Shared Economics, is perhaps not a new idea. In fact many traditional economies prior to the industrial economies, were some sort of shared ones. Even today, many urban initiatives that are propelled by ecological concerns (such as carpooling, share-a-cab) are all offshoots of this concept. But the concept of Shared Economics, needs a more robust theoretical framework (and a definition, indeed!) and a concerted initiative to make it into a mainstream practice.

To begin, it may be a good idea to just start listing what all can be examples of shared economies. And then to extract the underlying principles, practices, transactional and institutional structures that define them, the economic gains and the underlying risks. My illustrative list would include:
(a)  Joint ventures of all kinds including contract-farming and contract-manufacturing, PPP models for infrastructure and healthcare projects.
(b)  Off-shored business processes, SaaS models, E-Tutoring.
(c)  Citizen-Journalism, publishing-promotion-distribution-retailing of discrete entertainment products such as books, movies, travel and food products.
(d)  And now for some creative illustrations…
1.    Government clerks who can share their work and pay with an unemployed but empanelled and capable person for just weekends and holidays.
2.    Schools and Colleges offering their building and other infrastructure facilities during non-working hours, to private e-learning companies who can use the same to efficiently distribute education and training products to a wider population of needy students.
3.    Pharmacies who can capture vital input healthcare trends for policy makers and healthcare research institutions.
4.    Design Studios and Design professionals working with Business Chambers and Trade Associations to make products and services excellent in design and ecologically better.
5.    Airport operators and Metro Rail operators offering business meeting spaces and related services within their main hubs so as to minimise road travel and increase the productivity of travelling sales and marketing personnel.
(e)  And plentymore.

So what is your view on the subject of shared economies?


Have a great week ahead.

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