Unfair competition – Is the sharing economy’s value based on offering an alternative business model?

In 1999, Napster started a revolution: sharing music was not only cheaper than buying CDs but it also had a cool factor and allowed more choice. Even though Napster turned out to be operating in a legal grey zone, the sharing model grew and has been adopted in various sectors in the past five years.

The traditional business model where a company employs staff directly and uses its own set-up to deliver a product or service is now facing stiff competition from a model based on a sharing mentality.