The rebound effect of responsible consumption: an explorative research on sharing economy consumers

It is commonly believed that the sharing economy (SE), the economic system based on the sharing of goods and services, promotes sustainable consumption. However, the spread of this practice and digital technologies, have opened a debate on the possible negative effects of the SE, questioning its role as a facilitator of sustainability. According to many authors, the cost savings and convenience of this new sharing practice generates the so-called “rebound effect”, i.e. an increased demand for products and services. Given the scarcity of studies about this within the domain of the SE, the present research aims to shed light on the rebound effects that are associable with the SE, focusing on the household level. A qualitative empirical analysis will be performed through the focus group methodology, involving active users of SE from different industries (e.g., food, goods, mobility). The goal is to nderstand what are the typologies of rebound effects that could be associated with the use of SE services and provide a framework to classify and measure them.