Fostering the inclusion of women as entrepreneurs in the sharing economy through collaboration: a commons approach using the institutional analysis and development framework

With public concerns about fostering the inclusion of women, especially those with low socio-economic status, governments and private entities have started to develop collaborative strategies to improve women’s development. One such strategy is collaborations with sharing economy entities, which are online platforms that provide entrepreneurship opportunities for individuals despite geographical and structural barriers. This paper draws on Ostrom’s concept of the commons to explore how to foster the inclusion of women as entrepreneurs in the sharing economy through collaboration. Thematic analysis reveals the nature and outcomes of policies geared towards women’s development. While previous studies on the sharing economy have noted that the top-down nature of its operations has resulted in individualised gains, this paper highlights the collaboration within these settings–leading to individual and mutual monetary and non-monetary benefits–stemming from a shared digital and traditional commons with context-based ideologies and stakeholder actions. This paper gives practitioners a clear understanding of how they can successfully support and create a context for women’s entrepreneurship in the age of digitisation.