Definitions and mapping the landscape in the collaborative economy

This chapter examines definitions of the collaborative economy and maps out the landscape of collaborative economy in tourism. We cast a wide inclusive net, acknowledging that the collaborative economy is found in the intersection of two words: “collaborative” and “economy”. Any attempt to narrow its definition to digitally-mediated, monetised transactions limits the potential understandings that we may develop about this phenomenon. We argue that the collaborative economy involves collaboration through which there is an exchange of resources, assets or services. By corollary, researchers should pay attention to the properties of that exchange, the relational qualities of the actors directly and indirectly involved, and the social, economic, political and environmental factors that influence that exchange.