Designing Sharing Platforms : A study of the Hoffice coworking network

Abstract: The sharing economy, or collaborative consumption, refers to peer-to-peer sharing of goods and services coordinated through a commercialized or community-based online platform. Collaborative consumption platforms are used for sharing of our under-used assets, e.g. our homes, tools, and vehicles, and can bring social communities together. Through sharing we use our resources more effectively, and contribute towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Hoffice was started in 2013 in Stockholm and promotes the concept of working for free in the homes of others, and is getting a lot of attention around the world. This nonprofit network helps people arrange home offices, where hosts share their residence with people who, through Facebook, can reserve a seat for the day. The purpose of these work events is to create free workspaces, with the possibilities for social, structured and disciplined environments, while allowing individuals to benefit from the support and intelligence of others. This research aims to study the hosts in the Hoffice network, to find ways to explain the key driving values, as well as barriers, and apply it to a tailored platform in order to motivate more people to host work events. The central research question is furthermore How could well adapted social platforms increase motivation for people to engage in the collaborative consumption as exemplified by Hoffice? Six semi-structured interviews with past host from year 2014-2015 were conducted to gain qualitative answers about how an online platform can be developed in order to motivate Hoffice members to become hosts. The questions were divided into three different sections; Background, About Hoffice, and Online platform. Observations were performed with a purpose of understanding the structure of a Hoffice event, and to gain a better understanding of the users needs and behaviors. After a first version of a prototype was developed, evaluations and user tests were completed with the interviewees and the founder of Hoffice. Results show that communication, offline and online, is important when people engage in collaborative consumptions, and Facebook has a great impact on people when communicating and spreading information. Although Facebook has some weaknesses when it comes to planning and inviting people to events due to their restrictions and functionalities. Also, when using Facebook for a sharing service, the users are forced to have a Facebook account to partake. All services that involve sharing should consider and support geographical location features. Moreover, to show appreciation is important. People find motivation from feeling liked and appreciated, and want to feel that their contribution is making a positive impact on other people's lives. Finally, it is important to have clear rules and guidelines for monitoring member’s behavior, otherwise uncertainties and dissatisfaction will occur.