Sharing is Caring, a New Institution on the Rise? Car sharing organisations on the Swedish market

Abstract

Car sharing is a transportation option that is rapidly growing on the Swedish market coupled to both increasing urbanization and sharing trends. This study investigates how the creation and stabilization process of CS organisations unfolds coupled with the challenges that occur along the way. Four Swedish car sharing organisations are examined with the help of Callon’s four moments in the process of translation. This study shows that the process of creation and stabilization of the CS organisations is complex and relies on forming coalitions, collaborations and networks. Further, our study indicates that the CS organisations need to collectively grow the car sharing industry. It concludes that car sharing organisations challenge the institution private car ownership through their different translation processes of car sharing. When using the theoretical lens in this study it is further concluded that the car sharing organisations processes can never be rendered as fully stabilized since it is a continuous process.