Our goal is to provide an overview of the sharing economy in the context of marketing channels and supply chains. The use of peer-to-peer disruptive technology is challenging participation in traditional marketing channels. We provide grounded research that explains this new business model and briefly examines key issues that firms in this new marketing channel face. Some of the issues include access versus ownership, the role of independent contractors, and regulatory issues. We position the sharing economy as a unique marketing channel and explain how it differs from traditional marketing channels. Although we define key terminology, other articles in this issue provide in-depth coverage of the emerging issues.
Keywords: access economy, disruptive technology, gig economy, marketing channels, sharing economy