In spite of watching business models such as Airbnb and Zipcar succeed globally, somehow, Indian entrepreneurs don’t seem to be keen on building businesses based on collaborative consumption. It’s not that Indians are bad collaborators or bad businessmen; it’s just that the fever of collaborative consumption has not caught on in India as it has around the world.
Image courtesy http://www.usaid.gov Andre J. Fanthome
More precisely, the factors (according to me) that together fuel a collaborative/sharing economy – i.e. understanding that (a) strangers can be trusted to mingle with and do business with, (b) saving/preserving the planet by consuming less or consuming wisely is critical to our own sustainability, (c) ownership maybe gratifying but it is not the only means of living a fulfilling life, (d) sharing and consuming shared resources/products/services are not necessarily signs of poor lifestyles or poverty, and (e) technology can and does enable connections and conducting business between people quickly, easily and without worry – are yet to take their full effect in Indian minds.
In short, Indians today prefer to live their lives on principles of ownership and enjoyment. Sharing is an embarrassment they like to steer away from. This, in spite of (a) a wonderful history and culture of sharing (read my previous post), (b) a socialist, secular and democratic political constitution, (c) a recessionary economy that has been dogging the country for the past six years, and (d) a universe of spirituality that India has been known for through the ages.
Are we then living in a fool’s world? Perhaps. I don’t know. But this I know: collaborative consumption is as much about a mind-set as it is about economy. Perhaps, more so. I’m sure the Indian mind will mature over the next few years to embrace a lifestyle of collaborative consumption.
