TY - JOUR T1 - Trust, Transparency and Security in the Sharing Economy: What is the Government's Role? JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2020 A1 - Ruben D’Hauwers A1 - Jacobus van der Bank A1 - Mehdi Montakhabi KW - blockchain KW - government KW - network KW - P2P KW - peer-to-peer KW - sharing economy KW - trust AB - To obtain access to goods or services between people or stakeholders, some collaboration between actors is a necessary component. Sharing and a sharing economy is closely related to trust. Within the context of 'the' sharing economy, especially digital trust is assumed to play a crucial role. Access to information is a crucial digital cue which can lead to trust yet, sharing economies are subject to asymmetry of information, wherein certain actors have limited access to market information on the consumption behaviour of users, the pricing of a product and, the reliability of peers. The lack of confidential market information between actors is thus limiting the potential for collaboration, as it reduces trust between them. Governments are amongst the (usually more trustworthy) candidates to undertake critical roles in enhancing the sharing of sensitive data. This paper aims to identify the role of government in facilitating and enabling data sharing between various actors in sharing economies. In this paper, we analyse the adequacy of a government's potential role in enabling transparency, trust and security, while operating within a sharing economy scenario, based on two case studies. Additionally, the role of technology is briefly defined for digital platforms and for blockchain-based opportunities for sharing economies. The use cases for the paper concern a digital platform for industrial symbioses, and peer-to-peer electricity trading based on blockchain technology. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 10 UR - timreview.ca/article/1352 IS - 5 U1 - Free University of Brussels Ruben D’Hauwers is a researcher at imec-SMIT-VUB. He graduated as a Master in Business Engineering at the University of Ghent (2010), and did a second master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Antwerp Management School (2012). He worked as a business developer for AIESEC and SBE in Belgium and Myanmar. Ruben joined imec-SMIT-VUB in 2014 in the field of business model research. His research concerns business models in public-private collaboration in smart cities, in data exchange between stakeholders and business models for sustainable innovations. U2 - Free University of Brussels Jacobus van der Bank is a researcher at-imec-SMIT-VUB. He obtained an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). After obtaining his Master’s degree, and working as a consultant for two years on a variety of projects, he decided to join the academic world where he lectured on entrepreneurship, innovation and business finance at various universities in South Africa. In 2018 he joined SMIT where he is currently working as a business modeller and is responsible for the development of novel business models and commercialisation strategies for projects pertaining to media and the telecommunication domain. U3 - Free University of Brussels Mehdi Montakhabi is a researcher and Ph.D. student at imec-SMIT-Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He studied a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, a Master in Entrepreneurship, and a second Master in International Business. His MBA and DBA were in marketing. His current research concerns business model innovation in the energy sector. He worked several years in high-tech firms’ marketing management followed by an entrepreneurial experience in the retail sector. He continued his career as the executive manager of a consultancy firm in shopping centre management. He was honoured to be the deputy secretary of the Council of Shopping Centers while directing an educational and analytical monthly magazine in the retail sector. ER -