Assessing the Potential of the Sharing Economy in Kazakhstan’s Regions through Digital Transformation Metrics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2025-4-6Keywords:
sharing economy, collaborative consumption, digital transformation, digital technologies, digital literacy, cluster analysis, regional analysis, digitalization indexAbstract
The sharing economy, driven by digital technologies, is transforming traditional interactions between businesses and consumers and promoting more efficient resource use. However, the lack of standardized methodologies and official statistics complicates comprehensive analysis of its potential and scale. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using digital transformation indicators to assess the development of the sharing economy and identify key factors influencing its dynamics. A methodological approach was developed to assess the potential of the sharing economy and suggest ways to promote sharing-based models across regions. It combines an analysis of industry digitalization, using an adapted Digitalization Index, with an evaluation of how ready the population is to use digital technologies. Kazakhstan’s regions were grouped by digitalization level through hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method), and the results for both industry and population datasets were compared using the TOPSIS method. This allowed the regions to be ranked according to their readiness to adopt sharing economy practices. The results reveal significant regional differences in the digital development of industries and in the population’s readiness to use digital technologies. Five regional groups with varying development potential were identified: high digitalization in the two largest cities; above-average in two industrially developed regions; average in four regions; below-average in eight regions; and low in four regions. For regions with low digitalization, recommendations include developing basic digital infrastructure, enhancing digital literacy, and stimulating small business activity. For leading regions (Almaty and Astana), it is advised to develop innovative services, attract foreign investment, and scale successful practices to other areas. The study’s practical significance lies in its applicability for designing targeted regional digitalization strategies to reduce disparities and promote sharing economy models across Kazakhstan.
References
Abdrakhmanova, G. I., Vasilkovsky, S. A., Vishnevskiy, K. O., Gershman, M. A., Gokhberg, L. M., Grebenyuk, A. Yu., Dranev, Yu. Ya., Ziangirov, A. Ch., Zinina, T. S., Kovaleva, G. G., Kuzmicheva, L. B., Maksimenko, D. D., Maksimenko, M. R., Martynov, D. M., Nefedova, V. A., Nechaeva, E. G., Ochirova, E. S., Privorotskaya, S. G., Proskuryakova, L. N., Rudnik, P. B., Tarasova, N. N., Turovets, Yu. V., Utyatina, K. E., Shkaleva, E. V., Shparov, P. O., & Yakonov, A. A. (2022). Tsifrovaya transformatsiya: ozhi-daniya i real’nost’ [Digital transformation: Expectation and reality]. Moscow: The Higher School of Economics Publishing House, 221. (In Russ.)
Afanasieva, T. V., & Kazanbieva, A. Kh. (2022). Approach to Assessing the Digital Economy Development Based on Clustering of Russian Regions. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of regions], 18 (4), 1075–1088. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2022-4-8 (In Russ.)
Bauer, J. M., & Latzer, M. (2016). The economics of the Internet: an overview. In Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857939852.00007
Blinnikova, A. V., Danilina, O. M., & Dashkov, A. A. (2020). Digital transformation and sharing economy. Vestnik universiteta, (8), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.26425/1816–4277-2020-8-48-56 (In Russ.)
Bogavac, M., Prigoda, L., & Cekerevac, Z. (2020). SMEs Digitalization and the Sharing Economy. MEST Journal, 8 (1), 36–47. http://doi.org/10.12709/mest.08.08.01.05
Botsman, R. & Rogers, R. (2011). What’s Mine Is Yours: How collaborative consumption is changing the way we live. Collins.
Buck, C., & Eder, D. (2018). The impact of digitization on business models –A systematic literature review. 24th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), August 2018.
Bukht, R., & Heeks, R. (2018). Defining, Conceptualising and Measuring the Digital Economy. Vestnik mezhdunarodnykh organizatsiy [International Organisations Research Journal], 13 (2), 143–172. http://doi.org/10.17323/1996–7845-2018-02-07 (In Russ.)
Edelman, B. G., & Luca, M. (2014). Digital Discrimination: The Case of Airbnb.com. Harvard Business School Working Paper, (14–054). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2377353
Einav, L., Farronato, C., & Levin, J. (2016). Peer-to-Peer Markets. Annual Review of Economics, 8 (1), 615–635. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080315–015334
Felson, M., & Spaeth, J. L. (1978). Community structure and collaborative consumption: A routine activity approach. American Behavioral Scientist, 21 (4), 614–624. https://doi.org/10.1177/000276427802100411
Ferrarini, F., Muzzioli, S. & De Baets, B. (2024). A TOPSIS analysis of regional competitiveness at European level. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 34 (7), 52–72. https://doi.org/10.1108/cr-01-2024–0005
Hawlitschek, F., Teubner, T., & Weinhardt, C. (2016). Trust in the sharing economy. Die Unternehmung, 70 (1), 26–44. https://doi.org/10.5771/0042-059x-2016-1-26
Hwang, C., Lai, Y., & Liu, T. (1993). A new approach for multiple objective decision making. Computers & Operations Research, 20 (8), 889–899. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305–0548(93)90109-v
Ito, T., Iwata, K., McKenzie, C., & Urata, S. (2017). China’s Financial Transformation: Editors’ Overview. Asian Economic Policy Review, 12(2), 167-187. https://doi.org/10.1111/aepr.12192
Korovin, G. B. (2023). Comparative Assessment of Digitalisation in Russian Industrial Regions. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of regions], 19 (1), 60–74. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2023-1-5 (In Russ.)
Kuur, O. V., Varavin, Ye. V., & Kozlova, M. V. (2024). Sharing economy in Kazakhstan: conditions and factors of development. Central Asian Economic Review, (1), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.52821/2789–4401-2024-1-22-43 (In Russ.)
Lessig, L. (2008). Two economies: Commercial and sharing. In Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy (pp. 117–176). Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849662505
Mi, Z., & Coffman, D. (2019). The sharing economy promotes sustainable societies. Nature Communications, 10 (1), 1214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09260-4
Mirolyubova, T. V., Karlina, T. V. & Nikolaev, R. S. (2020). Digital Economy: Identification and Measurements Problems in Regional Economy. Ekonomika regiona [Economy of region], 16 (2), 377–390. http://doi.org/10.17059/2020-2-4 (In Russ.)
Pouri, M. J., & Hilty, L. M. (2020). Digitally enabled sharing and the circular economy: Towards a framework for sustainability assessment. In R. Schaldach, K. H. Simon, J. Weismüller, & V. Wohlgemuth (Eds.), Advances and new trends in environmental informatics (pp. 105–116). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30862-9_8
Puschmann, T., & Alt, R. (2016). Sharing Economy. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 58 (1), 93–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-015-0420-2
Repushevskaya, O. A., & Lagvilava, N. L. (2021). Development of the sharing economy as a new form of consumer cooperation in the conditions of digitalization. Russian Journal of Management, 9 (1), 176–180. https://doi.org/10.29039/2409–6024-2021-9-1-176-180 (In Russ.)
Sundararajan, A. (2016). The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism. MIT Press.
Tapscott, D. (1996). The digital economy: Promise and peril in the age of networked intelligence. McGraw-Hill.
Varavin, E. V., & Kozlova, M. V. (2018) Assessment of «Green» Economy Development in Regions (on the Example of the Republic of Kazakhstan). Ekonomika Regiona [Economy of Region], 14 (4), 1282–1297. https://doi.org/10.17059/2018-4-18 (In Russ.)
Varavin, Ye. V., Kozlova, M. V., Kuur, O. V., & Pestunova, G. B. (2023). Assessment of investment attractiveness of regional industries in the context of green development. Ekonomika Regiona [Economy of Regions], 19 (2), 494–510. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2023-2-15 (In Russ.)
Varavin, Y. V., Kuur, O. V., & Kozlova, M. V. (2025). Assessment of the level of digitalization of regions as a factor in the development of the sharing economy in Kazakhstan. Central Asian Economic Review, (2), 171–185. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.52821/2789–4401-2025-2-171-185 (In Russ.)
Veretennikova, A. Yu., & Kozinskaya, K. M. (2022). Sharing economy for sustainable development of society: A cross-country analysis. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Seriya: Ekonomika [Perm University Herald. Economy], 17 (3), 271–287. (In Russ.)
Wang, Y., Xiang, D., Yang, Z., & Ma, S. (2019). Unraveling customer sustainable consumption behaviors in sharing economy: A socio-economic approach based on social exchange theory. Journal of cleaner production, 208, 869–879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.139
Ward, J. H. (1963). Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 58 (301), 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1963.10500845
Yoo, Y., Boland, R. J., Lyytinen, K., & Majchrzak, A. (2012). Organizing for innovation in the digitized world. Organization Science, 23 (5), 1398–1408. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0771
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Варавин Евгений Владимирович , Козлова Марина Васильевна , Куур Ольга Вячеславовна , Дудкин Василий Михайлович
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
