Social impacts of digital platforms: A can of worms in governing the hybridity of Airbnb

Abstract

As a digital platform, Airbnb has had many positive impacts, including increased income, reduced costs, sustained competitive advantage, streams of innovation, and enhanced value creation. In terms of negative social impacts, Airbnb has been associated with income inequalities and social segregation resulting from higher property prices. These impacts have usually been attributed to Airbnb in a straightforward, overly simplistic manner that reflects the typical analytical approach used in academia and work life to assess the social impacts of digital platforms. In this chapter, it is argued that these analytical approaches cut corners and are severely limited because social impacts are influenced by interactions between public, private, and civil society actors and activities. Here we explore the social impacts of Airbnb from a hybridity and hybrid governance perspective. Through an inductive case study design, the hermeneutic analysis aims to illustrate how Airbnb’s digital platform is currently part of hybrid governance. The chapter uses a holistic approach to investigate the governing of digital platforms, here Airbnb, from the perspective of hybridity.