Preview of the Brands & Collaborative Economy Research Project

In March I embarked on a series of qualitative research projects to help organizations prepare for the disruption and opportunity emerging from the Collaborative Economy, and understand what resources they need to be successful. Wave 1 responses are in and the analysis is almost finished. I wanted to share a preview of the results to date. The full set of results will be published in June.

The pool of organizations that completed the survey ranged from Fortune 500 software, media and retail companies to small startups in the sharing economy space. A handful of non-profits also participated.

Key observations:

1. A shared understanding of the Collaborative Economy is still forming.
2. The Collaborative Economy is relevant to organizations, but the level of urgency isn’t high (yet).
3. The most interesting sectors are Learning, Services and Corporate (“Sectors” as described by Crowd Companies Honeycomb model).
4. Many organizations see online communities, social networks and collaboration platforms as “enablers” and areas to begin experimentation.

• Don’t understand how to formulate a strategy
• Don’t have the necessary vision, leadership and resources to engage
• Don’t see a burning platform of missed opportunity or competitive threat
• Aren’t willing (yet) to make the investments in platforms, partnerships, open collaboration and the making corporate assets available.

The respondents who did indicate a high level of urgency, and had active pilots, were engaging in activities ranging from: investment in or partnership with complimentary startups, development of platforms and marketplaces, evolving existing social business programs, and re-developing the value exchanges of their online communities. These pilot programs will be covered in more detail in the final report.

3. Emerging Sectors
Research participants were asked to rank certain sectors of the Collaborative Economy by level of interest. The sector categories were sourced from the  Crowd Companies Honeycomb model.

4. Enablers
Survey participants were asked to rank the following systems, technologies and engagements based upon their perceived value in enabling an organization to engage in the Collaborative Economy.

The full Brands and the Collaborative Economy report will be released in June, going in to further detail on the topics above, as well as:

• An overview of current pilot programs being conducted by the respondents;
• Key sources of information and data about the Collaborative Economy;
• An overview of missing or underdeveloped resources and services needed by organizations for their Collaborative Economy initiatives.

Next Up:
Wave 2 Research begins June 1st.
Wave 2 research will begin the week of June 1st, and will cover:

• Lessons learned from early successes and failures
• Organizational resources needed to develop and sustain pilot programs
• Development of a simple framework for Collaborative Economy pilot programs

If you are interested in participating in the research (via survey), being interviewed or profiled for the report, or sponsoring a future report, please send me an note.

Private Briefings & Advisory Sessions
I am also doing a limited number of private briefings on the Collaborative Economy research and how a modern approach to online communities can support innovation, customer acquisition and retention.
I’m available for online session booking via Popexpert, or feel free to drop me a note.