C. Research objective
11. Access to Essential Goods and Services
Based on BSR’s Inclusive sharing economy, there are three important to build an inclusive sharing economy, focused on the second pillar: access to goods and services helps individuals improve their well-being and standard of living and realize their potential—creating significant macro-economic benefits and serving as a driver of innovation and productivity, which benefits businesses. However, enhancing access to goods and services depends on the other pillars, specifically:
a. People (cultivating diversity and inclusion)
b. Products and process (fostering inclusive innovation) c. Partnership (amplifying impact and reach)
25 12. Dimension of Access to Essential goods and Services
Figure 2.3
Inclusive Sharing Economy Framework
(Source: Shareable.net)
a. People (Cultivate Diversity and Inclusion)
According to Taylor Cox in Cultural Diversity in Organizations, Managing diversity is defined as planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized.
For the sharing economy to be inclusive, it must cultivate diversity in workforces and create good jobs. It must also make inclusion a priority in the investment community, which sets the expectations for company performance. Creating a culture of inclusion along the value chain is the
26 foundation for fostering more inclusive innovation in products and processes and building partnerships with a diverse range of actors. (BSR an Inclusive Sharing economy 15:38).
1) Inclusive Workforce
Inclusiveness is about leveraging the differences such as : Education Background, gender, age and marital status.is about creating an environment where all of people feel, and are, valued, where they are able to bring their differences to work each day, and where they contribute their personal best in every encounter.
(Source:http://www.ey.com/us/en/people-and-culture/diversity-and- inclusiveness)
To promote inclusiveness, the workers have to be diverse. Having a diverse workforce can help companies capture a larger share of the consumer market, because individual workers who have varied backgrounds and experiences can better understand and market to a larger group of consumers. (Kerby and Burns, 2012). Diversity for sharing economy companies has centered on drivers, hosts, or other providers of and participants who use these services. Companies also can cultivate diversity and encourage inclusion in their own workforces—from executives to engineers to user-experience designers—to ensure that diversity is considered in the development of product and services. By adopting the best practices, inclusiveness will be well on its way to building an inclusive workplace (BSR inclusive sharing Economy 15:38)
Research shows that having a diverse workforce can help companies capture a larger share of the consumer market, because individual workers
27 who have varied backgrounds and experiences can better understand and market to a larger group of consumers. ( kerby and burns, 2012)
2) Participation by a diverse set of providers
For the sharing economy needs to be both available and accepted in communities. Many companies in the sharing economy suffer from a trust deficit in communities of people who believe that the benefits of the sharing economy are not being shared widely. One way to address this is to recruit and retain more providers in areas where target users live. (BSR inclusive sharing Economy 16:38). There are a few ways for companies to encourage participation by a more diverse set of providers.
Companies can facilitate the purchase or lease of assets. For example, GO-JEK partnered with PT. Courts Retail that gives GOJEK drivers access to own smartphone at affordable credit price. (source: http://www.beritasatu.com)
Companies can also explore ways to improve job quality in order to attract and retain providers and ensure quality services.
This means ensuring that contract workers are protected by labor standards like minimum wage, overtime pay, and sick leave, and providing adequate social and health-care benefits. It can also include incentives that motivate providers and raise their incomes, training, and support so providers can become successful entrepreneurs. (BSR inclusive sharing Economy 16:38)
3) Inclusion as a priority in capital markets
Promoting inclusion within sharing economy companies requires that financial drivers are aligned with companies’ intentions to
28 create social and economic value. Existing capital markets are structured to undervalue inclusion, which creates barriers for early- stage companies that are beholden to their investors and fighting to stay afloat. Although socially responsible investing has grown significantly in the last few years, factors such as inclusion and diversity are not often prioritized in investment decisions. In recognition of the fact that sharing economy companies were established with the intention to provide social and economic benefit, investors should position themselves and their assets to facilitate the growth of the companies’ positive impacts, such as empowering partner with higher earnings, better utilization of time and creating business in order to generate income to the bottom line. This requires a perspective of ―patient capital‖ that considers long-term returns and social impact returns to be key factors in investment decisions. (BSR inclusive sharing Economy 17:38)
b. Products and Process ( Foster Inclusive Innovation)
Innovation is implementing new ideas that leads to the creation of social and economic value. (Gordon graham, U.S National Innovation Initiative, 2008). According to Schumpeter, Innovation is the
―Implementation of new combinations‖ (new product, new production method, new markets, new purchasing source, new organization).
Companies can gain insight into low-income users’ specific needs by taking a more human-centered approach to their product- and service- development processes. Human-centered design, popularized by product and service designers at IDEO, has been used widely— notably to improve
29 the lives of low-income individuals. Such an approach has the power to open new markets with tailored innovations in delivery models and with product and service offerings that align with the needs of low-income individuals. These needs may span from access to credit cards and traditional financial systems required to participate in sharing economy services, to flexible payment plans for those living paycheck to paycheck, to platform alternatives to accommodate greater mobile web and Android OS usage among low-income smartphone users. (BSR’s Inclusive Sharing Economy 17:38)
1) Innovation Management
Afuah (1998) suggested innovation is the use of new technical and administrative knowledge to offer a new product or service to consumers. Ohno, 1988 define innovation management is a new set of practices and processes aimed at improving production efficiency and reducing waste. According to Yorks & Whitsett, 1985 innovation management is a new set of practices and processes around the job design of employees with the goal of improving their happiness at work.
In addition to retaining a diverse workforce, companies can encourage employees to focus on inclusive innovation through technology by setting inclusion as a top business priority, providing financial and other related resources, and rewarding and incentivizing employees who pursue inclusive innovation work. (BSR’s Inclusive Sharing Economy 1:38)
2) Human Centered Design
30 One of the innovation-management practices companies can implement is adopting a more human-centered approach to product and service design. Sharing economy firms are increasingly recognizing the importance of design in facilitating inclusion.
3) Service Innovation
A service innovation is a new service or such a renewal of an existing service which is put into practice and which provides benefit to the organization that has developed it; the benefit usually derives from the added value that the renewal provides to the customers. In addition, to be an innovation the renewal must be new not only to its developer, but in a broader context, and it must involve some element that can be repeated in new situations, i.e. it must show some generisable features(s). A service innovation process is the process through which the renewals described are achieved (Toivonen &
Tuominen, Emergence of Innovations in Services: Theoretical discussion and two case studies, 2006).
Service innovation is the multidisciplinary process of designing, realizing and marketing combinations of existing and/or new services and products with the final attempt to create valuable customer experiences. (Flikkema et al. 2010)
According to Biswas.R and Pahwa (2015:2) the appeal of sharing economy lies in the fact that sharing economy platform is efficient for the traveler. It also facilitated the new creation of new market. Enterprising can now generate income by renting assets. Trust must be achieved as a first step because the technology has made it
31 more reliable, affordable and safe by authenticating the identity of the service provider.
c. Partnerships (Amplify Impct and research)
Expanding access also requires partnerships to address systemic barriers ranging from low levels of social capital and trust among communities to unsupportive regulations and poor infrastructure. Four different types of partners could help support a more inclusive sharing economy:
1) Partnership with Government and policymakers
There is a need for sharing economy companies to partner with government to create policies that help them grow in a way that creates more benefits for more people and mitigates negative impacts. This could include adjustments to consumer-protection. It could also include policies that seek to integrate these new models into long-term city planning to address gaps in existing public services. .A few cities are starting to take such an approach by considering how shared mobility services can be one piece of the larger transportation and mobility system.
According to A.H. Vos (2010:23) Service innovation can also be viewed as an external process that mainly focuses on interaction with (potential) customers, with the final goal to create high quality customer value.
Trust must be achieved as a first step and supported by technology to make it more reliable, affordable and safe. Moreover, dynamic pricing is applied on a location-specific basis depending on
32 the supply-demand ratio at a particular point in time. (R.Bisawas and Pahwa.A, 2010:9)
2) Partnerships with local communities and civil society actors
Engaging communities, especially local community groups and nonprofit organizations, can help companies identify and understand key community needs and launch pilot projects that tackle existing urban challenges.
It can also help strengthen community trust in new models and promote the idea of sharing with strangers. Regulatory or technological fixes are not the only way to harness the sharing economy to promote greater inclusion. Companies must also commit to understanding and addressing the underlying inequalities in access to technology and credit, discrimination and distrust, and a host of other deep-rooted factors that prevent the sharing economy from working well for everyone. (Tomer and kane 2015). By creating a network with nonprofits, companies could make this an ongoing part of the sharing economy experience, fostering connectivity and a culture of inclusion and trust. (BSR’s Inclusive sharing economy 24:38)
GO-JEK has partnered with Dompet Duafa, the non-profit institution that belongs to the people submissive Indonesia lift the dignity of the poor social humanity. Together, they are helping people who need helps caused by the flood in Garut, 22 September 2016. (source:
dompetdhuafa.org)
33 3) Partnerships with other sharing economy companies
While sharing economy companies are still jockeying for competition, many are starting to see the value in partnering with their peers, especially when it comes to advocacy and positioning with regulatory bodies. These partnerships can be attractive to sharing economy companies, especially when they help overcome external barriers such as poor access to credit for low-income service providers or users. These partnerships include traditional and even competing businesses for instance, in car rental or hospitality industries as well as partnerships with payment and technology companies that serve as facilitators or enablers (BSR’s Inclusive sharing economy 24:38).
GO-JEK has launched Swadaya, it is a program to improve the wellbeing of the drivers. GO-JEK and PT Ruma, together launched Swadaya for the drivers with five benefits, such as: have access towards financial institution in order to have access over financial service, insurance benefit, affordable installment of pruducts, benefits over purchasing goods or foods and repair service. Drivers can gain their income simply by being a head of Arisan (social gathering which a group of relatives meet monthly for a private lottery).
(www.driver.go-jek.com)
4) Partnership with The Broader Business Community
These partnerships can be attractive to sharing economy companies, especially when they help overcome external barriers such as poor access to credit for low-income service providers or users.
These partnerships include traditional and even competing businesses.
34 If these types of models addressed specific needs of small- and medium-size enterprises in low-income neighborhoods, this could unlock significant opportunities for small businesses, support positive relations in communities, and promote more sustainable use of resources. Promoting sharing of assets with businesses is also seen as part of companies’ commitments to sustainability, especially when this enables companies to reduce or eliminate waste or unused assets.
GO-JEK has partnered with various business communities such as:
1. Blue Bird Taxi: Gojek platform can facilitate Blue bird to search for a passanger.
2. BCA and Mandiri : both financial institution facilitate Gojek in order to bring E-cash asone of the payment method.
3. Telkomsel: To improve services for users of both services company, Telkomsel GO-JEK cooperation with Indonesia in terms of communications solutions for the GO-JEK driver, and the development of distribution channels for products and services Telkomsel. In this partnership, the two sides also involves Tiphone voted as the online channel partners Telkomsel products.
4. LINE: partnership between Go-Jek and LINE is an online to offline basis communication for driver and rider.
5. Restaurants and other related services.