Edited by: Marcin W. Staniewski
More infoGlobally, the sharing economy is considered a significant factor in achieving energy efficiency and sustainable economic development (SED) which needs regulatory and academic focus. This article investigates the impact of the sharing economy, including sharing economy users and sharing economy values, on efficient energy use and SED in China. The research uses exports, population growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) as control variables. The article uses secondary data extracted from Statista, the sustainable development solution network, and World Development Indicators (WDI), from 1986 to 2020. The research applies the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lagged (NARDL) model to examine the associations among the variables. The results reveal that sharing economy users, sharing economy values, exports, population growth, and FDI have a positive association with efficient energy use and SED in China. This article guides policymakers establishing policies related to the achievement of SED and energy efficiency using the sharing economy. Governments, in particular, are recommended to actively encourage the growth of the sharing economy and create governance structures that support this growth.
Sustainable economic development is a type of development the primary objective of which is to protect the environment and ensure human wellbeing. It is the process of human development where resources are used with the aim of fulfilling the needs of humans with little or no damage to the environment. The aim is to meet the needs of the present without jeopardizing future generations (Plat et al., 2019). Economic practices such as the use of machinery, plants, transport, logistics, infrastructure, and using poor quality material for production, have impacts on the environment and can potentially damage it (Song, Cao & Wang, 2019). When an economy makes rapid progress in the present, because of these practices, they put adverse pressures on the environment through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate change, harmful waste, smoke, water pollution, and land pollution. These environmental issues damage natural resources, living creatures including animals, birds, and fish, and the health of people living in the environment (Song et al., 2019). Natural resources, including living creatures on land, in air, and under water, provide raw materials, other operational resources and meet basic human needs. So, if natural resources are damaged, and the health of living creatures is destroyed as a result of economic practices, sooner or later, social wellbeing is decreased and economic development is stopped, and it becomes difficult for a country to survive (Ashraf et al., 2021). Therefore, there is a need to integrate environmental preservation into economic development, and this is termed sustainable economic development (Nikpay, 2020; Radchenko et al., 2020; Sigalat-Signes et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Wawrzyniak & Doryń, 2020; Yilmaz, 2022; Maheswaranathan & Bhavan, 2022).
Energy consumption is a necessary element of society and the economy, as it is used to carry out numerous social and economic activities, including heating, cooling, lighting, transportation of goods and people, home appliances, machines, plants, technologies used for production, manufacturing, and construction, and providing economic services (Yuan & Zhang, 2020; Hieu, Tai & Hung, 2021; Nazir, Mahmood & Hameed, 2022). Firstly, naturally available energy sources are not numerous and of limited quantity. If they are used consistently, they are likely to diminish. Secondly, the excessive use of energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power emits harmful gasses, such as GHGs, and other toxic wastes detrimental to the ecological balance. With the resultant climate change and deteriorating natural resources, it becomes difficult to maintain consistency in a country's development and economic growth (Caffaro et al., 2019). With energy efficiency, energy consumption can be reduced to a level at which it is possible to preserve natural energy resources and minimize the negative environmental impacts. Energy efficiency assures energy for future use. It protects the environment and its elements, including natural resources, livings creatures, and humans, while ensuring resources and labor for future economic purposes. Thus, energy efficiency contributes to sustainable economic development (Darity Jr, Addo & Smith, 2021; Malakauskas & Lakštutienė, 2021; Peternel & Grešš, 2021; Rauf et al., 2018; Tiberius, Schwarzer & Roig-Dobón, 2021; Zhu et al., 2021; Hussain, Yu & Wan, 2021; Treptow, 2022; Harun, Fauzi, Kasim & Wider, 2022).
The sharing economy is a business model in which individuals or firms share resources, including financial, physical, technological, information, and human resources (Šiuškaitė, Pilinkienė & Žvirdauskas, 2019). The major benefits of this sharing are reduced costs, access to resources, equal rights to benefit from resources, and challenging financial distress (Govindan, Shankar & Kannan, 2020a). Implementing a sharing economy properly within a country is useful for promoting energy efficiency within the country and sustainable economic development. When there is an increase in the number of sharing economy users or the value of the sharing economy, energy consumption can be reduced by the optimal use of energy or the sharing of technologies which run on renewable energy at a large scale. This constitutes an increase in energy efficiency (Frenken, 2017). Moreover, the optimal use of resources, reduced energy use, easy access to resources, cost reduction, and effective financial management lead the economy towards sustainable development (Jelinkova et al., 2021). The revenue generation from a sharing economy increases over time, and some statistics related to this revenue generation are given in Fig. 1.
The current study examines the impacts of sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI on the efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development in the Chinese economy. China is an upper-middle-income country with a population of 1411,787,240 people, as of 2020, and a nominal GDP of $19.91 trillion, estimated for 2022 (Ma et al., 2018). China, to its credit, is concentrating on sustainability in economic development while the per capita output is hardly more than one-third of the so-called developed economies. A relatively impoverished country, it has deliberately shifted its focus from the quantity to the quality of economic growth (Ma et al., 2018). China is the biggest emitter of GHGs, and struggles for energy transition, ecologically friendly improvement in transportation, and reduction of energy use (Ma, Yuan & Yang, 2021). As the biggest energy consumer globally, China's struggle to enhance energy efficiency is significant to world energy and climate concerns (Yu & Shen, 2019).
China uses 22% of global energy, and accounts for 29% of world carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning, as of 2018. However, China has become an energy efficiency heavyweight due to its progress in implementing obligatory energy efficiency laws over recent years (Hoa et al., 2022). China has achieved significant progress in terms of technical energy efficiency. Without the gains in energy efficiency achieved since 2010, China would have consumed 25% more energy in 2018 than it did. China's economy has evolved from energy-intensive enterprises, mostly heavy industries, to service-providing companies, resulting in structural changes which have helped reduce energy demand. The industrial sector accounts for most energy savings (Song, Chen & An, 2018). Innovation-based energy efficiency programmes, such as digital labeling of the energy being used, and reinforcement of the required TOP 10,000 scheme in the industrial sector, have been praised by the world community for their significant achievements in technological energy efficiency. These significant regulations place China's energy efficiency programmes well ahead of the world average (Zhao, Guo & Zhao, 2019).
China has seen technological advancement in an industrialized economy with great expansion, a large transportation system, and a large population, so energy consumption is greater than other world economies. The large energy consumption, especially from fossil fuel combustion, emits a significant amount of GHGs (Ge et al., 2018). The resultant environmental deterioration prevents the country from achieving sustainable economic development. The economy still needs to find ways to encourage energy efficiency and sustainable economic development. The present study helps meet this need, by examining the impacts of sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. Although energy efficiency and sustainable economic development are not new subjects in the literature, the present study makes a great contribution with the removal of some gaps. 1) In past literature, authors either discuss the efficient use of energy or sustainable economic development as a consequence of sharing capital. The present study enhances the scope of the literature with the addition of sharing economy impacts on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. 2) Past literature explores the sharing economy and its impacts on sustainable economic development and energy efficiency without considering its dimensions. Two dimensions of the sharing economy, sharing economy users and sharing economy value, are examined here. 3) Like previous studies, this research sheds light on sharing economy benefits and examines exports, population growth, and FDI effects on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. 4) This is one of the first studies to explore the role of sharing economy users, sharing economy value along with exports, population growth, and FDI on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development in China (Jia-Jia et al., 2022; Mamghaderi, Khamooshi & Kwak, 2021; Nikolaou, 2022; Șerban, Pelinescu & Dospinescu, 2022; Ye, Chen & Li, 2022; Yu et al., 2022).
The paper has the following structure. Following the introduction, the second part presents the review of the literature on the nexus of sharing economy users and sharing economy value along with exports, population growth, FDI, and efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. The next section discusses the methods, secondary data collection and analysis of the relationships. These relationships between the variables are discussed and compared to previous studies. Finally, the study implications, a short conclusion, and the limitations are presented (Al-masaeed et al., 2021; Mattayaphutron, Tam & Jariyapan, 2021; Saifan et al., 2021).
Literature review and theoretical frameworkConsideration of the conditions that lead to the formation of a sharing economy and how they align with the tenets of sustainable development is necessary in order to comprehend the relationship between them. The sharing economy is characterized as a complex of economic, technological, environmental and social changes. The following list based on the work of (Gold, 2003; Lyaskovskaya, 2021; Zhu & Liu, 2021) indicates the necessary prerequisites for the emergence of a sharing economy.
The present idea of the sharing economy, which represents a significant shift in the technological and technical aspects of consumption and production was, in the opinion of a majority of researchers, brought about by the digitalization of many spheres of life. The connections between digitalization and the new phase of industrialization are widely acknowledged as the most important aspects of the shift to the digital world, including big data, augmented production, robotization, cloud computing, 3D printing, storage of data etc. Digitalization has had the greatest influence on consumption techniques, affecting millions of families worldwide, rather than how goods and services are created. New sharing economy business models have emerged as a result of these shifts, demonstrating a new level of socially and ecologically conscious behavior engrained in sustainable purchasing. These new models of business, featuring responsible and sustainable consumption, coincide with the socially conscious, economic and ecological objectives of sustainable purchasing, made possible by analysis of the conditions that led to the birth of the sharing economy (Lyaskovskaya & Khudyakova, 2021). Additionally, the sharing economy is presented in various studies as an economic benefit that facilitates environmentally friendly consumption of shared goods, and acts as a stepping stone to a strong and sustainable society (Boar, Bastida & Marimon, 2020; Curtis & Lehner, 2019). The connections between the sharing economy and the long-term health and growth of national economies, and the implications for the attainment of sustainable development goals, are highlighted by these arguments (Curtis & Mont, 2020; Mi & Coffman, 2019).
Sustainable economic development is the act of developing an economy the purpose of which is not only to achieve economic or financial goals but also to protect the natural environment and ensure the social welfare of the population. It is a developmental process in which resources are utilized to fulfill present economic needs, leaving room for the fulfillment of the needs of the future (Hidayat, 2021). The economic practices of production, transportation, creating technology, and building infrastructure, because of the excessive use of energy, may create hurdles to the development and welfare of future generations, as they could destroy the environment or its elements (Ren, Hao & Wu, 2022). Energy efficiency refers to the performance of social and economic practices in such a way that energy consumption can be reduced and its negative environmental impacts controlled. Effectively implemented energy efficiency is useful in providing a secure environment and high-quality natural resources in abundance (Wu, Hao & Ren, 2020). The sharing economy has many social aspects, which promote the optimal use of resources, provide access to, or the right to use, resources, encourage equality, reduce costs, and help in financial management (Cheng, 2016). In previous research, the relationships between sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI and the efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development are analysed. The present study examines the impacts of sharing economy users, and sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development in the light of previously conducted literature (Faran et al., 2021; Handoyo et al., 2021; Jeffrey, 2021).
The number of users involved in the sharing economy affects the country's energy efficiency. (Jin et al., 2018) review sharing economy impacts on the efficient use of energy in an economy, and suggest that, when the number of individuals, firms, or economic units linked in a sharing economy increases, the ecologically friendly technologies that some people own are shared and used by others. More energy efficient technologies improve energy efficiency. Jabbour et al. (2020a) examine sharing economy users and the efficient use of energy, taking evidence from the Brazilian economy's natural resource intensive industries. The information about the sharing economy and efficient energy use comes from case studies of two medium-sized manufacturing companies operating in B2B and B2C contexts in the Brazilian economy. The research shows a positive relationship between sharing economy users and efficient energy use. The conclusion of this qualitative study implies that, if the number of people who have a facility can share their resources among themselves, the energy resources can be used efficiently. The reason is that, with sharing, technologies can be kept running at all times, and can be used elsewhere, meaning the energy consumed in the down-time can be saved (Al-Shammari, 2021; Jermsittiparsert, 2021; Josaiman, Faisal & Talib, 2021).
Through the framework of sharing economy users, Leung, Xue and Wen (2019) examine sustainable eco-system and sustainable economic development. The study examines the sharing economy through news media discourse and frame analysis. The information on the sharing economy users’ impacts on sustainable eco-system and sustainable economic development is collected from 340 online news articles relating to these factors published between 2011 and 2017 by thirteen US news outlets. The findings reveal positive relationships between sharing economy users, sustainable eco-systems and sustainable economic development. Conducting a qualitative study, Gazzola et al. (2019) state that the disparity in access to resources, human capital, and technology shrinks as the number of people ready to participate in sharing strategies, resources, and technologies grows. This provides equal prospects of success for all business divisions, contributing to long-term economic development. Similarly, the review based study conducted by Mont et al. (2020) investigates the relationship of sharing economy users with sustainable economic growth. The study implies that, with an increase in sharing economy users, the number of ecologically friendly economic practices grows. It does not allow firms to have negative impacts on the environment. The protection of the environment and natural resources enables the economy to stand on a sustainable foundation (Ibrahim, 2021; Jedrzejczyk & Brzezinski, 2021; Jin, 2021; Khoma & Vdovychyn, 2021).
The value created by the sharing economy helps promote the efficient use of energy. In empirical research Pouri and Hilty (2018a) investigate the relation of sharing economy value to efficient energy use. The study states that sharing economy value increases the resources and technologies used to transition from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy. Using renewable energy for running processes reduces the pressure on fossil fuels and saves the environment from GHG emissions. There is a positive relationship between sharing economy value and efficient energy use. The qualitative study presented by Laukkanen and Tura (2020a) considers increases in sharing economy value and indicates that economic entities save money by sharing resources, technologies, and information, rather than paying the full amount. The money saved can be invested in social and environmental activities that reduce energy use and maintain production. Melo, Macedo and Baptista (2019) explore the impacts of sharing economy value on the efficient use of energy. An increase in sharing economy value leads to a reduction in the number of practices based on energy sources. For example, sharing vehicles reduces transport activity and helps energy efficiency.
Through qualitative research, Govindan, Shankar and Kannan (2020b) shed ample light on the sharing economy's value and sustainable economic development. The authors examine the barriers to sharing economy execution in small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the Indian economy, using a literature review and the opinions of literary experts. The study posits that if the barriers to a sharing economy are overcome and it is effectively executed, money and resources, even after meeting the needs of the present generation, could be saved for future consumption. In this way, the sharing economy leads to sustainable economic development. Ma et al. (2019) claim that an increase in the value of the resources, techniques, and information shared among individuals, firms, or a circle of businesses helps address environmental issues such as water pollution, GHG emissions, and soil issues. This, combined with the assurance of environmental purity, enough resources, and a healthy workforce, results in sustainable economic development.
Rehman and Noman (2021) suggest that exports are the greatest source of earning foreign exchange and increasing the funds of state-owned and private firms, which they can use to carry out ecological programmes. One of the greatest consequences of such programmes is making optimal use of energy sources to ensure efficient energy use, which they evidence using system GMM analysis. Applying FMOLS, DOLS and PMG, Rahman, Nepal and Alam (2021) explain that an increase in exports has many benefits for the selling country. It encourages the production of the products to be exported, increases financial resources, assists in getting information, and imports better quality ecologically friendly technologies. These benefits are helpful for higher economic performance, improving social and environmental development, and promoting sustainable economic development.
Mohsin et al. (2019), consider the role of population growth in the efficient use of energy, on the basis of the hybrid error correction model, regression coefficients, and platykurtic distribution analysis. They suggests that in states where the population growth rate is high, governments focus on improving the skills and knowledge of people. The human resource increase and improved abilities enable ecological technology and production processes. These people can employ energy-efficient resources and technologies and add to energy efficiency. So, there is a positive relationship between population growth and efficient energy use. Vo (2021) explores the contribution of population growth to sustainability in economic development through GMM estimation, arguing that the size of the population determines the labor force, and an increased population necessitates a huge production of goods and services. This leads to improved productivity in the economy and increases natural and manufactured resources, all of which contribute to the economy's long-term viability.
Pan et al. (2020), using a slacks-based measure for data envelopment analysis show that FDI has a positive impact on the efficient use of energy. An increase in investment from foreign sources facilitates acquiring information from investors and having good relations. The quality information can bring ecologically friendly changes to the production and marketing processes. This change helps overcome the use of fossil fuels which is destructive to the environment, without any negative impact on the volume or quality of products and services. So there is a positive relationship between FDI and efficient energy use. Sauvat and Gabor (2021) state that sustainable economic development requires social progress and environmental development. Investment from foreign the domestic sources improves the financial resources of a country, and economic enterprises can implement business strategies to enhance social and environmental development and put the economy on the path to sustainable economic development.
Reviewing the existing literature, this study makes a considerable contribution by examining the impacts of sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI on sustainable economic development and efficient energy use. The sharing economy is a business concept in which resources and information are shared. This concept of analysing sustainable economic development and efficient energy use has been used as a whole, with no division into its dimensions. The present study, which considers sharing economy users and sharing economy value, and their impacts on sustainable economic development and efficient energy use, addresses this gap. This study analyses sharing economy users and sharing economy value, along with exports, population growth, and FDI, and their impacts on sustainable economic development and efficient use of energy in China, where less attention has been previously focused. This study also has great significance for developing countries like China, as sustainable economic development and efficient energy use are needed in any economy. Because of the expansion of economic practices and rapidly increasing use of energy for technologies, economies may face environmental problems, resulting in social disturbance and hurdles to economic development.
Research methodsConceptual frameworkThe conceptual framework of the study is presented in Fig. 2, below. It shows that the study investigates the impact of efficient energy use, sharing economy users, sharing economy values, population growth, exports and FDI on SED in China.
The article uses secondary data extracted from Statista, the sustainable development solution network, and WDI, from 1986 to 2020. The research applies the NARDL model to examine the associations among the variables. The equations for both predictive variables are given as:
where;
SED = sustainable economic development
EEU = efficient energy use
i = country
t = time period
SEU = sharing economy users
SEV = sharing economy value
EXP = exports
POPG = population growth
FDI = foreign direct investment.
The article uses the sustainable development index as the SED measure and energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) as the efficient energy use measure, the predictive variables. The research takes sharing economy as the predictor, measured as sharing economy users (in millions) and sharing economy values (in billion US dollars). Finally, the research uses exports, measured as exports of goods and services (% of GDP), population growth, measured as annual percentage growth, and FDI, measured as FDI net inflows (% of GDP), as the control variables. The measurements and variables, with sources, are given in Table 1.
Measurements of variables.
| S# | Variable | Measurement | Source | Expected sign | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sustainable Economic Development | Sustainable development index | Sustainable Development Solution Network | ||
| 02 | Efficient Energy Use | Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) | WDI | Positive | (Rebelatto et al., 2019), (Nurunnabi et al., 2020) |
| 02 | Sharing Economy | Sharing economy users (in millions)Sharing economy values (in billions of US dollars) | StatistaStatista | PositivePositive | (Pouri & Hilty, 2018b)(Govindan, Shankar & Kannan, 2020c), (Shih, 2019) |
| 03 | Exports | Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) | WDI | Positive | Rahman et al. (2021) |
| 04 | Population Growth | Population growth (annual%) | WDI | Positive | (Rehman et al., 2022), Kurniawan and Managi (2018) |
| 05 | Foreign Direct Investment | FDI, net inflows (% of GDP) | WDI | Positive | (Mukhtarov et al., 2021) |
The research applies descriptive statistic analysis to examine the details of the variables, including mean values, minimum values, standard deviations, and maximum values. It employs a correlation matrix to show the directional associations among the variables. Finally, the stationarity of the variables is examined using the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) tests, proposed by Dickey and Fuller (1979) and Phillips and Perron (1980), respectively. The equation used is:
Following (Marques, Fuinhas & Tomás, 2019; Yanto, 2022), the ARDL bound test is used to examine the co-integration, which is a necessary part of applying the ARDL model. A basic requirement for applying the ARDL model is that some variables should be stationary at I(0) and others should be stationary at I(1). The ARDL model controls for the effects of autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity in the results. Finally, the ARDL model provides the long-run and short-run associations among the variables. The ARDL equations for both predictive variables are:
It is the researchers' intention to include an analysis of the asymmetric nexus among exports, PG, FDI, and SED and exports, PG, FDI, and EEU. Thus, nonlinear functions are established:
Thus, the empirical model is developed:
Eqs. (3) and (4) are the ARDL model for examining the nexus among the variables. The researchers also analyze the nonlinear association of exports, PG, FDI, and SED and exports, PG, FDI, and EEU. The equations for the partial sum of positive and negative changes in exports, PG, and FDI are:
By including the positive and negative changes in exports, PG and FDI, the article establishes the nonlinear ARDL equations:
Research findings
This research applies descriptive statistic analysis to examine the details of the variables under study. Table 2 provides the basic statistics of all series, including the mean values, minimum values, standard deviations, and maximum values. The results indicate that the mean value of SED is 77.102%, while the average value of EEU is 1456.358 Kg. The mean value of SEU is 38.078 million people, while the average value of SEV is 217.673 billion dollars. Finally, the mean value of EXP is 21.338%, while the average value of PG is 0.841%, and the average value of FDI is 3.023%. The values are given in Table 2.
The article employs a correlation matrix to show the directional associations among the variables. The results reveal that sharing economy users, sharing economy values, exports, population growth, and FDI have positive associations with efficient energy use and SED in China. These associations are given in Table 3.
The stationarity of the variables is examined using the ADF and PP tests. The results indicate that SED, SEU, PG, and FDI are stationary at a level, while SEV and EXP are stationary at first difference. These results are given in Table 4.
Unit root test.
The ARDL bound test is used to examine the co-integration, which is necessary for applying the ARDL model. The results show that the calculated f-statistic value is 6.872, which is larger than the lower and upper bound, and indicates that co-integration exists. These results are given in Table 5.
The results of the nonlinear ARDL model for SED reveal that sharing economy users, sharing economy values, exports, population growth, and FDI have positive associations with SED in China. The results show that the asymmetric effects of EXP, PG, and FDI also have positive associations with SED. The R square indicates that 54.2% of changes in SED are due to SEU, SEV, EXP, PG, and FDI. These associations are given in Table 6.
Nonlinear ARDL results for SED.
The results of the nonlinear ARDL model for EEU reveal that sharing economy users, sharing economy values, exports, population growth, and FDI have positive associations with EEU in China. The results show that the asymmetric effects of EXP, PG, and FDI also have positive associations with SED. The R square indicates that 53.0% of changes in EEU are due to SEU, SEV, EXP, PG, and FDI. These associations are given in Table 7.
Nonlinear ARDL results for EEU.
The study results indicate that sharing economy users have a positive impact on the efficient use of energy. These results are supported by Khalid et al. (2018), who show that, when sharing economy users increase in some regions, there is optimal use of energy sources, because of the significant decrease in the number of technologies, transport vehicles, and other logistics being used. So, an increase in sharing economy users encourages efficient energy use. These results are also supported by Na and Kang (2018), who show that, when a greater number of people or firms indulge in sharing of resources or technologies, they can perform their operational and production processes using minimum factors of production but still have maximum outcomes. This reduces the overall use of energy resources used in a region. The results indicate that sharing economy users positively impact sustainable economic development. This is in line with Laukkanen and Tura (2020b), who show that, with an increased number of people willing to be involved in sharing strategies, resources, and technologies, the differences in access to resources, human capital and technologies decreases. This creates equal success opportunities for business units and thus contributes to sustainable economic development. These results are in line with Hu et al. (2019), who reveal that an increase in the number of users in a sharing economy divides the burden of the cost of resources, and encourages improved economic practices, including innovation, improved productivity, reduced use of energy sources, enhanced employment, and improved living standards for people. Thus, sharing economy users enhance sustainable economic development.
The results show that sharing economy value positively impacts efficient use of energy. This result matches Henni, Staudt and Weinhardt (2021), who state that an increase in sharing value means that the economic entities sharing of resources, technologies, information, etc. save the costs accrued in down-time or acquiring resources. The capital saved can be used in social and ecologically friendly practices that minimize energy use for the same productivity. These results match Filipović, Radovanović and Lior (2019), who show that an increase in sharing economy value leads to a greater number of individuals using the sharing economy for their daily tasks and firms getting their desired outcomes using energy-efficient material, machinery, and instruments. So, increased sharing economy value brings efficiency in energy usage. The results indicate that sharing economy values positively impact sustainable economic development. This result is in line with Geissinger et al. (2019), who show that an increase in the value of the resources, techniques, ideas, and information shared by individuals, groups, or a circle of firms, can help overcome environmental concerns such as water pollution, air pollution, GHG emissions, soil pollution, and dirty water. With the assurance of environmental quality and abundant resources, a healthy labor force creates sustainability in economic development. These results are also supported by Jabbour et al. (2020b), who reveal that in countries where the sharing economy is encouraged, a large amount of quality resources can be made available for future use, because of efficient allocation of resources, the saving of finances, and reduced environmental issues. Thus, increased sharing economy value assures sustainable economic development.
The results show that exports positively impact the efficient use of energy. This result matches Waheed, Sarwar and Mighri (2021), who reveal that, in order to raise international marketing for domestic goods and services, a country needs to improve the products and services they present in the international market. Such an improvement in goods and services is possible if domestic enterprises take care of ecological performance. So, exports increase the efficient use of energy. The results state that exports have a positive impact on sustainable economic development. This result agrees with Akalpler and Hove (2019), who examine the role of exports in sustainable economic development. Countries making progress in exports have higher foreign exchange, improved quality products and services, large volumes of production, and innovative technologies. These are all essential factors in sustainable economic development. The results show that population growth positively impacts the efficient use of energy. This result agrees with Mullan and Haqq-Misra (2019), who suggest that, in a country with a large stable population, education and training facilities increase. With an increase in environmental awareness and ways to mitigate it, efficient use of energy increases. The results indicate that population growth positively impacts sustainable economic development. This result matches Dong et al. (2018), who show that the increased population of a country determines the volume of human capital. With an increased population, there is a requirement to increase the provision of basic needs. This results in increased productivity, so there are increased natural and manufactured resources and high sustainability in the economy. The results show that FDI positively impacts the efficient use of energy. This result matches Muhammad and Khan (2019), who show that an increase in FDI inflow helps improve resources, human capital, management, and technology, which leads to more efficient use of energy within a country. The results reveal that FDI has a positive impact on sustainable economic development. This result matches Mukhtarov et al. (2021), who show that, for high sustainability in economic development, consistency in human capital development, business management, and economic practice is needed. This consistency is possible with an increase in FDI.
Conclusion, implications, and limitationsThe authors wrote this study intending to find the influences of sharing economy users and sharing economy value on efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. The study also has the objective of analysing the impacts of exports, population growth, and FDI on efficient energy use and sustainable economic development. Quantitative information regarding sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, FDI, efficient use of energy, and sustainable economic development are collected for the Chinese economy. In light of the empirical analysis, the results show positive relationships between sharing economy users, sharing economy value, exports, population growth, and FDI with efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development. The results indicate that, when the number of sharing economy users increases in a country, the total use of technologies and energy required can be reduced, and the resultant efficient use of energy and reduction in environmental issues contribute to sustainable economic development. Similarly, an increase in sharing economy value reduces overall costs, and even with limited financial resources, energy-efficient resources and technologies can be used. So, there is high energy efficiency, and the economy sees sustainable development. The results indicate that an increase in exports, population growth, and FDI improve financial resources, technological processes, skilled human capital, and management, so there is an acceleration in energy efficiency and sustainable economic development.
ImplicationsThis article guides policymakers establishing policies related to the achievement of sustainable economic development and energy efficiency using a sharing economy. The study guides governments and economic or regulatory authorities to form policies to encourage sharing economies along with effective management of exports, population growth, and FDI so that efficient use of energy can be developed and sustainable economic development can be achieved. From a practical standpoint, the conclusions made here serve as a knowledge base for those who design strategy, policy, and tools with the intention of inspiring current and potential users of sharing economies, and subsequently enhancing performance in the sustainability area. There is a need for ongoing and coordinated efforts by all sectors to enhance the sharing economy's technology, governance, and operation while preserving its core components. Governments, in particular, should actively encourage the growth of shared economies and create governance structures that support this growth.
Despite making significant theoretical and empirical contributions, the present study has some limitations. If future authors pay attention to the same subjects, these limitations can be overcome. Firstly, although the authors select two subjects, efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development, they do not detail the contributing factors except for an analysis of the sharing economy, putting limits on the study's completeness, clarity, and validity. So, it is recommended that future authors include more factors of efficient energy use and sustainable economic development. In addition, the need for efficient use of energy and sustainable economic development is a nation-based issue. So, the data collected from a single economy cannot be used to present generalized findings. Future authors should collect data on economies other than China.
FundingThis paper was supported by the Humanities Youth Top-notch Project of Hebei Education Department (Grant No.: BJ2020066).