ABSTRACT

This chapter analyses existing theoretical approaches to sharing. The literature on sharing is diverse, drawing from fields of anthropology, sociology, social psychology, consumer research and economics. It undertakes an examination of gift-giving in order to understand how sharing practices reinforce social relations, an examination of the tensions between cultural and commodity exchanges to highlight the value of what it is that is shared and a consideration of sharing as control in the form of disclosure and studies the resources and rituals underpinning practices of reciprocity. The chapter synthesises existing literature on distinct aspects of sharing in a networked culture and identifies the need for a new approach.