**1. Introduction**

In recent years, we can see digital transformation, increasing globalization processes, more accessible access to resources and services globally. Social changes caused by digitalization also transform the lifestyle of each individual, affect preferences, demand, supply on the goods and services market, enhance the rate of capital turnover and generally accelerate

**Citation:** Atstaja, D.; Koval, V.; Grasis, J.; Kalina, I.; Kryshtal, H.; Mikhno, I. Sharing Model in Circular Economy towards Rational Use in Sustainable Production. *Energies* **2022**, *15*, 939. https://doi.org/10.3390/ en15030939

Academic Editors: Idiano D'Adamo and Donato Morea

Received: 23 November 2021 Accepted: 21 January 2022 Published: 27 January 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

all flows. The increasing speed of life processes and better access to necessary goods on the Internet results in the growing share of rental services. Individuals prefer to use goods temporarily when needed rather than possess them. Besides a reduced price when buying goods, the lessee declines the responsibility for further exploitation, storage and consumer properties of the object for a specified fee.

Along with the process of digitalization and the expansion of borders in developed countries, the ideas of the green economy are becoming popular. The development of green technologies will contribute to introducing the concept of a circular economy, the main distinguishing feature of which is to increase the life of the product and minimize waste, reducing the negative environmental impact. Therefore, sharing, which increases the social usefulness of the product, will contribute to the introduction of a circular economy. In addition to the positive effects associated with an increase in the possibilities of secondary production or reuse of products because of the development of a circular economy, there is a rebound, which is associated with cheaper products and an increase in the efficiency of its production, which leads to an increase in the level of production and consumption [1]. In this regard, changes in the consumer behaviour of users of the collaborative platform cause a circular economy to rebound that considers the environmental impact of product substitution and demand for recycled products. Using savings from co-sharing may increase personal income and lead to additional purchasing power. Still, the environmental benefits of the circular economy can be achieved if primary production is significantly reduced or more efficient [2].

Access to rental goods is accessible, efficient and affordable to most consumers, which has led to the emergence of the market of lease relations called 'sharing' and set a new trend in economic development in Ukraine and worldwide. Sharing allows inhabitants, businesses and public institutions to exchange services and goods, share consumer properties of goods, and efficiently use financial resources and time to achieve their goals. The most common sharing services include accommodation, car rental, taxi, equipment rental, hotel business, financial and credit transactions, etc. The establishment of the sharing economy is closely related to the development of Internet services and the ability to move freely over long distances.

The development of the sharing economy increases the responsibility of everyone towards society, reduces the environmental load and waste products, promotes inclusiveness and accessibility of goods [3]. The launch of online platforms, urbanization and increasing mobility of the younger generation have resulted in the everyday use of different means of transport. It is much more profitable than driving your car. Thus, online taxi, car-sharing and carpooling services are highly in-demand recently [4]. Sharing as a business has rapidly expanded by launching online platforms placing unspent assets and ensuring the quick connection between a customer and a seller.

The mechanism of providing sharing services is based on the lease of a particular product, the cost of which includes depreciation and additional funds that generate entrepreneur's profit in the long run, for a certain period with the obligatory return of goods to the owner and the further use of goods by other lessees. Lehto et al. [5] define the sharing economy as an innovative economic model based on the collective benefit of goods and services and considered financial interaction between economic agents (producers and consumers of services) without third parties.

As a new economic market, sharing has a number of problems and shortcomings that slow down the rapid adoption of technologies and methods of sharing goods, and contemporary insurance companies are not always an efficient mechanism for reducing business risks [6]. One of the promising areas of the sharing economy is HR management based on meeting manpower needs. Despite the manufacturing automation and inevitable mass dismissal of employees, the introduction of sharing services reveals a new problem: an acute shortage of highly skilled professionals with brand-new competencies [7]. Currently, the development of the sharing economy is unpredictable, but according to Eckhardt et al. [8] it is the impetus for new behavior patterns among both customers and third

parties, which have five key characteristics: temporary access, transfer of economic value, mediation on the platform, the expanded role of the consumer and crowdsourcing supply.

Sharing as a resource-saving concept will encourage the adoption of the circular economy based on the repeated use of goods and the increase in their life span by repairing, maintaining and enhancing their usefulness [9]. The maximum use of goods increases the degree of meeting user needs, reduces the negative ecological impact by decreasing the volume of commodity production [10], creates resource-saving conditions. In contrast, shared goods are always circulated, which illustrates the introduction of principles of the circular economy [11].

The value of adopting sharing has long-term indicators where it is impossible to immediately assess the effect via the accumulative positive impact and the long payback period. Besides, sharing will allow decreasing the amount of waste, which is the framework for the circular economy and the prerogative of developing of the development of eco-friendly society based on ecological education, high moral and spiritual values that all governments of developed countries strive for. Sharing encourages the prevalence of long-term economic values over short-term economic advantages, encourages the decrease in waste flows and burial, as well as promotes resource-saving and the growth of macroeconomic indicators.

This paper aims to determine the attainability of the planned goals and to identify the factors that contribute to and hinder the development of sharing economy and creation of environment-friendly trends establishing a circular economy. The structure of the article includes an assessment of the economic situation of sharing in the former countries of the Soviet Union, which after its collapse are members of the European Union (Latvia) and an associate member (Ukraine), especially in its electric power industry associated with sharing, including electric vehicles. Different parts of the article are a statistical analysis that allows you to determine the directions for implementing the sharing economy and the circular economy, considering the application of European experience. In the final part of the article, conclusions and recommendations are presented to accelerate the implementation of the circular economy in terms of its efficiency increase through information technology and common use, which will significantly increase the usefulness of the product and extend its service life.

## **2. Methodology**

The article analyses the main forms of human interaction using Internet technologies, creating a separate economic development area. One has used open data on the Web and conducted a public survey on specific selection criteria. Sharing is a new, dynamic and ambiguous concept that makes research more thorough and broader. Sharing implies the joint use of goods and rent and the increase in the life expectancy of goods by their upgrading and reusing. The article uses methods of abstraction, generalization, deduction and induction, methods of situational analysis, modelling and forecasting. The results are assessed according to the quality of strategy development and analysis with further implementation. One defines and presents graphically the research findings dedicated to the positive effects of resource sharing and preservation. The offered research methods allow using the obtained data for further experiments and other scientific areas. The investigation covers Ukraine and Latvia and reflects the local population's preferences and existing trends. The survey was conducted voluntarily.

Based on the theoretical analysis of the article, to construct a system of indicators for the development of a collaborative economy, the article uses data from Latvia and Ukraine for the annual time series for 2015 to 2020. The availability of sharing speeds up the overall production rate, increases the range of goods, allows start-ups to set up their own business without considerable investment, and such platforms as Kickstarter [12] help start-ups to implement their ideas.

The absence of ownership makes entrepreneurs more mobile, positively affecting the range and quality of goods, increasing business efficiency. The main tendencies and trends in the field of rank are analysed, and it is found out that flexible business systems can adapt to the constant economic changes. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some areas of the sharing economy suffered significant losses (hotel, restaurant business, machinery and equipment rental) because of the declining consumer demand for goods being in use and able to become the object exposed to the virus. Meanwhile, online platforms and such goods as music and games became increasingly popular globally. Partner consumption worldwide is growing, accompanied by new business structures, huge investments, governmental support and increasing market share. However, it often contradicts global goals and should be regulated while the legal framework is still established, and the sharing economy is an area of high risk. According to the survey of 100 respondents via the Internet, the risk of providing shared services in Ukraine has decreased over the past ten years, but 27% of respondents mentioned the hostile experience of providing sharing services, resulting in the loss of financial resources. Respondents were selected from regular Internet users in three age groups: the first—14–25 years, the second—25–40 years and the third—40–60 years. The survey was conducted anonymously in Google Forms.

The article also uses simulation modelling methods to analyse the company's behaviour strategy and select the optimal next steps.

One of the fundamental methods of scientific knowledge is the analytical method of comparison, which allows identifying the leaders of sharing in the countries under analysis. Latvia is like Ukraine in terms of its historical heritage, which belonged to the Soviet Union in the twentieth century. It is economically identical to Ukraine in terms of economic and analytical indicators, and we are analysing the sharing in these countries. Research modelling methods should set an example for other entrepreneurs. However, despite the short-term results, the authors propose to focus on the long-term perspective and environmental and economic efficiency, which will be an effective indicator.
