Liminal Movement by Digital Platform-Based Sharing Economy Ventures : The Case of Uber Technologies

We explore the challenges that digital platform-based sharing economy ventures confront in establishing legitimacy for their business models by examining the dynamics that ensued when Uber Technologies deployed its ride-sharing business model in four U.S. cities. Uber entered each city to jump-start network effects by establishing cognitive legitimacy while deepening a sociopolitical legitimacy crisis that emerged due to mismatches between its business model and existing regulations. Operating between existing categories, Uber used a series of interrelated market and non-market strategies, which we label as liminal movement, to generate cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy