Talk on Kazakh Sharing Practices: A Critical Inquiry Into Sharing Economy Models From the Vantage of Ownership in Collective Societies

Cambridge Central Asia Forum invites you to a talk on

Kazakh Sharing Practices: A Critical Inquiry Into Sharing Economy Models From the Vantage of Ownership in Collective Societies

by

Yulia Darmenova (Greenwich University) and Callie Berman (University of Wyoming) 

Date: 20 February

Time: 11am-1pm

Venue: Room 119, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DT

Online Zoom registration link: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/-MP7-0DqQCqforJqgXf6WA#/ 

Everyone is welcome.  

Abstract: The sharing economy (SE) is often promoted as a sustainable and inclusive model for resource provision, increasingly so for base-of-pyramid (BoP) contexts. However, dominant SE frameworks ground in individualistic and commodified understandings of ownership may misalign with values in collectivist societies. This article presents a case study from rural Kazakhstan to examine how ownership is conceptualized and enacted through Kazakh linguistic and cultural traditions that draw from the physical steppe ecology. Our findings reveal a relational understanding of ownership that privileges shared access and social obligation over individual control or exclusion. These principles generate forms of social value that extend beyond efficiency and economic utility. By highlighting how sharing practices are shaped by embedded ownership norms, this study challenges the universal applicability of mainstream SE models. It calls for greater attention to culturally situated ownership understanding in order to develop SE strategies that are ethically grounded and contextually responsive to BoP settings.

Author Biographies:

Yuliya Darmenova (PhD, University of Cambridge) is a lecturer in business at the University of Greenwich, Executive Business Centre, London, UK. Her research examines the dynamic interplay between business and society, with a focus on social capital, business resilience, the sharing economy, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). She explores how CSR is shaped by local, cultural, and historical contexts, with particular emphasis on its integration into the practices of local small and medium-sized enterprises. Her work engages with debates on the role of local narratives in shaping responsible business practices and in advancing inclusive, context sensitive approaches to CSR and sustainable development.

Callie Berman (PhD, University of Cambridge) is a research scientist at the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute. Her research interests include working to identify conservation strategies across private lands in the North American and Eurasian grasslands that balance diverse stakeholder and energy development interests, pressures from energy and residential development, and land use changes. Callie also researches the role of historical land use relationships in shaping resource management practices in Eurasia today which can offer alternative bases for innovative solutions to complex development challenges. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Biological Conservation, International Journal of Water Resources Development, and Journal of Eurasian Studies.