# In an op-ed, Prof. Arun Sundararajan compares the cultures of Airbnb and Uber

1 Faculty News November 27, 2014 ![Harvard Business Review logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_032358.jpg?itok=cHztGP4H)>

Excerpt from [Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-airbnb-gets-about-culture-that-uber-doesnt) -- "The contrast was especially striking given that Airbnb and Uber are together inventing a new organizational form: platforms that are firm-market hybrids, supplying branded service offerings without actually employing the providers or owning the assets used in provision. Crucial to their long-run success could be creating an appropriate platform culture — shared norms, values and capabilities among the providers. It’s the analog of an organizational culture, but without the directive authority or co-located social systems that traditional firms can take advantage of to manage their employees. The fact that these two market leaders are using such different approaches provides a useful testing ground for what works and what doesn’t."

[Read more](https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-airbnb-gets-about-culture-that-uber-doesnt)

Additional coverage appeared on [Slate](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/12/08/airbnb_has_1_million_homes_brian_chesky_announces_milestone_and_almost_no.html).