Abstract
Purpose Collaborative consumption emerges from social practices such as sharing, lending and gifting. It is becoming more common among consumers, boosted by the internet, which facilitates the collaboration process with both strong and weak ties. This paper aims to examine collaborative consumer experience, delving into the factors that contribute to the adoption and the perceived benefits of this alternative form of consumption. Design/methodology/approach A total of 12 phenomenological interviews were conducted o explore the theme from an individual perspective, attested by the consumers' narratives and experiences. Findings The results highlight collaborative consumption as being influenced by family practices, social relations and the current economic scenario. Also, noteworthy is the evidence that collaborative consumption enables consumers to select from a more diversified portfolio of products and services, especially the ones featured by the internet and social media. Consumers perceive financial, emotional, social, environmental and increased consumption benefits, depending on their practices of collaborative consumption, and also on their role as providers, consumers or exchangers. Originality/value Through the phenomenological approach, based on individual reports of experiences related to collaborative consumption, it was possible to highlight some aspects relevant to better understanding the behavior of collaborative consumers.

Abstract
The internet is acknowledge as the main tourism communication medium and business facilitator. However, its functionality in this sector has been limited to e-commerce and focused on meeting the demand, thus underusing its potential as an essential tool for offer development, through the opportunities created by e-business. Since tourism is an eminently relational activity that strengthens itself from the sum of the joint efforts of its components, but oten fragmented and dispersed, this article advocates the adoption of online interorganizational collaboration platforms, which provides na environment for interactions, cooperation, and knowledge sharing amongst the social actors of tourist destinations. The proposal is based on the methodology of discourse analysis of extant literature on the internet economy and social network theory in tourism, exemplifying the advantages and difficulties that may arise from such a strategy. Recognizing that the available literature on this subject is scarce, three questions are also identified that can be tackled by future research.

Abstract
By means of a cross-cultural virtual teams project involving classrooms in Scotland, Germany, and Portugal, students were exposed to the challenges of collaborating internationally with the intention of increasing their intercultural competency. Intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competency were measured using responses to surveys before and after the 6-week project. Students reported, among other aspects, a heightened awareness of the difficulties of intercultural communication. Despite a general appreciation of the project and its outcomes, negative results, such as an increased dislike of intercultural interaction, emerged. Contradictory results warrant further investigation with data from future collaborations.