A Pandemic Perspective on the Sharing Economy Paradoxes

Although the sharing economy was expected to bring sustainable transformations towards social welfare, economic growth and environmental preservation, it has not always lived up to the expectations. After the COVID-19 pandemic, benefits may become more elusive, considering the disruption that the pandemic has caused. This paper provides insight into the social, economic, environmental and regulatory paradoxes of the sharing economy before the pandemic. It also explores the roots of contradictory insights by analysing the role of normative, economic and digital regulatory mechanisms governing relations within platforms. The paper also discusses the effect of COVID-19 on platform regulatory mechanisms and their potential impact on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability

Sharing Economy Platforms: A study of Social Exchange, Reciprocity and Commitment

PhD ThesisA sharing economy is a socio-economic ecosystem enabling collaborative use of resources through online platforms. It is different from other economic forms of relations in that the exchange of resource may be free or for any other form of compensation. Growing transactions through sharing economy platforms reflects a change in individuals’ values and preferences in the consumption of resources. The use of platforms has implications in terms of redefining the behaviour of people and their interactions with each other. Also, it brings a social impact through providing people with access to resources that otherwise would not be affordable and redistributing underused ones. Given the assumed importance of the sharing economy in contributing to collective benefits, it is imperative to examine the drivers motivating the use of sharing economy platforms, the perceived outcomes of use behaviour and users’ commitment to platforms. This will make it possible to understand how to fuel the interest of users and will contribute to the development of the crowd-based economy. The literature on the sharing economy provides a limited view of the drivers which make people participate in sharing economy transactions. It lacks an overarching approach in examining the psychological and social factors that may facilitate or inhibit social exchange through platforms. When it comes to the impacts of the sharing economy on individuals, the literature has a speculative nature, lacking empirical evidence about the users' perspective on the outcomes of relations in terms of their social benefits and wellbeing. In addition, reciprocity in relations between the members of platforms has remained untouched by empirical scrutiny. While the literature has debated the importance of reciprocity norms in sharing economy relations, the determinants and outcomes of perceived reciprocity in the sharing economy have been left unexplored. Given the above, this thesis used a Social Exchange Theory framework for examining the drivers of participation in the sharing economy by exploring the effects of social capital factors and social values. Also, the research aimed to examine the contribution of the sharing economy to the perceived wellbeing of and social inclusion by users. To shed light on the determinants of perceived reciprocity, the thesis adopted the Equity Theory perceptive. That enabled us to examine the effect of social factors (social identity and social comparison), justice perception and individual personality traits on the formation of reciprocity perception. As far as the outcomes of perceived reciprocity are concerned, the research hypothesised the effect of perceived reciprocity on relationship commitment and coping mechanisms that people employ after comparing the outcomes against the contributions that they have made to exchange relations. To enrich the understanding of the potential variance in the relationships between the determinants of perceived reciprocity, perceived reciprocity and behavioural outcomes, the thesis aimed to test the moderating role of situational and personal factors (i.e. the value of exchange, social influence, response efficacy and self-efficacy). The research adopted a cross-sectional research design to collect data. To examine the proposed relationships, two surveys were conducted. The data were collected from the users of sharing economy platforms in the United States, who had access to the surveys through a URL. The questionnaires were designed in such a way as to provide detailed guidelines on completing the survey. It collected the demographic profile of the respondents and measured the constructs of the proposed research model, by preserving the anonymity of respondents. As a result of the first survey, 487 responses were collected. The final sample for the second survey consisted of 398 responses. A structural equation modelling approach was used to test the research model. The findings indicated that the use of the sharing economy was conditioned by the positive effect of egoistic belief, reciprocity norm, social value, and the negative effect of identification. The results made it possible to conclude that participation in the sharing economy is motivated by the need to create an image that would help people perform particular roles in the community. It was important for users that the exchange would be reciprocated either immediately or in future transactions and that the exchange satisfied personal selfish needs. The strong relationships between use behaviour, social inclusion and wellbeing, moderated by age, use frequency and use intensity, were confirmed. The analysis of the effects of the determinants on perceived reciprocity confirmed the importance of social identity, ingroup comparison, procedural justice and predisposition towards outcome maximisation. The effect of perceived reciprocity on relationship commitment and coping mechanisms (i.e. emotion-focused and problem-focused) moderated by individual and situational factors (the value of exchange, social influence, response efficacy and self-efficacy) was also supported. The results of the research contribute to the literature on the sharing economy. This research broadens the understanding of the social and psychological underpinnings of sharing economy practices. The results provide evidence about the role of community-oriented motives, which have long been debated in the literature. The adoption of the overarching social capital framework provided new insight into the nature of collaborative relations, which goes against the common and established representation of the sharing economy. In addition, the thesis provides empirical evidence about the effect of the sharing economy on social inclusion and subjective well-being, which had been speculated about before. The results contribute to the literature by explaining the determinants of perceived reciprocity in the sharing economy context, which have been under-researched previously. The examination of social factors and justice perception reconciles social and rational perspectives, while the effect of reciprocity on relationship commitment through coping behaviour sheds new light on the application of equity theory. From a practice perspective, the results provide insight into the psychological patterns of the sharing economy users, which might help regulate relations and increase collaborations. The strong relationship between use behaviour, social inclusion and subjective well-being equip policy-makers with evidence that can be set against the discussions on potential socio-economic disruptions incurred by the sharing economy. The thesis also offers implications for practice by informing practitioners about ways to ensure the loyalty of the users of sharing economy platforms

Platform-provider relationship dynamics in the sharing economy: Challenges and implications

The implications of the sharing economy for its providers have raised many concerns, against the backdrop of reported challenges in platform-provider relations. Even though the sharing economy market continues growing and such challenges become more pressing, the providers' perspective on work at platforms has not received the necessary attention. Given the gaps, the study aimed a) to explore the challenges in platform-provider relations, and b) to investigate the provider's perspective on platforms' responses to negative incidents in such relations. Using 510 responses from ridesharing providers, the structural equation modelling analysis of the challenges in relations showed that perceived information asymmetry, uncertain working conditions and relational opportunism predict dissatisfaction with platforms and a subsequent feeling of job insecurity. Latent class analysis based on the providers' perceptions of platforms' responses to negative work incidents resulted in three clusters of respondents. Those clusters had a significant variance in the perception of proactive, passive and defensive responses, and the job satisfaction level following the implementation of those responses. These findings contribute to the literature on stakeholder relations in the sharing economy and the organisational/psychological climate by extending knowledge about platform-provider relationship dynamics in digitally-mediated work environments. Managerial implications are also discussed in the paper

Equity theory

Equity Theory explains the individual's perception of fairness in social exchange relationships, based on the perception of one’s input into relations and the output of those relations compared against the ratio of the input and output of other peopl

Sharing economy: Studying the social and psychological factors and the outcomes of social exchange

Against the backdrop of the growing reliance of consumers on the sharing economy, the literature still has little evidence on the psychological and social factors of use behaviour and outcomes. Given the gaps in the research, this study adopted an overarching approach to comprehensively investigate the role of the factors facilitating social exchange, reciprocity expectation and social value in use behaviour. The effects of the sharing economy on social inclusion and subjective well-being were also tested. The data were collected from 487 users of different sharing economy platforms in the United States. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the correlation of the examined variables. The findings indicated that the use of the sharing economy was conditioned by the positive effect of egoistic belief, reciprocity norm, social value, and the negative effect of identification. Also, the study found strong relationships between use behaviour and outcomes, moderated by age, use frequency and use intensity. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are provided

Mapping the economics, social and technological attributes of the sharing economy

Purpose The sharing economy is a socio-economic system in which individuals acquire and distribute goods and services among each other for free or for compensation through internet platforms. The sharing economy has attracted the interest of the academic community, which examined the phenomenon from the economic, social and technological perspectives. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Given the lack of an overarching analysis of the sharing economy, this paper employs a quantitative content analysis approach to explore and synthesise relevant findings to facilitate the understanding of this emerging phenomenon. Findings The paper identified and grouped findings under four themes, namely: collaborative consumption practices, resources, drivers of user engagement and impacts, each of which is discussed in relation to the three main themes, aiming to compare findings and then put forward an agenda for further research. Originality/value The paper offers a balanced analysis of the building blocks of the sharing economy, to identify emerging themes within each stream, to discuss any contextual differences from a multi-stakeholder perspective and to propose directions for future studies

Identifying current themes and important future research directions in the field of consumer animosity

Ongoing social and geopolitical tensions at regional and international levels fuel consumer animosity toward foreign brands. To accommodate changing sentiments and behaviour, marketing approaches and strategies need to be reimagined which require a structured understanding of the evidence about consumer animosity that has been accumulated in the literature to date. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of consumer animosity and associated determinants and consequences. A total of 142 papers were systematically reviewed and analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The analysis resulted in ten groups of predicting factors and consequences of military, economic, political, social/cultural, and religious animosity. The provided analysis advances the current body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive classification of the determinants and consequences of different types of animosity and offering future research suggestions

Paradoxes of the Sharing Economy: A pandemic perspective

The sharing economy was expected to bring sustainable transformations towards social welfare, economic growth and environmental preservation. Yet it has not always lived up to these expectations. After the COVID-19 pandemic, societal benefits may become more elusive, considering the social and economic disruption that the pandemic has caused. The pandemic has made rethinking the sustainable pathways of platform-based entrepreneurship even more pressing. This conceptual paper starts by discussing the social, economic and environmental paradoxes of the sharing economy before the pandemic. The paper explores the roots of contradictory insights by analysing the role of normative, economic and digital regulatory mechanisms governing relations within platforms. In turn the paper analyses the effect of COVID-19 on platform regulatory mechanisms and their potential impact on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The paper contributes to our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning sharing economy practices and can help probe the future of the sharing economy

Bringing smart home technology to peer-to-peer accommodation: Exploring the drivers of intention to stay in smart accommodation

COVID-19 has caused disruptions in the sharing economy for both platforms and owners, who are typically micro-businesses. Lower demand and ample supply means that users have a great deal of choice. Finding ways for properties to differentiate themselves has been a pressing need. Against this background, this paper pursued two objectives: firstly to explore the perceived functional and emotional value of smart accommodation and the factors contributing to this by adopting the Theory of Consumption Values, and secondly to examine the role of perceived value in driving intention to stay in smart accommodation in the future. 430 responses were collected to analyse the relationships among antecedents, value and intention. The results showed that the functional value of smart accommodation is associated with the perception that such accommodation represents good value for the price, smart devices are useful, they can enhance control of stay experiences, and there are resources and opportunities facilitating the use of technology. Emotional value is determined by the perception that staying in smart accommodation represents sustainable behaviour, the integration of smart home technologies offers control over the stay experience, improves the entertainment experience, aesthetics and playfulness of using technology. Emotional values are inhibited by the perception of surveillance in smart accommodation. Also, the study offers evidence of the correlation of intention with functional and emotional value. The evidence contributes to the literature by explaining the potential implications of innovative technologies for business recovery in the post-pandemic reality, exploring the applications of smart technologies in delivering tourism services, and identifying the factors in the adoption of smart homes in the hospitality sector. The findings provide practical implications for facilitating the applications of innovative technology and its adoption in home and non-home environments