What is Yours is “Mine”! A Model to Examine Consumers’ Value Co-Creation in Accommodation Sharing

In this study, we conceptualize a research model in the context of accommodation sharing platforms to examine the antecedents of consumers (guests) value co-creation behaviours using the theoretical lens of psychological ownership (PO). We theorize that the mechanisms of perceived control, intimate knowledge and social interactions moderated by platform mediated communications can induce the development of PO towards target accommodations. We conceptualize the outcome of PO as positive value co-creation behaviours (feedback, advocacy, helping and tolerance) that can be valuable for sustaining participation in accommodation sharing. We plan to collect data from Airbnb users and use SEM to test our research model. Theoretically, our research has the potential to contribute to the emerging phenomenon of sharing economy and value co-creation enabled by online platforms. Also, practitioners can use the conceptual framework to leverage value co-creation behaviours for sustaining participation in accommodation sharing

EXPLORING TECHNOLOGY TRUST IN BITCOIN: THE BLOCKCHAIN EXEMPLAR

The acceptance of Bitcoin as an electronic currency is steadily on the rise. This implies there is a surge in the diffusion and adoption of the blockchain technology introduced by Bitcoin as well. Moreover, the potential of this novel disruptive technology has been acknowledged by academic researchers and practitioners alike. IS research has shown that trust is a significant antecedent enabling the adoption of a novel technology and attenuating the apprehensions of risk and uncertainty among consumers. Trust in a technology is formed by the trusting beliefs of a trustor regarding the trustworthiness of the IT artifact. The blockchain technology, the trustee, has features like cryptography, decentralization, hash functions, digital signature, consensus mechanism, which embody trust in the technology. We present an extensive description of Bitcoin as an instantiation of the blockchain technology, while offering a detailed account of the literature on trust in a technology. We conceptually present, through the use of knowledge mapping, how blockchain ensures trust in the technology. We propose future research directions for trust research in the blockchain context and urge IS academics to explore trust in this novel context

What We Know and What We Need to Know about Peer Platforms - Airbnb and Uber

Peer-to-peer collaborative consumption platforms posit a new way of organizing economic activity that has disrupted the traditional business models predominantly in the hospitality and travel spaces. In this study, we synthesize the mainstream academic research conducted in the domain of accommodation and ride sharing services by conducting a systematic literature review. We identified six themes- trust, reputation, optimization, participation, design and social aspects and we present the significant works in each theme. The relevant studies identified were also mapped based on the type of the shared service and the targeted stakeholders, namely providers, consumers and IS artifact, addressed in each study. The review and mapping provides a significant understanding of the focal areas investigated so far and uncovers potential research areas

Barriers to Adoption of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology, the underpinning of Bitcoin, has been widely acknowledged as the technical innovation of the 21st century. But even after a decade since its inception, Bitcoin is still the only widely known and somewhat mainstream application of the technology. In this study, we conduct an inductive content analysis of archival data to identify 16 barriers inhibiting the mainstream adoption of the blockchain technology. The barriers to the adoption of a technology are not simply the opposites of the enablers. Thus, we advocate that an understanding of the barriers will aid in the recognition of the limitations of the current state of blockchain technology. The barriers identified can guide future work by academics and practitioners and help attain technical maturity

Understanding Mechanisms of Value Co-Creation in Collaborative Consumption Services

Peer-to-peer collaborative consumption services (CCS) or “sharing economy” has emerged as an innovative way to exchange resources between service providers and consumers where the transactions are mediated by digital platforms. The phenomenon advocates for the sustainable usage of resources by making use of underutilized resources. Several new platforms are emerging in this domain enabling sharing of diverse products and services. This new technology enabled phenomenon is essentially redefining the traditional service models. Moreover, the service innovation enabled by these novel service models is a highly collaborative process which is radically different from the traditional service models encompassing suppliers / service providers and consumers. Furthermore, the CCS phenomenon is also changing the notion of ownership of resources. In this dissertation, we adopt a service innovation perspective to uncover the value co-creation mechanisms in the novel peer-to-peer sharing context. In doing so we uncover the unique roles of the digital platforms and the role of social aspects like social capital, critical for value co-creation in CCS. The spotlight of this research is on accommodation sharing platforms. First, we conduct a literature review and outline the critical factors for user participation in CCS. Secondly, by adopting a qualitative approach, we identify the factors leading to value co-creation and uncover the role of service platform, service ecosystems and resource integration by using the social capital theory and service-dominant logic. Lastly, we focus on the unique aspect of psychological ownership and explore its implications for consumer’s value co-creation behaviors via a quantitative study. Overall, this dissertation develops an elaborate picture of the value co-creation process in CCS and our findings also suggests that mechanisms like psychological ownership are unique attributes which lead consumers to exhibit value co-creation behaviors. This dissertation contributes to literature on technology enabled value co-creation in the innovative peer-to-peer context

Impact of Regulations on Sharing Economy

Sharing economy platforms like Uber and Airbnb are being subjected to regulations by governing bodies to safeguard the interests of their local communities. While existing research suggests that such regulations are detrimental for the sharing phenomenon, platforms like Uber and Airbnb have continued to grow and thrive. Theorizing on the basis of signaling theory and uncertainty reduction theory we argue that regulations can be beneficial for sharing services. Treating the case of the city of New Orleans that implemented regulations for licensing Airbnb listings in April of 2017 as a natural experiment, we conducted a difference-in-differences analysis at a micro level using balanced panel data sets and a suitable control group. Our findings show regulations had a positive effect and it led to an increase in the performance of the service providers by 23%. Our study provides empirical evidence in support of regulations for the sharing economy