Smartphones are increasingly penetrating business and consumer markets, and mobile applications (apps) have engendered a large and innovative market. Whereas apps are useful, they also present new forms of privacy risk associated with users' personal and location data. However, these dangers do not appear to increase the perceived risk or reduce the trust consumers demonstrate when using apps. Many information technology (IT) trust indicators are well documented such as the quality of the IT, trust assurances, brand recognition and social influences. However, these traditional indicators appear to have a lesser impact on the adoption of mobile commerce via apps because of the nature of mobile‐app adoption and subsequent information disclosure. As a result, we draw from social cognitive theory and its construct of self‐efficacy in particular to explain perceived mobile‐app risk and provider trust. Through two controlled experiments, we demonstrate the strong direct effect of mobile‐computing self‐efficacy on users' initial trust in location‐based app vendors as well as their perceived risk of disclosing information – regardless of the actual trustworthiness of the app vendor. The results imply that being skilled in the latest smartphones and apps can cause users to place greater trust in app providers and perceive less risk in the app itself, even when the intentions of the app providers cannot be verified.
Purpose
As sharing economy has become increasingly popular, researchers from various disciplines begin to pay more attention to this important phenomenon. However, the current literature is fragmented and lacks a framework to integrate previous studies and guide future research. This study aims to systematically review the literature to better understand what one knows and what one need to know about sharing economy and provide a road map for future research in the context of sharing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review was conducted with EBSCO and science direct database. In total, 91 studies were identified.
Findings
The review shows that previous studies focus on different stakeholders, including consumers, peer service providers, platform providers, and competitors. The authors further identify the main topics and limitations of the literature (integrated into a framework) and provide possible directions for future studies. For example, the authors find that few studies have examined individual and technical factors. The findings also show that consumers’ other activities and outcomes have received little attention. To address these limitations, future studies that examine how individual and technical characteristics influence sharing economy’s usage intention/behaviors are suggested. The authors also suggest future studies to explore other activities during the process of sharing economy services.
Research limitations/implications
The framework and directions provided can further the sharing economy research by addressing important gaps in the current literature.
Originality/value
This review identifies many opportunities for researchers to better understand the phenomenon of sharing economy.
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