Empirical Examination of Users’ Adoption of the Sharing Economy in China Using an Expanded Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

With the popularity of sharing-based applications such as bicycle and car sharing, the sharing economy has attracted considerable global attention. The factors that affect users' adoption of the sharing economy must be identified to facilitate the promotion of low-carbon lifestyles and help enterprises attract more active users. By employing the technology acceptance model (TAM) and herd behavior, this study implemented an expanded TAM and identified several factors affecting behavioral intention (BI) toward the sharing economy. A questionnaire was used to obtain the data, which were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results revealed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) are the main factors affecting BI. Moreover, trust (TRU) was identified as a mediator of subjective norm (SN) and PEOU. Imitating others (IMI) affects BI, and SN affects TRU, PU, and PEOU. Gender moderates SN and IMI. This paper indicates that to improve users' BI, enterprises should enhance PU, PEOU, and TRU; cooperate with organizations to enhance SN; and guide potential users to imitate others.

Chinese Consumers’ Herd Consumption Behavior Related to Korean Luxury Cosmetics: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out

“…On an individual level, herd behavior refers to the phenomenon of an individual following others' behaviors (e.g., Gao et al, 2018;Liu and Yang, 2018;Shantha, 2019). In psychology, herd behavior is understood as a behavior that irrationally and emotionally follows that of a crowd; some examples are riots, religious gatherings, and sporting events (e.g., Berger and Heath, 2008;Puaschunder, 2018;Allie and Ajiboye, 2019).…”

“…Existing studies report that consumers, although they make rational choices, engage in herd behavior because they are cognitively lazy (e.g., Spiller and Belogolova, 2016;Liu and Yang, 2018;Allie and Ajiboye, 2019). As such, they often prefer simple to complex solutions; for example, they may prefer to rely on heuristics, such as group consensus, when making a decision (e.g., Puaschunder, 2018;Salcedo and Jiménez-Leal, 2019;Shantha, 2019).…”

“…In consumer behavior, consumers often follow other people's purchase decisions after asking for and gathering information. However, others may purchase a certain brand after being influenced by the need for another's approval and acceptance (Liu and Yang, 2018). Thus, we examine Chinese consumers' herd consumption behavior from these two aspects.…”

Conceptualizing the Sharing Economy through Presenting a Comprehensive Framework

“…The footprint of sustainability can be followed in the SE by considering more efficient utilization of the resources, creating social capital, reducing economic activities, lowering environmental pollutions and empowering ordinary people [51,120]. Liu and Yang (2018) believe that developing SE is a way towards the adoption of sustainable lifestyles [58]. Stanković et al (2016) believe in equal levels of importance for economic, financial, ecological, and social values in the sharing economy for value sharing and creation [121].…”

The Relationship of Causal Factors Affecting the Future Equilibrium Change of Total Final Energy Consumption in Thailand’s Construction Sector under a Sustainable Development Goal: Enriching the SE-VARX Model

“…The study found that sensitivity to time is found to be the vital factor affecting transfer willingness. Liu and Yang [29] tried to identify factors that affect behavioral intention (BI) toward the sharing economy by expanding on the technology acceptance model. Throughout their study, they found that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) are observed to be the key factors affecting BI.…”