In Trust We Thrive: What Drives the Sharing Economy?

Abstract

Rapid growth of sharing economy in the last two decades may signal a paradigm shift in global capitalism and societal values. Digital platforms have brought together strangers with under-utilized capacities and assets with those who need them without looking for ownership. The radius of trust which was initially confined to family, friends and local communities; now encompasses strangers who speak no common language and who live oceans apart. Trust driven by Digital Identity (DI) and Trust and Reputation Information (TRI) have enabled what was considered as improbable or even impossible some years ago. Further expansion and deepening of trust, based on new technologies combined with international legal framework, has the potential to rewrite the apparatus of modern capitalism and societal values. Civil society and governments need to engage on this issue to guide them to a direction most beneficial for the society. However, the current extraordinary situation due to the Corona Virus pandemic, coupled with foreseeable tendencies for complete digital control, is likely to have far-reaching impact on the future development of sharing economy.

Sharing Leftover Food with Strangers via Social Media: A Value Perspective Based on Beliefs-Values-Behavior Framework

“…Trust is a subjective belief that reflects the willingness of people to put themselves in a vulnerable position vis-à-vis the actions of others. Thus, trust is the cornerstone of the sharing economy [23]. Several studies examine the role of trust in a sharing economy (e.g., [24]).…”

“…Trust becomes a more critical factor in food sharing as it involves two important concerns: stranger sharing and food hygiene. While the digital platforms may make stranger sharing less risky by providing information on users via the use of ratings and reputations [25,26], an adequate legal framework to protect consumers is still missing in the sharing economy [23]. In addition to those research efforts on trust, sharing platform studies also focus on other important aspects such as system design, consumers behaviors, etc.…”

“…The study thus borrows from work on the sharing economy and proposes two salient factors, namely, trust and interactivity as the affective and cognitive beliefs determining consumer perceived value of LFFS for two reasons. First, customer trust not only serves as a foundation for the growth and success of e-commerce [71], but it also emerges as a new concern (i.e., trust as the emotional price) in the sharing economy (e.g., [14,23]). Because of the unique characteristics of LFFS (i.e., absence of face-to-face interactions and concern of food sanitation), consumers feel greater uncertainty and heightened risk when they use the service [72].…”

“…Trust manifests itself in various business relationships. Researchers constantly explore the intended conceptualization of trust across research disciplines in the offline context [88], online environment, and sharing economy [23,89]. Early IT research conceptualizes trust as the extent to which an individual believes that the use of a technology is reliable and credible [90].…”

The Stranger Factor: How Familiarity Influences Sharing Behavior across Generations

“…Mittendorf (2016) explores the concept of trust from a platform perspective, suggesting that for a booming sharing economy, customers must trust not only the provider of the idle asset but also the platform facilitating the sharing. Szabó and Gupta (2020) consider trust crucial in the sharing economy. They mention that while previously sharing was focused on family, friends, or local communities, in a global world, sharing occurs with strangers who often do not speak the same language or live in a different country.…”