Trust and Sharing in Online Environments: A Comparative Study of Different Groups of Norwegian Car Sharers

Abstract

Though multiple studies have explored the phenomenon of car sharing, very few have indulged into exploring how different forms of trust varies between users of different business models. We address this research gap through employing quantitative data analyses of car sharers in Norway. Results show that the levels of ingroup and outgroup-trust (i.e., trust towards friends/family or unfamiliar persons) are markedly low for the members of the peer-to-peer scheme (M = 3.4/2.9) as compared to the cooperative (M = 6.0/4.8) and business-to-consumer scheme (M = 5.7/4.4). In contrast, technology-based trust is more important for the P2P sharers (M = 5.8) than cooperative (M = 5.6) and the B2C users (M = 5.6). Our findings echo previous studies, indicating that a different set of institutional logics is driving the transactions at the emerging P2P platforms compared to former non-profit sharing communities.

Roundtrip, free-floating and peer-to-peer carsharing: A Bayesian behavioral analysis

“…highest frequency of use) for RTSB operators, while higher levels of trust in the service positively impacted the probability of high frequency of use of FF services. Previous research has shown that the levels of trust of other people are lower for users of P2P compared to B2C, while trust in the technology involved in the service is more important to users of P2P than to B2C users (Julsrud and Uteng, 2021).…”

“…Moreover, the social influence from the user's network is another aspect that helps to build trust (Shao and Yin, 2018). Previous research has shown that the levels of trust in other people are lower for users of P2P compared to B2C, while trust in the technology involved in the service is more important to users of P2P than to B2C users (Julsrud and Uteng, 2021).…”

Beyond private-sphere pro-environmental action: Explaining shared mobility using the Theory of Planned Behavior and solidarity-oriented variables

“…To get more valid insights into psychological factors of uncommon behaviors, the focus on a sample of individuals already using shared mobility in their everyday mobility may be more promising (e.g. Julsrud & Priya Uteng, 2021). It should furthermore be noted that the analysis of structural models based on cross-sectional data does neither allow causal conclusions nor conclusions about intraindividual processes (Molenaar, 2004).…”

Shared Mobility: Evolving Practices for Sustainability

“…Julsrud and Uteng [34] also investigated the potential importance of trust for carsharing by exploring if and how different forms of trust varied between users of different business models. Surveys were collected from 3070 users of the three largest carsharing providers in Norway-Bilkollektivet (Cooperative), Hertz (B2C), and Nabobil (P2P).…”

“…Overall, we also denote that much research findings are context-dependent, for example, based on a limited geographical region that may differ in culture, norms, or regulations [33] or based on a particular business model (e.g., P2P platforms vs. selfservice) [32,34]. Consequently, research on the influence of context would be valuable.…”