When is Ours Better than Mine? A Framework for Understanding and Altering Participation in Commercial Sharing Systems

Abstract

Sharing systems are increasingly challenging sole ownership as the dominant means of obtaining product benefits, making up a market estimated at more than US$100 billion annually in 2010. Consumer options include cell phone minute-sharing plans, frequent-flyer-mile pools, bicycle-sharing programs, and automobile-sharing systems, among many others. However, marketing research has yet to provide a framework for understanding and managing these emergent systems. The authors conceptualize commercial sharing systems within a typology of shared goods. Using three studies, they demonstrate that beyond cost-related benefits of sharing, the perceived risk of scarcity related to sharing is a central determinant of its attractiveness. The results suggest that managers can use perceptions of personal and sharing partners' usage patterns to affect risk perceptions and subsequent propensity to participate in a commercial sharing system.

Who Am I? How Compelling Self-storytelling Builds Digital Personal Reputation

“…The sharing economy is becoming increasingly popular, and it is estimated, at the time we are writing, at more than US$15 billion (PwC 2014). The trend is expected to increase, as consumers and firms seek to maximize efficiency in volatile economic conditions (Lamberton and Rose 2012).…”

Understanding the organization of sharing economy in agri-food systems: evidence from alternative food networks in Valencia

“…In particular, Belk's definition as "the act and process of distributing what is ours to others for their use or vice versa, receiving something from others for our use" (Belk 2007, p. 126) reinforces the idea of sharing as co-access to resources. Debate on the notion of sharing has also exposed the key distinctive features of sharing economy initiatives to different interpretations (Botsman 2013;Coalition 2014;Gansky 2014;Lamberton and Rose 2012;Smith 2014). The recent literature has debated at least six key features pertaining to sharing economy initiatives:…”

“…For example, consumers share knowledge prior to transfer of ownership of goods and services, such as eBay or Craigslist, mainly to save time or money and/or to contribute to better environmental practices (Botsman 2013;Schor 2014). In contrast with Botsman (2013), and in line with Belk's (2007) definition of sharing, other authors narrowed down collaborative consumption as the consumers' act of co-owning or co-accessing goods, such as cars or bikes, for a fee or other compensation (Bardhi and Eckhardt 2012;Lamberton and Rose 2012;Belk 2013). 2.…”

“…Looking beyond the agricultural and food sector, the pattern linking smaller-size and communitarian AFNs may explain why participants in large sharing economy models may prefer formal regulatory procedures (Hartl et al 2016) or feel excluded when these formal elements are missing (Schor et al 2016). As such, this organization lens helps positioning AFNs within the broader spectrum of sharing economy models (Lamberton and Rose 2012;Botsman 2013;Gansky 2014;Smith 2014). First of all, the cases of Valencia confirm that AFNs reflect a narrower meaning of sharing-meant as informal co-access rather than co-ownership of tangible resource (Belk 2007)-relative to Botsman (2013.…”

“…The first strand includes comparative studies on sharing economy initiatives which do not focus on organizational mechanisms. These studies sought to compare sharing economy forms in terms of participants' characteristics and motivations (Cohen and Muñoz 2016;Barnes and Mattsson 2016) or the nature of the shared goods (Lamberton and Rose 2012). A second strand of studies has recently focused on organizational issues in the sharing economy, yet missing a comparative perspective.…”