When social intrusiveness depletes customer value: A balanced perspective on the agency of simultaneous sharers in a commercial sharing experience

Abstract

A major pattern of non‐ownership consumption is “simultaneous sharing,” whereby customers simultaneously share the same resource in either a virtual or physical setting. However, little research examines the actual value that consumers derive from such a group‐based commercial experience. By integrating the literature on customer value and the psychology of autonomy, this study proposes a theoretical model of the simultaneous sharing experience that balances the benefits and social intrusiveness of sharer agency. Based on data that were collected from members of a collaborative platform dedicated to flat sharing and analyzed through structural equation modeling, social intrusiveness is found to be a pervasive phenomenon that strongly impairs customer satisfaction, whereas communal benefits, as reflected by enjoyment, companionship, informational guidance, and emotional support, enhance it. As a major antecedent of both communal benefits and intrusiveness, perceived homophily nourishes satisfaction, however, customer age may reduce the buffering influence of perceived homophily on intrusiveness, whereas an additional positive effect on communal benefits is associated with the sharer social integrative motive. We discuss the implications of this study for customer experience and commercial sharing consumption research.

The dark side of the sharing economy: Balancing value co‐creation and value co‐destruction

“…To participate in such a complex system of co‐creation, accommodation providers need to help in establishing collaborative experience outcomes (Simon & Roederer, 2019) and social benefits for all involved as they engage with sharing platforms (Stofberg & Bridoux, 2019). According to Stofberg and Bridoux (2019), sharing through a peer‐to‐peer sharing platform can provide at least two forms of social benefits: benefits that come from belonging to a community where altruism guides transactions (i.e., communal sharing) and benefits that come from transacting with partners who are seen as equal on the basis of balanced reciprocity.…”

“…They are opportunistic regarding the time they choose to host, often targeting high demand periods, such as festivals, events, and conferences when hotels are fully booked. According to Simon and Roederer (2019), this home sharer group is a central entity of the sharing ecosystem. Apart from income, companionship is a major benefit as they take pride in providing hospitality, meeting people, battling their loneliness, especially if they have lost a spouse or children have moved away.…”

“…The sharing economy has particularly disrupted the hospitality sector with Airbnb, and the automobile sharing sector through Uber (Altinay & Taheri, 2019; Chasin, von Hoffen, Cramer, & Matzner, 2018; Ert & Fleischer, 2019). Their platforms attract unconventional participants to the market because the new opportunities are providing income whilst also permitting immediacy and personal interactions with customers (Osman, D'Acunto, & Johns, 2019; Simon & Roederer, 2019; Tussyadiah, 2015). Airbnb feeds into the visitor economy of villages, towns, and cities and creates new wealth for local people.…”

“…This requires us to understand how the new service economy is embedded in community life, in neighborhoods and amongst families (Vargo & Lusch, 2016; Wirtz et al, 2019). These platforms attract new visitors in droves and create new, positive social dynamics, inspiration and enjoyment that come with collaborative engagement between locals and tourists (Belk, 2010; Pera & Viglia, 2016; Simon & Roederer, 2019; Stofberg & Bridoux, 2019). The social upheaval and displacement of locals that sharing platforms create, however, should also be fully investigated (Wang, Xiang, Yang, & Ma, 2019), to improve our knowledge of how individual service providers and locals can manage the challenges of this disruption (Eckhardt et al, 2019; Wirtz et al, 2019).…”

“…These thresholds need to be based on the community's values which operate in these neighborhoods and reflect how social life is performed, and how individuals and families perceive their quality of life (Diener, Tamir, & Scollon, 2006; Sirgy, Lee, Park, Joshanloo, & Kim, 2019; Swidler, 2001). New psychological measures of crowding, suitable for urban environments are needed (Butler, 2020), that include perceptions of safety and trustworthiness (Ert & Fleischer, 2019), enjoyment of meeting tourists (Simon & Roederer, 2019), and social distance measures to both tourists and other locals (Osman, D'Acunto, & Johns, 2019). Our research questions are guided by the goals of Transformative Service Research (Anderson et al, 2013).…”