Antecedents of Consumer Participation in Sharing Economy at Distribution Markets

Purpose: As sharing economy is becoming increasingly relevant to people's lives, we want to understand why people participate in the sharing economy. We propose and validate three factors that are likely to influence consumers' choice of participating in the sharing economy at distribution market. Also, we found antecedents that affect these variables. These antecedents include appointment and return convenient, extended operating time, variety-seeking need, usage irregularity, other's clean usage, and feeling of membership between users. Research design, data, and methodology: This research collected 341 questionnaire data from participants in China. These participants were asked about the usage of DiDi, the most popular shareware in China. The data analysis and hypothesis testing were conducted using SPSS and Amos. Results: Usage convenience, usefulness of short-term usage, and trust in other users were found to have a positive impact on consumers' intention to participate in the sharing economy. In addition, we found that all the antecedents affect these variables positively. Conclusions: This research provides new driving factors for consumer participation in the sharing economy. Moreover, these findings will help managers develop marketing strategies for inducing the consumers to participate in the sharing economy.