Disruptive innovation and e-micro-entrepreneurship in tourism: the IRMA model approach for Airbnb platform

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how Airbnb has been transformed from an informal form of tourism accommodation into an emerging form of tourism e-micro-entrepreneurship through an interesting triangle consisting of three distinct parts: hosts, platform and guests.Design/methodology/approachConsidering that the peer-to-peer response has sealed the sharing economy's success, research methodology involves primary research that focuses on the adeptness of Airbnb hosts as e-micro-entrepreneurs from the customers' perspective. A quantitative methodology was employed by applying a convenience sampling strategy through a structured questionnaire that was distributed online, resulting in a collection of 150 useable responses. A statistical analysis has been performed to test the research's objectives.FindingsDriven by Airbnb hosts' entrepreneurial behavior in managing their listings and guests' responses, research findings led to the development of a post-conceptual IRMA model, which describes this particular form of hosting as an e-micro-entrepreneurship opportunity, while guests' satisfaction confirms the platform's performance and hosts' efforts in service quality provision.Research limitations/implicationsThis study brings valuable insights to the tourism e-entrepreneurship literature through the assessment of the Airbnb platform and the hosts as e-micro-entrepreneurs, providing useful information to researchers and managers involved in the Sharing Economy's disruptive innovation and a more complete understanding of the drivers of Airbnb's consumer adoption.Originality/valueResearch on Airbnb mainly focuses on service quality from the customer perspective, while the existing literature does not highlight how a new type of e-micro-entrepreneurship has emerged by operating in the sharing economy's disruptive innovation ecosystem, which illustrates the factors that motivate hosts and guests to share accommodation services in an equilibrium bond.