Managing service providers in the sharing economy: Insights from Airbnb’s host management

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 765-777
Author(s):  
Georg von Richthofen ◽  
Florian von Wangenheim
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy

Last-mile logistics in the sharing economy: sustainability paradoxes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Btissam Moncef ◽  
Marlène Monnet Dupuy
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Logistics Management ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Last Mile Delivery

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore sustainability paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by focusing on logistics management in last-mile logistics.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory study, a total of 10 case studies were conducted in three categories of companies: anti-waste platforms, food delivery platforms and bicycle delivery companies. Twenty-seven face-to-face interviews with founders and/or managers and contractors (couriers, logistics service providers or volunteers) were the primary source of data collection. The heterogeneity of the sample enabled the authors to build an understanding of sustainability paradoxes in the logistics of sharing economy initiatives.FindingsThe findings indicate how logistics management impacts the sustainability of sharing economy initiatives in last-mile delivery. The authors identify seven paradoxical tensions (five of them social) generated by the contradictions between the organizations' promised environmental and social values and the impacts of their operations.Research limitations/implicationsThis exploratory research is based on a qualitative study of 10 cases and 27 interviews from heterogeneous samples; further empirical research is needed to ensure generalization.Practical implicationsThe paper increases the understanding of environmental and social paradoxical tensions and awareness of logistics challenges.Social implicationsThe paper helps identify ways to reconcile promised values and impacts generated by sharing economy initiatives while managing last-mile delivery.Originality/valueThe results enrich the literature about the paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by providing illustrations in last-mile logistics and exposing the underlying challenges for sharing economy logistics actors.

Drivers, Riders, and Service Providers: The Impact of the Sharing Economy on Mobility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saif Benjaafar ◽  
Harald Bernhard ◽  
Costas Courcoubetis ◽  
Michail Kanakakis ◽  
Spyridon Papafragkos
Keyword(s):  
Operations Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Car Ownership ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Ride Sharing ◽  
Finite Set ◽  
Nonatomic Game ◽  
Payoff Functions ◽  
The Impact

It is widely believed that ride sharing, the practice of sharing a car such that more than one person travels in the car during a journey, has the potential to significantly reduce traffic by filling up cars more efficiently. We introduce a model in which individuals may share rides for a certain fee, paid by the rider(s) to the driver through a ride-sharing platform. Collective decision making is modeled as an anonymous nonatomic game with a finite set of strategies and payoff functions among individuals who are heterogeneous in their income. We examine how ride sharing is organized and how traffic and ownership are affected if a platform, which chooses the seat rental price to maximize either revenue or welfare, is introduced to a population. We find that the ratio of ownership to usage costs determines how ride sharing is organized. If this ratio is low, ride sharing is offered as a peer-to-peer (P2P) service, and if this ratio is high, ride sharing is offered as a business-to-customer (B2C) service. In the P2P case, rides are initiated by drivers only when the drivers need to fulfill their own transportation requirements. In the B2C case, cars are driven all the time by full-time drivers taking rides even if these are not motivated by their private needs. We show that, although the introduction of ride sharing may reduce car ownership, it can lead to an increase in traffic. We also show that traffic and ownership may increase as the ownership cost increases and that a revenue-maximizing platform might prefer a situation in which cars are driven with only a few seats occupied, causing high traffic. We contrast these results with those obtained for a social welfare-maximizing platform. This paper was accepted by Charles Corbett, operations management.

scholarly journals Examining Cross-Industry Collaboration in Sharing Economy Based On Social Exchange and Social Network Theories

2020 ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Cheng-Wen Lee ◽  
Hao-Yuan Yu
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
The Cost

Information technology and advanced online environments have reduced the cost of these exchange activities and triggered the emergence of the sharing economy. Con-sequently, public attitude toward the sharing economy has gradually shifted from re-luctance to acceptance. Moreover, the sharing economy has revolutionized the busi-ness models and viewpoints of conventional industries, and sharing service providers have gradually shifted from an independent to a collaborative stance, thereby affect-ing conventional economies. This study interprets the phenomenon of cross-industry collaboration in the sharing economy through social exchange and social network the-ories. A multiple-case research framework is used to examine tourism and service in-dustries. Secondary data of service providers and users on sharing platforms are ana-lyzed using content analysis, supplemented with a content analysis of the interview data of three hotel executives. The varying phenomena of the conventional and shar-ing economies on social exchange and social network were compared. Finally, this paper proposes conclusions and practical recommendations according to the analytical results. JEL classification numbers: D85, M31, L14. Keywords: Cross-Industry Collaboration, Sharing Economy, Social Exchange, Social Network.

scholarly journals The ‘gig economy’: employee, self-employed or the need for a special employment regulation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrián Todolí-Signes
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Business Organisation ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
New Type ◽  
The One ◽  
Individual Service ◽  
Labour Regulation

The digital era has changed employment relationships dramatically, causing a considerable degree of legal uncertainty as to which rules apply in cyberspace. Technology is transforming business organisation in a way that makes employees – as subordinate workers – less necessary. New types of companies, based on the ‘on-demand economy’ or so-called ‘sharing economy’ and dedicated to connecting customers directly with individual service providers, are emerging. These companies conduct their entire core business through workers that they classify as self-employed. In this context, employment law is facing its greatest challenge, as it has to deal with a very different reality to the one existing when it was created. This article analyses the literature available about the classification of this new type of worker as an employee or as self-employed, concluding that there is a need for a new special labour regulation. It also describes and justifies the bases for this new special labour regulation.

scholarly journals The Consequences of Participating in the Sharing Economy: A Transparency-Based Sharing Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils C. Köbis ◽  
Ivan Soraperra ◽  
Shaul Shalvi
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Managerial Implications

The sharing economy is estimated to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the global economy and is rapidly growing. However, trust-based commercial sharing—the participation in for-profit peer-to-peer sharing-economy activity—has negative as well as positive consequences for both the interacting parties and uninvolved third parties. To share responsibly, one needs to be aware of the various consequences of sharing. We provide a comprehensive, preregistered, systematic literature review of the consequences of trust-based commercial sharing, identifying 93 empirical papers spanning regions, sectors, and scientific disciplines. Via in-depth coding of the empirical work, we provide an authoritative overview of the economic, social, and psychological consequences of trust-based commercial sharing for involved parties, including service providers, users, and third parties. Based on the aggregate insights, we identify the common denominators for the positive and negative consequences. Whereas a well-functioning infrastructure of payment, insurance, and communication enables the positive consequences, ambiguity about rules, roles, and regulations causes non-negligible negative consequences. To overcome these negative consequences and promote more responsible forms of sharing, we propose the transparency-based sharing framework. Based on the framework, we outline an agenda for future research and discuss emerging managerial implications that arise when trying to increase transparency without jeopardizing the potential of trust-based commercial sharing.

scholarly journals Factors influencing trust and behavioral intention to use Airbnb service innovation in three ASEAN countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-188
Author(s):  
Evelyn Lim Chua ◽  
Jason Lim Chiu ◽  
Candy Lim Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Intention To Use

Purpose The sharing economy is described as a community marketplace, particularly home sharing such as Airbnb, which is more prevalent. Airbnb changed the way renters and tourists find places to stay when they are traveling. The company introduced innovations in business models and technologies. So, Airbnb requires specific factors that will influence consumers’ trust because consumers intuitively seek out trusting factors to make judgments on innovative service providers. Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence travelers’ trust to use Airbnb within the three ASEAN nations. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from both qualitative and quantitative methods. The questionnaire was the main data-gathering instrument used in this study and supplemented by informal interviews. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to 130 Airbnb users from the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore using Hayes’ Process Macro as the statistical tool. Findings The correlation test was carried out to determine the strength and relationships among the independent, mediating and dependent variables. All independent variables are positively correlated with the mediating variable. The results reveal that ease of use, convenience, information social influence, normative social influence and security have a significant impact on trust and behavioral intention to use Airbnb. Originality/value This study contributes to the field of sharing economy, particularly home sharing, by examining different factors that influence trust and behavioral intention. This study focused on the case of Southeast Asian consumers, so this study is useful for marketing practitioners to enhance their marketing strategies in catering to this segment of the market.

scholarly journals Research on Sharing Intention Formation Mechanism Based on the Burden of Ownership and Fashion Consciousness

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 992
Author(s):  
Guangling Zhang ◽  
Liying Wang ◽  
Pengfei Shi
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Fashion Consciousness ◽  
New Consumer ◽  
Individual Service

The sharing economy has become an important business model for China to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, improve the utilization efficiency of social resources, promote green and sustainable development, and achieve high-quality economic development. How to improve the willingness of individuals to share underutilized resources with others is becoming an urgent problem for enterprises and academia. Although current research on the sharing economy provides insights into users’ perspectives, little attention has been given to the comprehensive investigation of the sharing intention of individual service providers. Based on the motivation—opportunity—abilities (MOA) theory, we analyze the influencing factors and boundary conditions of individual resource sharing intention by taking new consumer groups as research samples. The results reveal that the sharing intention of individual service providers depends on their customized service capability, economic motivation, and perceived ease of use. Furthermore, the burden of ownership and fashion consciousness will further influence the sharing intention of individual service providers. This discovery provides theoretical basis for the development of an enterprise sharing economy and government guidance, and enriches the theoretical research on the sharing economy.

MARKETING TOOLS USED BY THE SHARING ECONOMY PLATFORMS IN TOURISM: THE SPECIFIC ROLE OF PRICES

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Teresa Skalska
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Average Price ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Utility Index ◽  
Product Utility ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose. Analysis of the method of using price as a marketing tool on the example of selected cities with strong tourist function (empirical study); indication of other non-price ways of gaining competitive advantage (e.g. quality, scope of additional services) – based on empirical research, secondary sources and market analysis. Method. The article was based on the deductive approach and the results of the empirical study of offers placed by: 3* hotels, Airbnb hosts and Interhome in three metropolitan centres with developed tourist functions (Warsaw, Krakow, Prague). On the basis of the average price for 1 night (μ) and the product utility index (ή), the synthetic coefficient was calculated showing the price-to-utility relationship and allowing comparison of the price of services including the elements contained therein. Findings. The results of the empirical study allow to use two measures of price competitiveness assessment and the use of price as a marketing tool by selected service providers: the average price per night spent by the guest (μ) and the product utility index for the customer (ή). The research allowed to show the use of price as a tool of marketing impact in the area of sharing economy in tourism. Research and conclusions limitations. The sample contains all offers that meet the established criteria. The study fully reflects the situation in three selected metropolitan centres. Practical implications. The article has no direct practical implications, although the presented method and formulated conclusions can be used to improve price analysis tools in the area of tourism, taking into account the sharing economy. Originality. In the current research, the problem of using prices as a marketing tool in the area of sharing economy in tourism is rarely undertaken. Type of paper. The article presents both theoretical concepts and the results of empirical research.

The Emergence of the Sharing Economy: Implications for Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Hira ◽  
Katherine Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Traditional Service ◽  
The One

With the spread of internet-based technologies, the sharing economy is emerging as a new and rapidly growing sector of the economy. This sector offers transformative potential for many other sectors of the economy, and possibilities for new economic activity and growth in the developing world. The sharing economy is a misnomer, as while there are possibilities for more cooperative economic approaches, the primary emphasis is on the reduction of transaction costs including the elimination of middlemen in sales between a good/service provider and a customer. In this introductory article to the special edition, we provide an overview of both the positive and negative potential for the contribution of the sharing economy to development. On the one hand, we find that the reduction in transactions costs and the low price of mobiles improves access to goods and services, and reduces the need for economies of scale for marginalized groups who lack access to capital and infrastructure. However, we point to the real obstacles that the poor experience in using internet-based platforms to start businesses or accumulate capital. We discuss the potential for labour substitution of traditional service providers, such as taxi drivers. In juxtaposition to some of its claimants, we find that the sharing economy changes the nature of institutional, regulatory and promotional challenges by the state and social groups, rather than reducing the need for them.

Diagnosing Service Success and Failure Incidents in the Consumer-to-Business Sharing Economy

2022 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Critical Incident Technique ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Recovery Strategy ◽  
Recovery Strategies

This study uses the critical incident technique to collect and analyze incidents of service failure and success involving a logistics sharing service in which the service providers are individuals. The authors also explore the key factors that affect customer satisfaction, along with the official and ideal recovery strategies. Data is based on interviews with 35 business users in Taiwan in 2017. A card sorting exercise is employed to classify the collected incidents and strategies into categories. The results show that the determinants of success and failure in logistics sharing services include drivers, platform operation, the matching system, and communication. Compensation is the most effective recovery strategy, whereas doing nothing is the least effective. Suggestions based on our results can help managers of the sharing economy to avoid or recover from failures and attain success.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document