Providers Versus Platforms: Marketing Communications in the Sharing Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 22-38
Author(s):  
John P. Costello ◽  
Rebecca Walker Reczek
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Consumer Perceptions ◽  
Marketing Communications ◽  
Marketing Managers ◽  
Individual Provider

Peer-to-peer (P2P) business models have become increasingly prevalent in the marketplace. However, little is known about what factors influence consumer perceptions of purchases from firms using these models. The authors propose that features inherent to the P2P model lead consumers to perceive high provider–firm independence, where providers are viewed as relatively independent from the platform on which they offer goods/services. Across a series of studies, the authors show that when P2P brands use provider-focused (vs. platform-focused) marketing communications, consumers perceive a purchase as helping an individual provider to a greater extent, which increases consumers’ willingness to pay and their likelihood of both making a purchase and downloading the brand’s app. This is because provider-focused marketing communications in this context lead consumers to think about their purchase from the provider’s perspective, thus adopting an “empathy lens.” The authors further show that this effect does not extend to other business models. This work thus identifies provider- (vs. platform-) focused marketing communications as a way for marketing managers of P2P brands to drive important purchase-related outcomes.

Business Models in the Sharing Economy: Manufacturing Durable Goods in the Presence of Peer-to-Peer Rental Markets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vibhanshu Abhishek ◽  
Jose A. Guajardo ◽  
Zhe Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Durable Goods ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Rental Market ◽  
Rental Markets ◽  
Usage Rates

With peer-to-peer sharing of durable goods like cars, boats, and condominiums, it is unclear how manufacturers should react. They could seek to encourage these markets or compete against them by offering their own rentals. This work shows why the best business model depends on whether consumer usage rates vary or not. Contrary to what might be expected, this paper shows that manufacturers have an incentive to facilitate transactions of P2P rental markets in a large variety of cases. We find that when consumer variation in usage rates is intermediate, the manufacturer is surprisingly best off avoiding offering its own direct rentals option and instead, facilitating a peer-to-peer rental market where consumers can share among themselves. The reason for this is an effect unique to the sharing economy, the equalizing effect. The equalizing effect shows that peer-to-peer rentals uniquely make previously heterogeneous willingness-to-pay among consumers more similar, making it easier for the firm to discriminate between the higher- and lower-value consumers, thus allowing it to extract a higher portion of consumers’ surplus. Surprisingly, there are some cases where peer-to-peer rentals benefit the manufacturer, but consumers are hurt overall (though the lower-usage consumers do always benefit from the availability of peer-to-peer rentals).

scholarly journals Sharing Economy: The Establishment of Organizational Identity Overtime, Considering Identify Claims and Legitimacy Granting

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 306 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Miguel Oliveira Cotrim ◽  
Francisco Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

The Sharing Economy (SE) has been growing at an impressive rate across the globe (Cohen - Kietzmann, 2014) and emerging as an innovative and rapidly growing sector of the economy (Hira - Reilly, 2017), which attracted the attention of the scientific community. An increasing number of studies have been brought to light helping to document and analyze how SE manifests and evolves across economic systems, thus, contributing to refine and recast existing management theory (Mair - Reischauer, 2017). Nevertheless, there still is a lack of a common understanding of SE and its underlying mechanisms (Knote - Blohm, 2016). As an emergent category, SE has been contoured by being a mutant process, as it has been crafted by multiple and distinct temporal identity and legitimacy events, mechanisms and claims. Showing signs of being an on-going process of evolution, there is a constant need for further research to identify developments in the evolution of SE considering both identify claims (self-referential) and legitimacy (granted by stakeholders), which would offer additional comprehension about the SE phenomenon. The research addresses it by studying what is the role of SE in establishing the identity of organizations belonging to the field, considering both identify claims (self-referential) and legitimacy (granted by stakeholders)? To answer the research question, the research was designed involving two components inspired on category creation studies (Durand - Paolella, 2013; Glynn - Navis, 2013; Navis - Glynn, 2010; Kennedy - Fiss, 2013; Kennedy et al., 2010; Lounsbury - Rao, 2004; and Wry et al., 2014): 1) four prototypical SE organizations were selected, each of them belonging to Schor’s (2014) four SE archetypes of activities: (i) Airbnb – peer-to-peer, for-profit activity –, (ii) Zipcar – business-to-peer, for-profit activity –, (iii) TimeBanks – peer-to-peer, non-profit – and (iv) Make: makerspaces – business-to-peer, non-profit. The content of the evolution of their identity claims was analyzed, using data from their public available reports, as well as, other secondary data available on-line; and 2) considering the same set of SE organizations, legitimacy evolution was analyzed considering how scientific community, investors, customers, media, other analysts and other interested audiences have been constructing category meaning to them, conferring the formation of SE categorical and organizational identities, and perceptions about the viability of their business models (Tripsas, 2009, as cited in Navis - Glynn, 2010). In short, it was analyzed how stakeholders assess the viability of SE categories and organizations and can grant or withhold legitimacy to SE organizations (Zuckerman, 1999, as cited in Navis - Glynn, 2010). This research presents a new layer on framing a detailed understanding of the SE field in its maturing dimension, thus, meeting Mair’s and Reischauer’s (2017) call for studying the SE, unpack and make sense of an inspiring and complex phenomenon and thereby advancing and sophisticate the existing theory.

Consumer perception of service quality The case of Airbnb and Couchsurfing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Dewitte ◽  
Jérôme Mallargé ◽  
Alain Decrop
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Collaborative Consumption ◽  
The World ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry ◽  
Bank Group

Recent economic, social and environmental concerns have drawn attention to the necessity to rethink our consumption patterns (Barnes & Mattsson, 2016) and call for alternative forms of consumption. In parallel, digitalization dramatically changes the way we live, work, consume and travel (OECD, 2020). As a result, new consumption practices have emerged in the last years, privileging access over ownership (Botsman & Rogers, 2010). Those practices, labelled as sharing economy or collaborative consumption (Belk, 2014; Benoit et al., 2017; Botsman & Rogers, 2010), involve most of the time peer-to-peer exchanges (for a fee or for free) that are coordinated through community-based online services (Hamari, Sjoklint & Ukkonen, 2016). Such collaborative services have recently boomed, impacting many sectors, including the hospitality and tourism industry (Sigala, 2017), with well-known initiatives such as Airbnb or Couchsurfing. Peer-to-peer accommodation services are transforming the tourism industry (PWC, 2015) by enabling consumers to share and access goods escaping traditional services like hotels and travel agencies. According to Hotrec (2014), peer-to-peer accommodation is twice bigger than the conventional tourism accommodation industry in Europe. The World Bank Group estimates a 31% annual growth of this new accommodation type between 2013 and 2025, which is six times bigger than the annual growth of the conventional bed and breakfast and hotel industry. In total, peer-topeer accommodation makes up about 7% of accommodation worldwide (Bakker & Twining-Ward, 2018). Two of the most sucessful sharing economy unicorns, AirBnB and Couchsurfing, have very different business models. Airbnb is an online peer-to-peer marketplace that matches hosts wishing to share their home with travelers (i.e. guests) who are looking for accommodation. Valued at 38 billion USD (Forbes, 2018), Airbnb has more than 60 million customers and around two million accommodations in the world (OECD, 2016). At the opposite, Couchsurfing is a free online hospitality exchange network that connects travelers looking for a place to sleep with people offering their ‘couch’ for a couple of nights. The community gathers around ten million members around the world.

Platforms in the peer-to-peer sharing economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Kevin Kam Fung So ◽  
Makarand Amrish Mody ◽  
Stephanie Q. Liu ◽  
HaeEun Helen Chun
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Critical Level ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Search Costs ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
Competitive Position ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine peer-to-peer sharing platform business models, their sources of competitive advantage, and the roles, motivations and behaviors of key actors in their ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a conceptual approach that is rooted in the service, tourism and hospitality, and strategy literature. Findings First, this paper defines key types of platform business models in the sharing economy anddescribes their characteristics. In particular, the authors propose the differentiation between sharing platforms of capacity-constrained vs capacity-unconstrained assets and advance five core properties of the former. Second, the authors contrast platform business models with their pipeline business model counterparts to understand the fundamental differences between them. One important conclusion is that platforms cater to vastly more heterogeneous assets and consumer needs and, therefore, require liquidity and analytics for high-quality matching. Third, the authors examine the competitive position of platforms and conclude that their widely taken “winner takes it all” assumption is not valid. Primary network effects are less important once a critical level of liquidity has been reached and may even turn negative if increased listings raise friction in the form of search costs. Once a critical level of liquidity has been reached, a platform’s competitive position depends on stakeholder trust and service provider and user loyalty. Fourth, the authors integrate and synthesize the literature on key platform stakeholders of platform businesses (i.e. users, service providers, and regulators) and their roles and motivations. Finally, directions for further research are advanced. Practical implications This paper helps platform owners, service providers and users understand better the implications of sharing platform business models and how to position themselves in such ecosystems. Originality/value This paper integrates the extant literature on sharing platforms, takes a novel approach in delineating their key properties and dimensions, and provides insights into the evolving and dynamic forms of sharing platforms including converging business models.

scholarly journals State of the Art in Open Platforms for Collaborative Urban Design and Sharing of Resources in Districts and Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4875
Author(s):  
Barry Hayes ◽  
Dorota Kamrowska-Zaluska ◽  
Aleksandar Petrovski ◽  
Cristina Jiménez-Pulido
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Local Community ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
The State ◽  
Smart Technology ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Technology Platforms

This work discusses recent developments in sharing economy concepts and collaborative co-design technology platforms applied in districts and cities. These developments are being driven both by new technological advances and by increased environmental awareness. The paper begins by outlining the state of the art in smart technology platforms for collaborative urban design, highlighting a number of recent examples. The case of peer-to-peer trading platforms applied in the energy sector is then used to illustrate how sharing economy concepts and their enabling technologies can accelerate efforts towards more sustainable urban environments. It was found that smart technology platforms can encourage peer-to-peer and collaborative activity, and may have a profound influence on the future development of cities. Many of the research and development projects in this area to date have focused on demonstrations at the building, neighbourhood, and local community scales. Scaling these sharing economy platforms up to the city scale and beyond has the potential to provide a number of positive environment impacts. However, significant technical and regulatory barriers to wider implementation exist, and realising this potential will require radical new approaches to the ownership and governance of urban infrastructure. This paper provides a concise overview of the state of the art in this emerging field, with the aim of identifying the most promising areas for further research.

scholarly journals Uncovering the Providers’ Continuance Intention of Participation in the Sharing Economy: A Moderated Mediation Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5095
Author(s):  
Jiang Jiang ◽  
Rui Feng ◽  
Eldon Y. Li
Keyword(s):  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Continuance Intention ◽  
Hedonic Value ◽  
Ride Sharing

The sharing economy has evolved into a promising business concept that enables individuals to share their idle resources, improving resource utilization efficiency commercially. Recently, it has gained enormous academic attention. However, little concern has been given to the behavior of individual providers on the supply side. This paper aims to uncover the motivational and trust-based providers’ continuance intention of participation in the context of peer-to-peer ride-sharing services. Based on the survey data from 202 providers and the partial least-square analysis, we confirm the mediating effect of attitude in the relationships between participation continuance intention; trust; and three motivational dimensions: economic benefits, social–hedonic value, and sustainability. We further confirm the moderating effects of innovativeness using PROCESS. The results show that economic benefits, social–hedonic value, and sustainability significantly affect providers’ participation continuance intention. Moreover, attitudes toward the sharing economy play a complementary partial-mediating role in the relationships from economic benefits and social–hedonic value to participation continuance intention, which is negatively moderated by innovativeness. Trust does not significantly affect providers’ attitude toward the sharing economy and participation continuance intention in the peer-to-peer ride-sharing context.

scholarly journals Are You Willing to Pay for Not Seeing Advertisements on Social Media?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Gokhan Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Structural Equation Modelling ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
The World

Social media sites are becoming more popular throughout the world. These sites are adopting advertisement supported business models to generate revenues and become profitable. Advertisement supported models are the preferred choice for these site with regards to the belief that users are not willing to pay money to use these ever free sites. In this study this belief was questioned and Facebook, the most popular of social media sites was chosen as the setting of the study. The attitudes towards social media advertisements and their antecedents were measured and their potential effects on users’ willingness to pay for not seeing ads were tested. A questionnaire was developed using well-cited and tested scales from the relevant literature and it was implemented over Internet to Facebook users. 281 out of 327 collected questionnaires were used in the analysis following a screening process. The analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that attitudes and its antecedents affect th intentions to pay for not seeing ads negatively.

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