Factors Determining the Adoption of Sharing Economy Models in the Travel Context

Sharing economy options are business models where providers offer certain properties (homes, cars, etc.) or items for rent to others, usually through an intermediary platform. As an alternative to established traditional and digital commercial models, this industry is rapidly developing with plummeting market size, revenue and user numbers. This study aims to investigate the impact of perceived convenience, economic benefits, enjoyment, reputation, community belonging, perceived experience, trust, and sustainability benefits of these models in determining the attitudes toward and intentions to use sharing economy services in the travel industry. Data has been collected from 222 individuals through an online survey. This sample consists of 159 previous users while it also includes 63 non-users of sharing economy solutions. Findings of the study show that perceived convenience, economic benefits, enjoyment, and trust are the main drivers of attitude and intention toward these services. While partial evidence has been found for reputation, the other factors related to the social aspect of these models, namely, community belonging and perceived experience have not been found to be influential in the adoption of sharing economy models in the travel context. Sustainability has been found to have a positive impact in forming attitude, but this collectivistic approach lends its place to more utilitarian and functional benefits and loses its significance in forming intention.