The effect of materialism on participation in collaborative consumption

Collaborative consumption at first sounds contradictory in a world where ownership of material goods is of high importance. This chapter contributes to current literature that investigates the link between materialism and collaborative consumption. It does so by examining the materialistic consumer’s participation intentions based on their role as a user versus a provider. The authors first theoretically develop the proposition that materialistic consumers will be more likely to adopt collaborative consumption as a user rather than as a provider. Next, they present the results from a survey study that support this assumption. This investigation provides a novel perspective and enriches the literature on the topic. Avenues and implications for practitioners and public policy makers are discussed.