An Exploratory Study on the Pleasure of Bypassing Collaborative Platforms[Une Etude Exploratoire sur le Plaisir de Contourner les Plateformes Collaboratives]

This article examines bypassing practices in the context of collaborative exchanges between peers, when buyers and sellers agree to finalize the transaction outside the platform, directly between themselves. The current literature on bypassing is relatively sparse and mainly suggests a utilitarian motivation: so far, bypassing has been conceptualized as a disintermediation tactic, with the aim of avoiding paying the commission to the platform. Drawing on insights from previous studies showing the significant influence of enjoyment on users' bypass intention, and similar to other articles leveraging a dual, both utilitarian and hedonic, approach, we propose an analysis based on hedonic motivations. Our analysis of semi-directive interviews enables us to identify four nuances of enjoyment: 1/ the pleasure of getting a good deal, 2/ of transgressing, 3/ of resisting and overcoming the platform, and finally 3/ of the service exchange appropriation.