Qualitative Investigations into Bypassing and Multihoming Behaviors in the Sharing Economy
Join Zoom Meeting
https://nus-sg.zoom.us/j/91798090279?pwd=bTJaazFpaldpRld5eUtsQTVic2Y5QT09
Meeting ID: 917 9809 0279
Password: 013444
Abstract
Sharing economy refers to the phenomenon of ordinary people sharing access to underutilized resources among one another. Its proliferation can be attributed to the sharing economy platforms, the online technological structures that facilitate individual providers and consumers to coordinate the acquisition and distribution of various resources. While abundant academic research has recognized the usefulness of these platforms, a small body of literature has emerged to reveal the deficiencies in the value sharing economy platforms deliver to their users. Following this burgeoning trend, this thesis deals with and critically evaluates the value propositions of the sharing economy platforms by looking into two deviant user behaviors: bypassing behavior and multihoming behavior. In these two behaviors, a focal platform is not used as constantly and heavily as thought, casting doubt on how valuable a sharing economy platform is to its users.
This thesis therefore consists of two studies. In the first study, we examine bypassing behavior in the sharing economy. Bypassing is the act of users circumventing intermediary platforms, particularly their payment systems, to strike direct transactions with each other. We enquire into why individual providers and consumers bypass the sharing economy platforms and how they overcome trust barriers in the course of bypassing. A qualitative case study on the accommodation sharing platform, Airbnb, is conducted. Our findings reveal that providers and consumers, i.e., hosts and guests in this context, are nudged by the reward and the legitimacy of bypassed transactions to jump out of the platform; besides, they manage to build trust for bypassing and reduce risk in bypassing through leveraging and internalizing platform functions. Grounded in the literature of sharing economy, disintermediation, transaction cost theory, and embeddedness theory, this study uncovers the virtues and defects of the sharing economy business model, details the actual behavioral strategies of disintermediation, and augments the predominant economic view of disintermediation.
In the second study, we examine multihoming behavior in the sharing economy. Multihoming is the act of users affiliating themselves with several competing platforms concurrently. Given the scant attention on the behavior of multihoming users post-affiliation, we delve into how multihoming users utilize multiple platforms. Our study is situated in the context of China accommodation sharing market, with a focus on the individual providers, namely the hosts, in this market. A grounded-theory-based approach is adopted. Our findings show four behavioral patterns of multihoming hosts: prioritizing platforms, conditionalizing platform use, synergizing platform operations, and gathering platform resources for future use. Drawing insights from multihoming literature, sharing economy literature, and the concepts of substitute and complementary products in marketing, we further discuss the reasons why prior literature has systematically overlooked such behavioral patterns and propose two new affordances of multihoming. This study contributes towards a refined conceptualization of multihoming behavior and extends prior literature by formulating and categorizing the value offered by adopting and utilizing multiple platforms.
Taken together, this thesis paints a mixed picture of the value propositions of the sharing economy platforms through investigating user bypassing and multihoming behaviors, whereby users only partially utilize a particular platform for sharing or utilize other platforms for sharing simultaneously. We additionally reveal an interesting tension in the value finance adopted by the platforms. Implications to future research are discussed.