Collaborative consumption: the role of familiarity and trust among Millennials

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on online hospitality platforms in the collaborative consumption environment. In particular, this paper investigates the impact of trust on the obtainers’ intentions to “inquire about accommodations” and to “request a booking” on Airbnb.com.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper takes the perspective of a potential renter, respectively, obtainer and adopts Gefen’s (2000) research model, which incorporates familiarity and trust in the e-commerce industry. In this regard, the paper extends the work on two-sided markets of Mittendorf (2016-2017). To verify the modified research model, a survey was conducted, gathering results from over 426 participants of which 255 valid responses from the Millennials generation were obtained. This paper uses covariance-based structural equation modeling to analyze both measurement and structural relationships regarding the interaction framework.

Findings

The results show empirical evidence that both “trust in the intermediary” and “trust in providers” are decisive for the obtainers’ intentions on the online platform. In this regard, this paper advances the understanding of the collaborative consumption mechanisms by adapting trust literature to validate the obtainers’ intentions on contemporary collaborative consumption platforms.

Research limitations/implications

While the unit of analysis of prior research comprises the general intention to share, this paper empirically validates a more deliberate decision of user intentions by focusing on the intention to inquire about accommodations (no registration necessary) and the intention to request a booking (registration necessary). However, this study is dependent on one setting and it is still unclear whether the results are generalizable to other collaborative consumption setups.

Originality/value

This paper is in line with the work of Mittendorf (2016-2017), thus, it uses a sophisticated statistical approach to analyze trust in the collaborative consumption environment, such as confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Citation

Mittendorf, C. (2018), "Collaborative consumption: the role of familiarity and trust among Millennials", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 377-391. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-12-2016-2040