Sharing Is Caring? The Effect of Negative Peer-to-Peer Experiences on Loyalty Intentions in the Sharing Economy

Abstract

Newswise — Negative experiences with other users (i.e., negative peer-to-peer [P2P] experiences), are a highly prevalent problem of sharing economy business models with potentially negative consequences for the platform. This paper investigates the effect of negative P2P experiences on users’ platform loyalty intentions. Based on trust transfer theory, we test a moderated serial mediation suggesting that negative P2P experiences negatively affect platform loyalty intentions via a decrease in peer trust and a subsequent decrease in platform trust. The results of an online scenario-experiment (n = 265) and an online survey (n = 237) in the home-sharing context support this notion by showing a negative peers-to-platform trust transfer effect. In addition, we identified the type of negative experience (outcome-related vs. process-related) and prior relationship satisfaction as contingency factors. This paper draws platform providers’ attention to the potential threat stemming from negative experiences between users and provide advice on how to attenuate a negative spillover-effect on the platform.