Why people do not participate in the collaborative consumption? A comparative analysis of both consumers and service poviders in the case of peer-to-peer platforms

Abstract

Over the past years, the emergence of a “new” economy has disrupted the codes of current consumption models, threatening traditional businesses’ approaches. This economy also known as collaborative economy, allows consumers to access a series of goods and services provided by other individuals in exchange for a fee. This process is done through an online 'matching' platform anticipated by the collaborative firm. Companies such as Uber, Deliveroo, Blablacar or Airbnb to are examples of business models amidst others that are trying to gain competitive advantage in this booming market. This emergence is explained by the development of new technologies (e.g., web 2.0, ICTs, mobile technology, etc.) and by the influence of new economic (e.g., burdens of ownership, economic uncertainty, entrepreneurial motivations, etc.), social/cultural (e.g., collective interest, reaction to hyper-consumption, etc.) and ecological (e.g., waste problems, pollution concerns, etc.) issues that have affected our current society and its mind set. Consumers of collaborative consumption are motivated primarily by economic, moral and social interests, and because this mode of consumption gives them some flexibility. Nevertheless, the chances of success of companies that take part in this economy is relatively minimal as many start-ups have failed. One of the major causes is the difficulty of companies to attract and retain their two key customers; consumers and individual suppliers. In order to respond to this obstacle, this study investigated the customers’ reasons for rejecting this innovation. Based on the theory of resistance to innovation (Hazée et al., 2017, Talke and Heidenreich, 2014), we analysed the online comments of both actors towards some collaborative firms via the critical incidents technique (CIT). The result is a double schema describing the barriers perceived on the one hand, by service providers, and on the other hand, by consumers. The barriers identified are then explained and discussed as they could potentially help managers to increase acceptance of their innovation and to overcome people’s perceived barriers towards collaborative consumption. Equally, this schema helps them figure what negative and positive balances effects a new measure would bring to the barriers of both players.