Understanding psychological ownership in access-based consumption through a theory synthesis: an investigation of Airbnb and hotels

Access-based consumption has received close attention from academics and industry practitioners in recent years. However, the nature of this type of consumption and the corresponding concept of psychological ownership are yet to be fully understood in hospitality services. This study referred to self-determination theory and psychological ownership theory to examine antecedents and outcomes of psychological ownership in the accommodation context. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 empirically assessed theoretical relationships among the constructs with an Airbnb customer sample, and Study 2 evaluated the proposed model with a hotel sample. Findings highlighted identity and existential authenticity as consistent antecedents of psychological ownership while intimacy and communal identity were not. Multi-group analysis indicated that the two samples’ path coefficients did not significantly differ, providing empirical evidence that supports the proposition that Airbnb and hotels both fall into the category of access-based consumption. The findings provide important insight into similarities and differences between new and traditional access-based consumption.