Consumers’ value co-creation in sharing economy: The role of social support, consumers’ ethical perceptions and relationship quality

The ancient phenomenon of ‘sharing’ has become mainstream, and transformed the traditional consumer behavior due to proliferation of online sharing economy platforms. Millions of people participate in popular sharing economy platforms (SEPs) such as Airbnb and Uber. Although sharing economy research has gained interest, yet a holistic model that explains the formation of consumer value co-creation intentions on such platforms remains absent. The purpose of this study is to develop a model of the antecedents of consumers value co-creation intentions at SEPs and evaluate it empirically. Building on social support theory, relationship quality theory, value co-creation and marketing ethics literature, we propose a theoretical model that explains the formation of consumers’ value co-creation intentions. Empirical data was collected from n = 342 Generation Y consumers and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal that social support influences ethical perceptions, which further influences value co-creation. Ethical perceptions also influence consumers' trust, satisfaction and commitment with the SEP. However, trust and commitment do not influence value co-creation intentions. Our study contributes to the literature on sharing economy by providing a holistic model of the antecedents of consumers’ value co-creation intentions. We also offer important insights for SEP managers.