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  • Essay / How Intangible Rewards Encourage Consumers to Engage in Collaborative Consumption

    Table of ContentsIntroductionDiscussionConclusionReferencesIntroductionThis review aims to determine what literature is available to examine the intangible social benefits that consumers gain from participating in collaborative consumption. Currently, research mainly focuses on the financial benefits that consumers obtain when engaging in collaborative consumption. However, the social aspect of collaborative consumption is as important as the financial aspect if we want to understand what motivates consumers to participate in collaborative consumption. This review will therefore focus on the social aspects of collaborative consumption. There are currently gaps in the literature on the intangible social benefits of collaborative consumption. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayCollaborative consumption, also known as the sharing economy to some, was still a relatively new idea to most it a few years ago. However, this trend is certainly growing rapidly thanks to technological innovation. It allows users to use inventory by temporarily sharing access to online platforms with others for a fee. Uber and Airbnb are both incredibly successful examples of collaborative consumption. In fact, they even have a negative effect on existing companies in the sector. Zervas, Proserpio, and Byers (2017) explore the relationship between Airbnb and hotels in the state of Texas by estimating monthly hotel room revenue based on Airbnb's entry into the market. The authors use data collected by Airbnb, monthly hotel room revenues from approximately 3,000 hotels in Texas dating back to 2003, along with several other ancillary data sets to compile the controls, Zervas et al. (2017) quantify the extent to which Airbnb's entry into the lodging market had a negative impact on hotel room revenues. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that by 2025, global revenues generated by collaborative consumption in just five areas, namely travel, ride-sharing, finance, personal, and music and video streaming, will have increased from $15 billion in 2015 to 335 billion dollars. The form we can see is that collaborative consumption will be a rapidly growing trend in the years to come. It is important to understand the intangible social benefits that consumers might gain from participating in collaborative consumption. There are many reasons why collaborative consumption is growing so quickly. Marketers should take note of what, beyond the obvious financial benefits, drives consumers to engage in collaborative consumption. In this way, marketers will know the wants and needs of consumers in order to develop a detailed marketing message to consumers. With this knowledge, it will enable marketers to create an effective marketing plan for businesses and their products. It is also important for incumbent businesses to understand what will influence a consumer's purchasing decision. This allows them to adapt to changes in this fast-growing trend and adapt to offer something that collaborative consumption companies could not offer to consumers so as not to lose market share. DiscussionIn 2011, Time Magazineheadlined “Today’s Intelligent Choice”. : I don't own it. Share” to introduce the reader to the concept of collaborative consumption which includes renting, lending and sharing goods, claiming that it is one of the “10 ideas that will change the world” (Albinsson and Perera, 2012 ). Hamari, Sjöklint, and Ukkonen (2016) stated that “the sharing economy is an emerging economic-technological phenomenon fueled by the evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT), growing consumer awareness, proliferation of collaborative web communities as well as social commerce or social commerce. sharing”.Zalega (2018) stated that the main benefits of collaborative consumption are: saving money, time and space, increasing the number of friends and acquaintances, strengthening ties and relationships. social relations, reducing environmental degradation, minimizing waste and surplus generated by overproduction and overconsumption, and using goods more efficiently and deliberately. Cova (1997) conceptualizes social connections within postmodern communities as being “more important than the thing,” meaning that consumers value the social aspect of a good or service more than the good or service himself. Milanova and Maas (2017) noted that community membership is valuable to market participants because communities create social bonds among members and influence their consumption choices. Albinsson and Yasanthi (2012) found similar results that indicate a consumer desire to enact social change while promoting personal and community well-being through participation in an alternative market. The authors further indicated that the value nexus has expanded to include not only goods and services, but also the interactions between individuals who participate in giving and receiving. Aknin (2013) also noted that “hedonic value is also expressed in prosocial behaviors. Consumers experience emotional rewards from spending that promote positive social connections. Therefore, the interaction of the social community in accessing collaborative consumption services can be an important factor in incentivizing consumers to engage in good practices” (Hwang & Griffiths, 2017). What these researches have in common is that consumers are looking for much more than the goods or services themselves. They particularly value the emotional rewards of establishing interactions with other individuals and see this as an important benefit of collaborative consumption. Barnes and Mattsson (2016) noted that most studies show that financial benefits are a key motivation for consumers to engage on these platforms. is generally reserved for monetized platforms, rather than those that are not. Fraanje and Spaargaren (2019) supported Peerby's conventional practice as the “social promise” of collaborative consumption as a stimulus for social interactions between people. The authors agree that this gives rise to a new form of “neighborliness”, mixing online and offline elements. Botsman and Rogers (2010) highlighted the need to connect with like-minded people and argue that this need enables collaborative consumption. They further stated that a sense of community drives participation in non-monetary sharing markets. Benoit, Baker, Bolton, Gruber, and Kandampully (2017) also highlighted that intangible social benefits can act as a motivator for peer providerswhose assets are underutilized in the sense that peer providers may appreciate the opportunity to get to know travelers from around the world. and/or help them discover the country or city of residence. Habibi, Kim, and Laroche (2016) agree that in some contexts (e.g., couchsurfing and game libraries), social utility has been shown to be an important driver of collaborative consumption use. The authors used Couchsurfing users as an example, who expressed sharing-based motivations for collaborative consumption use, such as a strong presence of social connections and relationships between users, such as obtaining a “Free hosting” would allow users to enjoy benefits such as traveling across the country. world with minimal economic investments while enjoying other intangible social benefits (e.g., “meeting new people”). Barnes and Mattsson (2016) used Airbnb as an example. The authors pointed out that Airbnb intended to build a global community of people sharing domestic space (from air mattresses to caves, treehouses and castles) in order to give people a sense of "belonging" 'anywhere', which is the brand's new slogan. They also noted that accommodation space and its associated cultural impact may be as much a reason to visit as the destination city or countryside. Barnes and Mattsson (2016) further stated that by increasing the number of hosts renting rooms in central and peripheral urban areas, Airbnb will be able to “unlock new neighborhoods and stimulate small businesses there” ( such as restaurants and convenience stores). In this way, personal connections will be created through the connections between guests and hosts that have led to the rapid growth of a global community. Collaborative consumption represents an opportunity to build sustainable economic, social and human development while respecting the environment. The key issue is connecting people who need a resource with others who have those resources. This relationship is based on a feeling of community, sharing and participation between users, where trust is the link that allows them to establish links, develop an alternative form of consumption and, in the long term, maintain the relationships that are created (Montes, Sanchez, Villar and Herrera, 2018). Barnes and Mattsson (2017) developed a theoretical model based on a comprehensive set of potential consumer motivations by conducting a survey of 745 participants. Researchers identified a total of twelve distinct consumer motivations as significant. The five most important factors and prerequisites for platform usage intentions are financial benefits, trust in other users, modern lifestyle, expected effort and ecological sustainability. On the other hand, motivations such as product variety and availability, concerns about process risks, independence through ownership, and trust in other users have so far attracted much less attention. attention as drivers, barriers, and requirements for peer-to-peer sharing. Mittendorf (2018) hypothesizes that trust influences acquirers' intentions to perform certain actions on the online platform. Wiertz and de Ruyter (2007) propose that “the companies that own and operate such online platforms do not control the actual sharing at all. Instead, development is driven by social dynamics, such as pleasure and self-marketingof a community” (Hamari, Sjöklint & Ukkonen, 2016). Bae and Koo (2018) stated that digital platforms enable collaborative consumption with such transactional networks, used to coordinate and facilitate the sharing of activities between strangers by speeding up connections. This could explain why collaborative consumption is able to take off among millennials, because as previous research shows, “Millennials are motivated to influence established industries and organizations, favor social connections, pursue open and frequent communications with their friends and business partners and are comfortable. with communication technologies. A study conducted by The Nielsen Company (2014) on the millennial generation revealed the following characteristics that differentiate them from other generations: Millennials are (a) diverse, expressive, and optimistic; (b) bring a social movement back to the cities; (c) struggling, but expressing an entrepreneurial spirit; (d) offer buyers who desire authenticity; and (e) connected and looking for a personal touch. The common result of these studies is that the Millennial generation favors and seeks social connections. Collaborative consumption allows consumers to make personal connections when engaging in this type of consumption, as it is an activity based on peer-to-peer access. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayConclusionIn conclusion, the objective was to review the literature on social aspects when consumers engage in collaborative consumption with a focus on intangible social benefits. In the literature reviewed, consumers attach as much, if not more, importance to the social aspect than the financial aspect. Consumers build trust, relationships, and a sense of belonging with others when they participate in collaborative consumption. It also shows that they value these benefits and motivate consumers to participate in collaborative consumption. This means that marketers and companies should pay attention to these results and try to offer as many social benefits to consumers as possible. Because consumers are looking for more than just good quality products or services and financial benefits. For example, businesses can create an online forum as a platform for their consumers to find like-minded people with similar interests. There are currently gaps in the literature regarding the examination of the intangible social benefits of collaborative consumption. Future research should examine how different consumer segments value intangible social benefits differently in collaborative consumption and in the traditional consumption model. ReferencesAlbinsson, PA and Perera, BY (2012). Alternative markets in the 21st century: building community through sharing events. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 11, 303-315. doi:10.1002/cb.1389Bae, J. and Koo, DM. (2018). Lemons problem in collaborative consumption platforms: different decision heuristics chosen by consumers with different cognitive styles. Internet Research, 28(3), 746-766. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-08-2017-0332Barnes, S.J. and Mattsson, J. (2016). Building tribal communities in the collaborative economy: an innovation framework. Prometheus, 34(2), 95-113. doi: 10.1080/08109028.2017.1279875 Barnes, S. J. & Mattsson, J. (2016). Understand the current and future challenges of collaborative consumption..15.0204