Perceptions and acceptance of collaborative consumption: exploring users’ perceived benefits, perceived risks and acceptance of this technology mediated platform

Abstract

A new way of consumption has emerged in recent times, that stands in contrast with the conventional form of purchase from a brick and mortar store. This new consumption runs on technology mediated platforms that are dependent on consumers at both ends. This consumer is socially awakened and looks for alternate way of consuming, instead of buying new every time. This newly formed market, known as collaborative consumption, involves activities like swapping, trading, or renting of goods and services that involves a fee or any monetary compensation. The idea behind is to use under-utilised assets. This system has gained a fair amount of popularity in recent times. Nevertheless, there is insufficient research that points towards the perceived benefits and perceived risks of the usage of collaborative consumption. This research goes beyond that and picks up on the issue of long-term sustainability of the system and whether or not, it is serving the purpose it is meant to. The objective of this exploratory research is to uncover consumers’ experiences to investigate perceived risks and perceived benefits and look into the long-term sustainability of the system. The research question of this study is: What are the main factors that affect the perception and long-term usability of collaborative consumption in the minds of its users in the United Kingdom? Total of five themes and nineteen sub-themes (called as aspects of the theme for the purpose of this research) have been identified. The identified themes have been divided under ‘identified benefits’ and ‘identified risks’. The identified themes are: community of aware individuals, equal footing to all, abode of unusual goods, market of inconvenience and conscious consumerism. These themes are introduced and outlined in depth sequentially. Explanation of each theme is supported by participants’ statements and experiences. An exploratory qualitative design was used for the purposes of this study. Thirty-three semistructured interviews were conducted with the users of collaborative consumption. These users are UK residents and have used collaborative consumption twice in recent past (6 months) and should have the working knowledge of the medium. The collected data was later analysed using thematic analysis. This research has followed a rounded approach at presenting the key insights in order to contribute to the literature and provide practical implications. The study found out that the users of collaborative consumption do not necessarily experience same perceived benefits and perceived risks as suggested in the literature. This research does not support the notion of collaborative consumption being the way forward. The research has picked up on issues like ‘conspicuous consumerism’, ‘aspirational consumption’, ‘equality of providers and receivers’ and shatters the myth around green consumption being cheap. This research points out how the users of second hand consumption take pride in being a part of the system that differs from commercial consumption, but also raises a question whether this is just a way of keeping up with the trends and are the users just following the sheep factor. This study demands the need of body that can act as a price control measure for collaborative consumption. The research raises an important question: how do you control the fear of unknown and maximise the returns in collaborative consumption?