Matching as Service Provision of Sharing Economy Platforms: An Information Processing Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the sharing economy (SE) manages its matching service through the development of specific information processing mechanisms to achieve enhanced service performance. Two game theory models are established to reveal the underline mechanism of how SE platforms design and improve their service operations through matching the information-processing capacities (IPC) with the changing information-processing requirements (IPR). The findings show that under different combinations of IPR and IPC, SE falls into four kinds of match zones. The study further identified that pricing strategy and trust building are two initial strategies to increase SE platforms’ IPR, which starts up service operation. And supply chain structure change and information technology are essential to improve firms’ IPC, which increases service operation efficiency. The findings are further demonstrated and verified through a longitudinal case study. This research provides guidance for practitioners to identify the position of a SE platform through evaluating the company's information processing capabilities and suggests what information processing strategies should be deployed and implemented for specific supply chains. This is one of the first studies theoretically explains and empirically demonstrates how specific information processing mechanisms can be gainfully aligned with different statuses of SE platforms. Doing so, it reinforces the conceptual foundation that SE firms should align and leverage on information capability management to achieve operation effectiveness and efficiency in service management.