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A Study on Airbnb’s Trust Mechanism and the Effects of Cultural Values—Based on a Survey of Chinese Consumers

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  • Xiaojun Wu

    (Department of Event Economics and Tourism Management, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Jiabin Shen

    (Department of Event Economics and Tourism Management, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

A sharing economy is developing rapidly worldwide, especially in China. Trust has been considered as a crucial factor in facilitating the practice of the short-term rental business, where hosts and renters are strangers. However, not only has the inherent trust-building mechanism of this newly emerged business model not been fully explored, but how cultural values affect the trust-building path also remains unknown. This study proposes a model of the trust-building mechanism in the sharing economy platforms, with three central modes—institutional trust, product trust, and interpersonal trust—and introduces national cultural values dimensions at the individual level as moderators to explore the impact on the inherent mechanism of trust-building on Airbnb. The data collected from 210 Chinese Airbnb consumers by survey provides support for the proposed structural equation model. The results show that institutional trust has a positive influence on product trust and interpersonal trust, and that product trust has a positive influence on interpersonal trust as well. For the moderating effect of cultural values, the relationship between the institutional trust and product trust is regulated by power distance (PDI), individualism (IDV), uncertainty avoidance (UAI), and long-term orientation (LTO), while the relationship between product trust and interpersonal trust is regulated by PDI, IDV, and UAI. This paper indicates that in order to foster trust in the sharing economy, practitioners should enhance institutional trust, product trust, and interpersonal trust synchronously, as these three modes of trust are positively inter-related; they must also be sensitive to local cultural value dispositions when conduct sharing business internationally.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaojun Wu & Jiabin Shen, 2018. "A Study on Airbnb’s Trust Mechanism and the Effects of Cultural Values—Based on a Survey of Chinese Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3041-:d:166001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Liwei Li & Wei Wang, 2020. "The Effects of Online Trust-Building Mechanisms on Trust in the Sharing Economy: The Perspective of Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Jorge Tello‐Gamarra & Carlai Netto, 2022. "The sharing economy in social media: An institutional analysis in an emerging country," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(4), pages 988-999, June.
    4. Ko, Guihan & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Appiah, Gloria & Larimo, Jorma, 2022. "Non-market strategies and building digital trust in sharing economy platforms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1).
    5. Suying Gao & Xiangshan Jin & Ye Zhang, 2021. "User Participation Behavior in Crowdsourcing Platforms: Impact of Information Signaling Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Tiantian (Tiana) Shi & Biao He & Jun (Justin) Li, 2019. "Exotic or Home? Tourists’ Perception of Guest Houses, Guest Houses Loyalty, and Destination Loyalty in Remote Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-16, July.
    7. Baozhou Lu & Zhenhua Wang, 2022. "Trust Transfer in Sharing Accommodation: The Moderating Role of Privacy Concerns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Elfriede Penz & Barbara Hartl & Eva Hofmann, 2018. "Collectively Building a Sustainable Sharing Economy Based on Trust and Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-6, October.
    9. Davlembayeva, Dinara & Papagiannidis, Savvas & Alamanos, Eleftherios, 2020. "Sharing economy: Studying the social and psychological factors and the outcomes of social exchange," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    10. Irina V. Kozlenkova & Ju-Yeon Lee & Diandian Xiang & Robert W. Palmatier, 2021. "Sharing economy: International marketing strategies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(8), pages 1445-1473, October.
    11. Mohammed Alraeeini & Qiuyan Zhong & Elena Antarciuc, 2019. "Analysing Drivers and Barriers of Accommodation Sharing in Dubai Using the Grey-DEMATEL Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Jianjia He & Thi Hoai Thuong Mai, 2021. "The Circular Economy: A Study on the Use of Airbnb for Sustainable Coastal Development in the Vietnam Mekong Delta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, July.

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