IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v178y2023ics0965856423003014.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changing or unchanging Chinese attitudes toward ride-hailing? A social media analytics perspective from 2018 to 2021

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Long
  • Huang, Jiahui
  • Jing, Peng
  • Wang, Bichen
  • Yu, Xiaozhou
  • Zha, Ye
  • Jiang, Chengxi

Abstract

Despite the global popularity of ride-hailing services, frequent events in recent years have caused the public to query and even refuse to adopt ride-hailing. The public’s attitudes are the decisive factor affecting ride-hailing development. Previous studies identified the public’s attitude toward ride-hailing at a one-time point through questionnaire design without monitoring changes in the public’s attitude. This study aims to analyze the evolution and reasons for the public’s attitudes toward ride-hailing in terms of trend lines and significant events. We collected 114,361 comments across social media platforms (Sina Weibo and Tik Tok) on Chinese ride-hailing events from May 2018 to September 2021. Through sentiment analysis to investigate the evolution of the public’s attitudes toward ride-hailing, we identified four significant events that led to significant changes in public attitudes. We then employed Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model and text network analysis to examine the comments in these significant events to understand the exact reasons for the change in attitudes. The results indicate that the public’s attitude variations are closely linked with social events. Meanwhile, among all topics, Platform and Safety are constant public concerns. Other topics (e.g., Publicity, Government, and Pity) of public concern are related to significant events. The gap between perceived and actual security toward ride-hailing services seems to exist. We also found gender discrimination against females in ride-hailing events. The findings provide valuable insights into the future development of ride-hailing.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Long & Huang, Jiahui & Jing, Peng & Wang, Bichen & Yu, Xiaozhou & Zha, Ye & Jiang, Chengxi, 2023. "Changing or unchanging Chinese attitudes toward ride-hailing? A social media analytics perspective from 2018 to 2021," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423003014
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2023.103881
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856423003014
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103881?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siegrist, Michael & Sütterlin, Bernadette & Keller, Carmen, 2014. "Why have some people changed their attitudes toward nuclear power after the accident in Fukushima?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 356-363.
    2. Shan, Siqing & Peng, Jing & Wei, Yigang, 2021. "Environmental Sustainability assessment 2.0: The value of social media data for determining the emotional responses of people to river pollution—A case study of Weibo (Chinese Twitter)," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Christopher D. Wirz & Michael A. Xenos & Dominique Brossard & Dietram Scheufele & Jennifer H. Chung & Luisa Massarani, 2018. "Rethinking Social Amplification of Risk: Social Media and Zika in Three Languages," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(12), pages 2599-2624, December.
    4. Chiou, Wan-Jiun Paul & Knewtson, Heather S. & Nofsinger, John R., 2019. "Paying attention to social media stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 106-119.
    5. Xing, Jack Linzhou & Sharif, Naubahar, 2020. "From creative destruction to creative appropriation: A comprehensive framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    6. Davood Askarany & Malcolm Smith, 2008. "Diffusion of innovation and business size: a longitudinal study of PACIA," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(9), pages 900-916, October.
    7. Dong, Xuefan & Lian, Ying, 2021. "A review of social media-based public opinion analyses: Challenges and recommendations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Mor Naaman & Hila Becker & Luis Gravano, 2011. "Hip and trendy: Characterizing emerging trends on Twitter," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(5), pages 902-918, May.
    9. Hamed Taherdoost, 2018. "A review of technology acceptance and adoption models and theories," Post-Print hal-03741843, HAL.
    10. Grover, Purva & Kar, Arpan Kumar & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Janssen, Marijn, 2019. "Polarization and acculturation in US Election 2016 outcomes – Can twitter analytics predict changes in voting preferences," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 438-460.
    11. Ma, Jenny Weichen & Yang, Yusheng & Wilson, Jonathan A.J., 2017. "A window to the ideal self: A study of UK Twitter and Chinese Sina Weibo selfie-takers and the implications for marketers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 139-142.
    12. Jonas De Vos & Long Cheng & Frank Witlox, 2021. "Do changes in the residential location lead to changes in travel attitudes? A structural equation modeling approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2011-2034, August.
    13. Liu, Xiaobing & Yan, Xuedong & Liu, Feng & Wang, Rui & Leng, Yan, 2019. "A trip-specific model for fuel saving estimation and subsidy policy making of carpooling based on empirical data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 295-311.
    14. Li, Shengxiao(Alex) & Zhai, Wei & Jiao, Junfeng & Wang, Chao (Kenneth), 2022. "Who loses and who wins in the ride-hailing era? A case study of Austin, Texas," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 130-138.
    15. Luo, Shuli & He, Sylvia Y., 2021. "Understanding gender difference in perceptions toward transit services across space and time: A social media mining approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 63-73.
    16. Alejandro Tirachini, 2020. "Ride-hailing, travel behaviour and sustainable mobility: an international review," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 2011-2047, August.
    17. Mor Naaman & Hila Becker & Luis Gravano, 2011. "Hip and trendy: Characterizing emerging trends on Twitter," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(5), pages 902-918, May.
    18. Contreras, Seth D. & Paz, Alexander, 2018. "The effects of ride-hailing companies on the taxicab industry in Las Vegas, Nevada," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 63-70.
    19. Ge, Yanbo & Knittel, Christopher R. & MacKenzie, Don & Zoepf, Stephen, 2020. "Racial discrimination in transportation network companies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    20. Loa, Patrick & Nurul Habib, Khandker, 2021. "Examining the influence of attitudinal factors on the use of ride-hailing services in Toronto," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 13-28.
    21. Roger E. Kasperson & Ortwin Renn & Paul Slovic & Halina S. Brown & Jacque Emel & Robert Goble & Jeanne X. Kasperson & Samuel Ratick, 1988. "The Social Amplification of Risk: A Conceptual Framework," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), pages 177-187, June.
    22. Sun, Daniel(Jian) & Ding, Xueqing, 2019. "Spatiotemporal evolution of ridesourcing markets under the new restriction policy: A case study in Shanghai," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 227-239.
    23. Gann, David M. & Salter, Ammon J., 2000. "Innovation in project-based, service-enhanced firms: the construction of complex products and systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 955-972, August.
    24. de Souza Silva, Laize Andréa & de Andrade, Maurício Oliveira & Alves Maia, Maria Leonor, 2018. "How does the ride-hailing systems demand affect individual transport regulation?," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 600-606.
    25. Gabriele Ranco & Darko Aleksovski & Guido Caldarelli & Miha Grčar & Igor Mozetič, 2015. "The Effects of Twitter Sentiment on Stock Price Returns," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    26. Biao Yin & Liu Liu & Nicolas Coulombel & Vincent Viguie, 2018. "Appraising the environmental benefits of ride-sharing: The Paris region case study," Post-Print hal-01695082, HAL.
    27. Yang, Zaoli & Wu, Qingyang & Venkatachalam, K. & Li, Yuchen & Xu, Bing & Trojovský, Pavel, 2022. "Topic identification and sentiment trends in Weibo and WeChat content related to intellectual property in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    28. Artur Lugmayr & Johanna Grueblbauer, 2017. "Review of information systems research for media industry–recent advances, challenges, and introduction of information systems research in the media industry," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(1), pages 33-47, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matteo Iacopini & Carlo R.M.A. Santagiustina, 2021. "Filtering the intensity of public concern from social media count data with jumps," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 184(4), pages 1283-1302, October.
    2. Zhang, Haoran & Chen, Jinyu & Li, Wenjing & Song, Xuan & Shibasaki, Ryosuke, 2020. "Mobile phone GPS data in urban ride-sharing: An assessment method for emission reduction potential," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    3. Shuo Xu & Liyuan Hao & Xin An & Hongshen Pang & Ting Li, 2020. "Review on emerging research topics with key-route main path analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 607-624, January.
    4. Rezwana Rafiq & Michael G. McNally, 2023. "An exploratory analysis of alternative travel behaviors of ride-hailing users," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 571-605, April.
    5. Huan-Kai Peng & Hao-Chih Lee & Jia-Yu Pan & Radu Marculescu, 2016. "Data-Driven Engineering of Social Dynamics: Pattern Matching and Profit Maximization," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Zia, Syeda Hamna & Muneer, Naima & Siddiqui, Amna & Huda, Rozmeen, 2022. "The Impact of Perceived Social Media Activities On Consumer-Based Brand Equity: A Perspective from Emerging Economy," MPRA Paper 112346, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Jiayin Pei & Guang Yu & Xianyun Tian & Maureen Renee Donnelley, 2017. "A new method for early detection of mass concern about public health issues," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 516-532, April.
    8. Guan, Jiancheng & Liu, Na, 2015. "Invention profiles and uneven growth in the field of emerging nano-energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 146-157.
    9. Dainius Genys & Ričardas Krikštolaitis, 2020. "Clusterization of public perception of nuclear energy in relation to changing political priorities," Post-Print hal-03271859, HAL.
    10. Lee, Edmund W.J. & Bao, Huanyu & Wang, Yixi & Lim, Yi Torng, 2023. "From pandemic to Plandemic: Examining the amplification and attenuation of COVID-19 misinformation on social media," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    11. Yong Wang & Shamim Chowdhury Ahmed & Shejun Deng & Haizhong Wang, 2019. "Success of Social Media Marketing Efforts in Retaining Sustainable Online Consumers: An Empirical Analysis on the Online Fashion Retail Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-27, June.
    12. Yanlan Mei & Yan Tu & Kefan Xie & Yicheng Ye & Wenjing Shen, 2019. "Internet Public Opinion Risk Grading under Emergency Event Based on AHPSort II-DEMATEL," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Zwick, Felix & Axhausen, Kay W., 2022. "Ride-pooling demand prediction: A spatiotemporal assessment in Germany," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Huan-Kai Peng & Radu Marculescu, 2015. "Multi-Scale Compositionality: Identifying the Compositional Structures of Social Dynamics Using Deep Learning," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-28, April.
    15. Feng, Xuan & Lin, Qinping & Jia, Ning & Tian, Junfang, 2024. "The actual impact of ride-splitting: An empirical study based on large-scale GPS data," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 94-112.
    16. Xiong, Ziyue & Jian Li, & Wu, Hangbin, 2021. "Understanding operation patterns of urban online ride-hailing services: A case study of Xiamen," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 100-118.
    17. Jing, Peng & Wang, Baihui & Cai, Yunhao & Wang, Bichen & Huang, Jiahui & Yang, Chenglu & Jiang, Chengxi, 2023. "What is the public really concerned about the AV crash? Insights from a combined analysis of social media and questionnaire survey," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    18. Tyler H. McCormick & Hedwig Lee & Nina Cesare & Ali Shojaie & Emma S. Spiro, 2017. "Using Twitter for Demographic and Social Science Research: Tools for Data Collection and Processing," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 46(3), pages 390-421, August.
    19. Alejandro Tirachini, 2020. "Ride-hailing, travel behaviour and sustainable mobility: an international review," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 2011-2047, August.
    20. Xiaodong Cao & Piers MacNaughton & Zhengyi Deng & Jie Yin & Xi Zhang & Joseph G. Allen, 2018. "Using Twitter to Better Understand the Spatiotemporal Patterns of Public Sentiment: A Case Study in Massachusetts, USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:178:y:2023:i:c:s0965856423003014. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.