Title: Trust in the sharing economy: exploring the perceptions of Airbnb consumers

Authors: Rui Costa; Patrícia Faria; Andreia Vitória

Addresses: Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Portugal ' Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal ' Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, Campus Universitário de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Portugal

Abstract: The expansion of the tourism sector has led to the expansion of unconventional travel trends and the emergence of new forms of business. One of these new forms of business is the sharing economy and the peer-to-peer platforms are the fact that tourists organise their travels without the need for intermediation services. This research presents results from an in depth study focused on a new trend of asset sharing, which has grown exponentially in recent years and addresses the topic of how trust is established and sustained in the sharing economy, specifically in the Airbnb platform, from the consumers perspective. The data was collected through a questionnaire, which remained available in the internet from October to November 2016. A total of 263 valid questionnaires were obtained. The main results of this study indicate that the precision and consistency of the information, the ranking of the accommodation, and the information presented in the online comments are determining factors for the trust in Airbnb platform and for the consumer's decision.

Keywords: sharing economy; trust; Airbnb; consumer's perceptions; Portugal.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2020.106494

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2020 Vol.24 No.3, pp.413 - 431

Received: 10 Oct 2017
Accepted: 09 Sep 2018
Published online: 09 Apr 2020 *

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