The Consequences of Participating in the Sharing Economy: A Transparency-Based Sharing Framework

TLDR

The sharing economy is rapidly expanding, adding hundreds of billions to the global economy, yet trust‑based commercial sharing generates both positive and negative consequences for participants and third parties. The study seeks to identify the consequences of trust‑based commercial sharing and to propose a transparency‑based sharing framework to promote responsible sharing. The authors conduct a preregistered systematic literature review of 93 empirical studies, use in‑depth coding to map economic, social, and psychological outcomes, and develop the transparency‑based sharing framework. The review shows that clear payment, insurance, and communication infrastructure yields positive outcomes, while ambiguity about rules, roles, and regulations produces significant negative effects, and the framework outlines future research directions and managerial implications.

Abstract

The sharing economy is estimated to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the global economy and is rapidly growing. However, trust-based commercial sharing—the participation in for-profit peer-to-peer sharing-economy activity—has negative as well as positive consequences for both the interacting parties and uninvolved third parties. To share responsibly, one needs to be aware of the various consequences of sharing. We provide a comprehensive, preregistered, systematic literature review of the consequences of trust-based commercial sharing, identifying 93 empirical papers spanning regions, sectors, and scientific disciplines. Via in-depth coding of the empirical work, we provide an authoritative overview of the economic, social, and psychological consequences of trust-based commercial sharing for involved parties, including service providers, users, and third parties. Based on the aggregate insights, we identify the common denominators for the positive and negative consequences. Whereas a well-functioning infrastructure of payment, insurance, and communication enables the positive consequences, ambiguity about rules, roles, and regulations causes non-negligible negative consequences. To overcome these negative consequences and promote more responsible forms of sharing, we propose the transparency-based sharing framework. Based on the framework, we outline an agenda for future research and discuss emerging managerial implications that arise when trying to increase transparency without jeopardizing the potential of trust-based commercial sharing.