The Impact of Psychological Ownership on Betrayal in the Sharing Economy: An Abstract

Abstract

The sharing economy has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. The existence of peer-to-peer exchanges is predicated on both the technology that brings buyers and sellers together and the rating and review process which builds a foundation of trust among strangers.

A unique aspect of the peer-to-peer economy is that both buyers and sellers participate in the rating process. Much research has examined how consumers evaluate other consumers’ ratings of goods and services; however, consumers’ responses to suppliers’ ratings of their own contributions to the sharing economy have been less studied. A star rating for the buyer holds no monetary or material value; however, we propose that the perceived value of a good or bad review is extremely high. Humans have an intrinsic need to be perceived as likeable and competent, and consumers may respond to negative reviews by reciprocating, retaliating or avoiding conflict. We propose that giving and receiving reviews involves a complex social system in which a good or bad review can be deeply personal, eliciting feelings of pleasure and pride as well as negative emotions such as betrayal, embarrassment, guilt and shame. Confounding the process is a lack of criteria or guidelines for which the ratings are given, leaving the possibility that the ratings may be arbitrary and potentially unfair.

This study contributes to current literature by demonstrating that negative reviews do in fact elicit strong negative emotions of betrayal, shame, guilt and embarrassment and that the feeling of betrayal is not just directed towards the homeowner who wrote the negative review but also towards the booking platform. Further these emotions negatively impact consumers’ evaluations of the entire vacation experience, their likelihood of using the booking platform in the future and their intention to spread negative word of mouth. The investigation also provides evidence that feelings of psychological ownership towards the home will intensify feelings of betrayal. In other words, individuals who feel a personal sense of ownership towards the vacation home, even though they don’t legally own it, will feel even more betrayed by the negative review.