Loyalty model in the sharing economy in a post-covid setting: The role of perceived social responsibility and trust

Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 crisis has changed consumer expectations towards service, thus exposing many already existing challenges associated with the sharing economy. Linking different streams of research, we propose a service model that links customer perceived service quality, customer trust and customer loyalty in the post-COVID-19 economy, while adding customer perceived social responsibility of the platform at the centre to mediate these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach: We tested this model on an international sample of 275 sharing economy users. Structural Equation Methods were applied to test the proposed model.

Findings: Our findings indicate that the quality of the web/app adaptation and perceived social responsibility affected customer trust and consequently customer loyalty. Additionally, perceived social responsibility of the platform appeared to affect user loyalty directly.

Originality: Due to the COVID-19, the peer-to-peer nature of offline interaction in the sharing economy became a burden, while the responsibility of platforms towards local communities, user communities and other stakeholders became increasing pressing. This research mirrors these trends and proposes actionable map of potential avenues for sharing economy platforms in the new setup and guidelines for future research.