When Is Ours Better Than Mine? A Framework for Understanding and Altering Participation in Commercial Sharing Systems

Sharing systems are increasingly challenging sole ownership as the dominant means of obtaining product benefits, making up a market estimated at more than US$100 billion annually in 2010. Consumer options include cell phone minute-sharing plans, frequent-flyer-mile pools, bicycle-sharing programs, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marketing 2012-07, Vol.76 (4), p.109-125
Main Authors: Lamberton, Cait Poynor, Rose, Randall L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automobiles
Cell phones
Commercials
Consumer behavior
Consumer goods
Financial risk
Marketing
Perceptions
Predictability
Risk assessment
Rivalry
Scarcity
Sharing
Studies
Utilities costs
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Summary:Sharing systems are increasingly challenging sole ownership as the dominant means of obtaining product benefits, making up a market estimated at more than US$100 billion annually in 2010. Consumer options include cell phone minute-sharing plans, frequent-flyer-mile pools, bicycle-sharing programs, and automobile-sharing systems, among many others. However, marketing research has yet to provide a framework for understanding and managing these emergent systems. The authors conceptualize commercial sharing systems within a typology of shared goods. Using three studies, they demonstrate that beyond cost-related benefits of sharing, the perceived risk of scarcity related to sharing is a central determinant of its attractiveness. The results suggest that managers can use perceptions of personal and sharing partners' usage patterns to affect risk perceptions and subsequent propensity to participate in a commercial sharing system.
ISSN:0022-2429
1547-7185
DOI:10.1509/jm.10.0368