Between enthusiasm and refusal: A cluster analysis on consumer types and attitudes towards peer‐to‐peer sharing

The rise of peer‐to‐peer platforms for sharing private resources has introduced new possibilities for access beyond ownership. Although experiencing fast growth, the academic literature has only recently begun to study individual user attitudes towards such new forms of consumption. Building on find...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consumer behaviour 2018-03, Vol.17 (2), p.221-236
Main Authors: Neunhoeffer, Frieder, Teubner, Timm
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asceticism
Attitudes
Business models
Cluster analysis
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Consumption
Demography
Enthusiasts
Market strategy
Marketing
Motivation
Ownership
Peer relationships
Refusal
Social factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The rise of peer‐to‐peer platforms for sharing private resources has introduced new possibilities for access beyond ownership. Although experiencing fast growth, the academic literature has only recently begun to study individual user attitudes towards such new forms of consumption. Building on findings on the underlying consumer motives for peer‐to‐peer sharing, this study differentiates prototypical consumers by means of cluster analysis. Based on data from a large‐scale online survey (n = 745) on consumer motives, we identify 5 main dimensions (concerns, benefits, product‐specific aspects, social aspects, and ownership‐related aspects). On these grounds, we identify 4 consumer types with distinct demographic and attitudinal characteristics: Social Enthusiasts, Conflicted Materialists, Skeptic Ascetics, and Individualistic Refuseniks. Based on these clusters' differences with regard to demographics and sharing behaviors, we derive implications for practitioners to tailor their business models and marketing strategies to the specific motivational patterns of the respective user groups.
ISSN:1472-0817
1479-1838
DOI:10.1002/cb.1706