Trust and the don't‐want‐to‐complain bias in peer‐to‐peer platform markets

• Published in: International journal of consumer studies 2020-05, Vol.44 (3), p.220-231
• Main Authors: Berg, Lisbet, Slettemeås, Dag, Kjørstad, Ingrid, Rosenberg, Thea Grav
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bias; Consumer behavior; consumer trust; Consumers; Credibility; Discontent; don't‐want‐to‐complain bias; Markets; P2P platform markets; Peers; platform economy; rating and review systems; Ratings & rankings; Regulation; Satisfaction; Sharing economy; Supply & demand; Transactions; Trust
• ISSN: 1470-6423; 1470-6431
• DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12561

This paper addresses peer‐to‐peer (P2P) digital platform markets, often associated with the “sharing economy” or the “collaborative economy”. Such digital platforms, facilitating new purchasing channels for consumers by matching P2P supply and demand, can be considered new market places challenging the conventional markets. How are P2P platform markets evaluated by the consumers? Based on a comprehensive survey‐data material, five different P2P service markets are considered by peer buyers and the results compared to consumers’ evaluations from similar conventional service markets according to trust, comparability and consumers’ satisfaction with the transactions. Comparability seems to be one advantage for the platform markets, while trust could become a problem. Conditions for trust in P2P platform markets is particularly interesting to study because contrary to conventional markets P2P transactions cannot rely on governmental laws, regulations and security net. This trust problem has been solved by a trust‐generating rate and review system. Our data material, however, distinguishes a mechanism that we have coined as the don't‐want‐to‐complain bias. More precisely, people do not like to complain, hence buyers of P2P services often hesitate to give negative ratings when they are discontent with a service or a supplier. Therefore, positive ratings become overestimated. If consumers recognize this bias, ratings and reviews will lose credibility and no longer be considered trustworthy. Eventually, this may threaten the well‐functioning of P2P markets.