No abstract

When listing a possession for rent on a consumer‐to‐consumer platform, owners typically write a brief product description. Such descriptions often include attachment cues—indications that the owner is emotionally attached to the product. How does knowing that an owner is sharing a possession that has sentimental value impact rental likelihood? Evidence from secondary data and four experiments suggests that although some owners mistakenly expect attachment cues to enhance a product's appeal, attachment cues instead tend to deter prospective renters. We attribute this effect to renters' desire to avoid the responsibility of protecting (e.g., from damage, loss, or theft) an item to which the owner is emotionally attached. Whereas prior research has examined how product attachment influences owners' decisions, we show how an owners' expression of attachment affects others involved in a transaction. By refuting the lay theories of some owners about how to attract renters, our findings provide practical implications for owners and the platforms that connect them to users in the multi‐billion‐dollar consumer‐to‐consumer rental market.

Sustainability appears to be at a tipping point. Once a marginalized concept, fighting for attention, today thousands of the world's largest corporations and small businesses, national and local governments, professions, universities, and institutions are incorporating sustainability initiatives into their operations and strategic planning. 1 Pressured by government policy, corporate self-interests, and social expectations, leading companies are taking actions across their value chains, potentially redefining their roles in society and pursuing the triple bottom line in order to respect people, planet, and profit. While sustainability warrants significant political and systematic changes throughout society, in this article, we focus on one integral component: consumers. Surveys indicate that 30 to 70 percent of consumers say they want to buy greener, but only 1 to 5 percent actually do. 2 Consequently, while many businesses have started to make great strides in greening themselves and their supply chains, they have often left customers out of their calculus. This must change. For 2020 and beyond, we encourage businesses to incorporate consumers into their sustainability agendas by persuading them to act more responsibly and adopt environmentally-preferable products. We offer businesses five principles, drawn from case studies, marketing trends, and the academic literature, to help nudge consumers to go green. Our principles may serve as an initial guide for businesses to identify strategies to meet customer needs and convince them of the benefits of living more sustainably.