Emerging themes and theories in the sharing economy: a critical note for hospitality and tourism

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to review and synthesise recent studies in the sharing economy literature and identify the knowledge gap and future opportunities for hospitality and tourism researchers. Design/methodology/approach The study commences by introducing sharing economy models and strategic frameworks for profitable service enabler performance. Following this, it identifies emerging overarching theories (e.g. complexity theory, social exchange theory, norm activation model, and value co-creation) and some emerging themes (i.e. trust and reputation, disruptive behaviour, choice and segmentation, pricing strategies, socially excluded consumers, personality and satisfaction) in current hospitality and tourism studies from top-tier journals. Findings The findings of the study suggest new paths for advancing theoretical and practical implications for hospitality and tourism studies. Practical implications The themes, models and overarching theories reviewed in this study are relevant and insightful across the fulcrum of hospitality and tourism research. It offers several useful guides for practitioners and academics to trace relevant literature on different aspects of sharing economy and perceptibly highlight the gaps in existing studies. Originality/value The paper provides new directions to broaden interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches undertaken by scholars within both the field of hospitality and tourism management and beyond.

The dark side of the sharing economy: Balancing value co‐creation and value co‐destruction

“…Engagement platforms facilitate the exchange of resources that help build and strengthen bonds between new communities (Breidbach & Brodie, 2017). The sharing economy has particularly disrupted the hospitality sector with Airbnb, and the automobile sharing sector through Uber (Altinay & Taheri, 2019; Chasin, von Hoffen, Cramer, & Matzner, 2018; Ert & Fleischer, 2019). Their platforms attract unconventional participants to the market because the new opportunities are providing income whilst also permitting immediacy and personal interactions with customers (Osman, D'Acunto, & Johns, 2019; Simon & Roederer, 2019; Tussyadiah, 2015).…”

Do Emotional Solidarity Factors Mediate the Effect of Personality Traits on the Inclination to Use Nonmonetary Peer-to-Peer Accommodation Networks?

“…In addition to, for example, online travel portals and underlying central-reservation systems, peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation networks exemplify a form of Internet-based innovation that has turned the travel industry on its head. Also referred to as hospitality-exchange networks, P2P accommodation networks are part of the so-called sharing economy—a recent phenomenon that gives consumers the opportunity to share goods and services and makes them publicly accessible through community-based online services (see Altinay and Taheri 2019 for a literature review; Belk 2010; Botsman and Rogers 2010; Cheng 2016). P2P accommodation platforms allow participants to provide or request private accommodation via the Internet.…”

Mapping Value Co-creation Literature in the Technology and Innovation Management Field: A Bibliographic Coupling Analysis

“…The brown cluster is completely specialized in tourism, with 100% of papers published in journals related to this topic. We have called it “Sharing economy and tourism industry.” Some of these works focus on the sharing economy and peer-to-peer ( Altinay and Taheri, 2019 ; Tang et al, 2019 ; Belarmino and Koh, 2020 ). Airbnb is the case study for some papers in this cluster ( Dann et al, 2019 ; Guttentag, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This study points out the economic, social and environmental impacts of the sharing economy. Altinay and Taheri (2019) review and synthesize recent studies in the sharing economy literature and identify the knowledge gap and future opportunities for researchers, especially as applied to the tourism sector.…”