Full throttle! Engaging Ethnic Minority and Majority Consumers in Car Sharing

Abstract

The world is affected by environmental and social challenges, resulting in calls for engaging consumers with initiatives focused on sharing underutilized resources in Western countries. Meanwhile, these countries are characterized by migration and ethnic diversity, giving rise to ethnic minority consumers. Although ethnicity is a driver of consumer engagement, little is known about the influence of ethnicity on consumer engagement with sharing initiatives in Western countries. To address this gap, we examine the role of perceived value and perceived trust for engaging ethnic minority (vs. majority) consumers with sharing initiatives by relying on survey data gathered in the Belgian car sharing context. The results suggest that ethnic minority consumers perceive more environmental value of car sharing and less trust in car sharing. Moreover, perceived value and perceived trust act as important mediating mechanisms for non-behavioral manifestations of consumer engagement but even more for behavioral manifestations of consumer engagement.