“Is Sharing Really Caring?”: The Role of Environmental Concern and Trust Reflecting Usage Intention of “Station-Based” and “Free-Floating”—Carsharing Business Models

Sarah Selinka,Marc Kuhn,Viola Marquardt

doi:10.3390/su13137414

Abstract

Global use of carsharing has increased. The dominant model is station-based carsharing, but free-floating providers are continuously increasing their businesses volumes. Carsharing customers have been described as environmentally conscious with a high preference for mobility providers who show responsibility and trustworthiness. This generalization of usage determinants appears to be questionable given the background of current market developments. Existing research in the area is lacking a context-sensitive view of the antecedents of potential carsharing usage. Do environmental concerns and trust have similar effects on usage intention of carsharing, when free-floating providers implement business models that are more flexible, digital, and sophisticated? Using a standardized online survey, this study paper applied a framework adapted from the Theory of Planned Behavior (ToPB) that included the constructs of trust and environmental concern. The focus was on Share Now and Stadtmobil, which are the largest free-floating and station-based providers, respectively, in Germany. Using structural equation modeling, the study explored potential perception differences between both business models among German consumers. Although not significant, results indicate slightly higher total effects of environmental concern and initial trust on the usage intention of station-based compared to free-floating carsharing. Depending on the type of carsharing, different priorities should be set in the respective business model.

Highlights

Sharing economy is generally considered to be an umbrella term for transactions, such as access-based consumption, collaborative consumption, or commercial sharing systems [1,2,3], a common objective of the associated business models appears to be making assets available to a larger user community [4]
Environmental concern has a medium to strong impact on initial trust, perceived moral obligations, and social norms in the Stadtmobil model, the environmental construct only affects the perceived moral obligation in the Share model
Initial trust has a medium effect on perceived moral obligations in the Stadtmobil model, whereas this effect was not able to be detected in the Share model

Summary

Introduction

Sharing economy is generally considered to be an umbrella term for transactions, such as access-based consumption, collaborative consumption, or commercial sharing systems [1,2,3], a common objective of the associated business models appears to be making assets available to a larger user community [4]. Shared mobility is part of the sharing economy, and applies concepts for the common use of mobility devices or services [5]. These may be cars, bikes, or e-scooters, or the sharing of passenger rides or delivery rides [6,7]. The concept is not new: the first services, such as peer-to-peer ride sharing, appeared in the U.S and Europe in the 1980s. Shaheen and Chan [5] developed a comprehensive classification of existing shared mobility concepts. In recent years, shared mobility markets have been driven by the development of various carsharing solutions.

Results

Discussion

Conclusion