It takes two to tango: The role of interactivity in enhancing customer engagement on sharing economy platforms

Abstract

Engaging customers is critical for sharing economy platforms (SEPs) to sustain and grow their user base. Although the interactions between users who consume the service (customers) and those who provide it (peer service providers) are the primary source of SEPs’ economic value, little is known about the role of interactivity in driving customer engagement. This research links these two important concepts and tests the influence of interactivity (two-way communication, participation, and joint problem-solving) on customer engagement. The findings from two surveys with customers of 10 leading SEPs (total N = 1,654) indicate that two-way communication and participation, two key dimensions of interactivity, enhance engagement while joint problem-solving remains non-consequential. However, additional analyses reveal that the impact of these interactivity dimensions varies as a function of user (platform familiarity) and platform (service type) characteristics. The findings offer guidance to SEP managers seeking to improve user engagement.