More than words can say: A randomized field experiment on the effects of consumer self-disclosure in the sharing economy

Abstract

Mechanism design has emerged as relevant field for information systems management. Specifically, for two-sided markets, design choices have significant effects on user behavior and thus on how supply and demand are matched. On sharing economy platforms, not only actors from the demand side, but also from the supply side must trust their respective counterparts for any transaction to be realized. With this paper, we shed light on the effects of consumer self-disclosure by means of a field experiment on Airbnb (n = 400). Specifically, we investigate how the availability of profile photos and/or self-descriptions affects the chances of their booking requests being accepted. In view of recent anti-discrimination initiatives pushing back profile photos, we consider the compensatory and complementary roles of textual self-descriptions for creating trust. Findings suggest that, while not as powerful as photos, self-descriptions can partially compensate the trust loss induced by the renunciation of photos. Our findings have immediate implications for the design and operation of sharing economy platforms.