Opportunistic claiming behaviour in two-sided markets

Abstract

Consumer opportunistic behaviour has long drawn attention from both managers and scholars, but its special application to two-sided markets has been ignored. In this paper, we consider four primary factors that contribute to consumer opportunistic behaviour: individual personality (Machiavellianism); service guarantee policy; platform attitude and reference-group behaviour, following the ethical decision-making model (Ferrell and Gresham, 1985); and characteristics of two-sided markets. We obtained four findings. First, consumers with higher levels of Machiavellianism (High Machs) are more likely to engage in opportunistic claiming behaviour; second, reasonable compensation evokes a desire for unethical behaviour in consumers with lower levels of Machiavellianism (Low Machs), while reducing the likelihood of opportunistic claiming behaviour in High Machs. Moreover, platform attitude and reference group behaviour only have significant effects on Low Machs. Specifically, and third, platforms with tolerant attitudes are more likely to be confronted by opportunistic claims; fourth, a reference group's opportunistic behaviour misleads others into behaving similarly.