Sharing economy: International marketing strategies

Abstract

The sharing economy (SE) is growing rapidly around the globe, but SE firms often encounter challenges and even failures when entering some countries. The authors conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of key strategic drivers of SE participation (utilitarian value, social value, hedonic value, sustainability value, and trust) and examine their relative effectiveness across global contingencies (economic/competitive, cultural, societal, technological, regulatory, and demographic factors). Results indicate that hedonic value generates the most cross-national benefits, whereas social and sustainability values provide the least. The results reveal a complex pattern of global contingencies that firms should consider when developing their entry strategies, designing governance mechanisms, and evaluating the most promising markets. Finally, the authors offer three tenets that establish an emerging perspective of global SE participation: (1) High levels of economic and social inequality between SE participants lessen the importance of hedonic benefits, but enhance the importance of utilitarian and social benefits; (2) consumers are most motivated by the benefits associated with the lowest level of their unsatisfied needs on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; and (3) consumers are more influenced by governance mechanisms that increase their trust in providers and platforms in markets with low levels of generalized trust.