“To share or not to share?” – A hybrid SEM-ANN-NCA study of the enablers and enhancers for mobile sharing economy

Abstract

The proliferation of mobile technologies have facilitated the popularity of mobile sharing economy (MSE). However, extant literature that used sufficient logic has fallen short in explaining this phenomenon as the findings are insufficient to explain the necessary conditions that activate users' intention and actual usage. The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers (must-have factors) and enhancers (should-have factors) of consumers' intention and actual use of mobile sharing economy. A must-have factor is needed to initialize the effect of independent variables while a should-have factor enhances the effect. Drawing from the extended valence framework, a combined SEM-ANN-NCA analysis is used to examine users' actual adoption of MSE. The application of the “sufficiency logic” and “necessity logic” and the AI and machine learning-based ANN approach enables us to ascertain the linear-nonlinear relationships and the enablers and enhancers in mobile sharing economy. The findings show that mobile ease of use is a sufficient and necessary condition for mobile usefulness while trust is a sufficient and necessary condition for epistemic benefit. Mobile usefulness and trust are the sufficient and necessary conditions for behavioral intention while behavioral intention is the sufficient and necessary condition for actual use. Trust is a sufficient but unnecessary condition for convenience and psychological risk. Epistemic benefit and psychological risk are sufficient but not necessary conditions for behavioral intention. Education is a sufficient but not necessary condition for actual use. The study has provided important new practical and theoretical insights to MSE service providers, operators, users and scholars.