Abstract
Abstract Reusing material products via peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing is one of the circular economy (CE) strategies to fulfil consumer needs with minimised environmental impact and material consumption. However, adopting sharing practices challenges both societal normative behaviours as well as existing business models businesses. Previous studies grounded on stated answers about values, intentions and attitudes of users found several factors that impede the practice of sharing, even though users' needs were said to be satisfied. Nevertheless, few studies have looked at dilemmas that users face while engaging in sharing practices and how these inhibit their participation in CE solutions. This study addresses these discrepancies empirically in the context of P2P product sharing. Using a trust-ownership-need model, we investigated users' reviews (n=415) from an online P2P product sharing platform operating in Sweden and Norway. The data analysis method is a qualitative content analysis of the users' comments (from lessors or lessees). The results reveal the dilemmas that the platform users experience, i.e., information transparency, product pick-up and return arrangements, product quality, security, and user knowledge to operate the product. We argue that missing social presence in the virtual environment, low competence in sharing practice from lessees, and lax platform governance are contributing factors underlying the dilemmas. The research concludes with strategies for promoting user participation in sharing practice and optimising platforms to pursue CE's environmental promises.
Highlights
Over-consumption of natural resources has been regarded as the foremost peril towards global sustainability (De Matteis, 2019; Durning, 1992; Gabriel and Lang, 2006; Levy and Burner, 1999)
The model of sharing practices on this platform has been commonly applied by other actors, e.g., Airbnb for accommodation sharing (Traum, 2016), where the online platform is established for users to benefit from renting in and out products
We present results from the open coding analysis where comments were categories based on the initial trust-ownership-need model
Summary
Over-consumption of natural resources has been regarded as the foremost peril towards global sustainability (De Matteis, 2019; Durning, 1992; Gabriel and Lang, 2006; Levy and Burner, 1999). From a CE’s perspective, fostering sharing practices among individuals is crucial since it indicates an extension of product utilisation period, suggesting a slowdown of material cycling e.g. extending an existing product’s life, which would include reusing, repairing, reconditioning, and technical upgrading or a combination of these (Bocken et al, 2016; Stahel, 1994). Three variations of reuse models have been suggested (Tukker, 2015): 1) consumers buying used goods from other consumers; 2) consumers donating used goods to other consumers; and 3) consumers using material products as a service based on access instead of ownership In many ways, these are new and propose alternative models of consumption and business practices, which shifts the relationship between producers and consumers (Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012)
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