TRUST IN SHARING ECONOMY

This research explores factors that impact people’s trust and subsequently their willingness to participate in the sharing economy and how the factors are different from those identified in e-commerce context. The study was conducted in two phases. The Phase I study was an exploratory study with openended questions. The Phase II study will be conducted to test seven hypotheses. The Phase I study revealed that the sharing economy is still in its early stage but is gaining momentum. The results indicated that the biggest inhibitor for the sharing economy might be the physical security. The evidences seem to highlight the importance of enhanced background checks on participating members as well as adoption of additional security measures such as security certificate and safety insurance