Trust and other factors impacting the platform choice in sharing economy: A case from Poland

Objective: The purpose of this study is two-fold: firstly, to identify the role of trust in the sharing economy; secondly, to identify the correlations between personal determinants such as age, gender, education level, place of residence and factors impacting the choice of sharing economy platform. Research Design & Methods: The mix methods were applied in the study. Firstly, the literature studies were used to recognise the theoretical background and the variables identification. Secondly, the pre-research study, applying the in-depth interviews, was conducted, and thirdly, the main primary empirical research was employed with the online survey as a main research method. Findings: There is a strong relationship between the activities of consumers in relation to sharing economy and trust. Trust becomes a fundamental issue in the so-called “the trend of sharing”. Consumers identify trust as a key determinant of their participation in the sharing economy and likewise the main limitation in case of their deeper involvement in the sharing process. The more credible and trustworthy an enterprise is, the more willingly consumers are able to take advantage of its intermediation. When analysing consumer decisions in relation to independent variables, such as age, gender, place of residence and education level, a lack of statistically significant correlations between the variables and the factors influencing the choice of the appropriate platform was noticed. Only two pairs of variables showed statistically significant negative correlations: age and credibility of the sharing economy platform as well as education level and number of stars. Implications & Recommendations: Research broadens knowledge about the sharing economy and allows to better understand the behaviour of active consumers of the sharing economy. The results may be useful for sharing economy companies and platforms. Contribution & Value Added: The analysis presented in the paper expands knowledge about the significance of trust and other factors influencing the choice of platforms in sharing economy