Spillover in Sharing Economies: Network Effect of Bike-sharing Services on Home-sharing Performance

Bike-sharing provides a convenient transportation layer with its inter-connected bike station network. However, the economic value spilled by the network is unknown. This study fills this gap by empirically connecting two separate yet interrelated sharing services: bike-sharing and home-sharing. Using data from CitiBike and Airbnb, the study conducts a difference-in-difference analysis to examine the effect of new bike-sharing entries on local home-sharing performance. The results show that new bike-sharing entries increase nearby Airbnb properties’ monthly revenue by $127 (9.59%). We attribute this performance improvement to the heterogeneous effects of network position. New bike stations differently improve location attractiveness by riching destination choices, reducing travel costs, and avoiding traffic congestion, which account for a marginal revenue improvement of $1.41 (per reachable station), $0.27 (per second saved), and $17.36 (per dollar saved). The study also uncovers the moderating effect of first/last mile connection and property luxuriousness. Our findings have important implications for both bike-sharing network design and home-sharing marketing