The perception of value of platform-based business models in the sharing economy: determining the drivers of user loyalty

Platform-based business models have become such an essential pillar of today’s economy that the term ‘sharing economy’ is now frequently used to describe the new status quo. The success of platforms such as Airbnb, Blablacar or Shpock is evidence of a seismic shift from an ownership society to a sharing society. However, only very few platforms are able to accumulate a large and loyal following of customers. When success hinges upon engagement, a large user base can make or break one of these platforms. In our research we approach this challenge by researching platform loyalty from a customer-centric perspective. We show the impact of different value perceptions for customer-to-customer-based platforms through the use of a variance-based structural equation model. By demonstrating how customer perception of emotional value and quality value drive the loyalty of the platform, we are able to show that factors other than price determine loyal usage among platform-based business models.