The Impact of Information and Communication Technology Factors on the User Intention to Participate in the Sharing Economy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of system and interaction quality, security factors, trust, and perceived ease of use on the user intention to participate in the sharing economy. Information and communications technology (ICT) promotes the development of a sharing economy. Such influential factors include system and interaction quality, security factors, and ease of use of ICT. In this work, a questionnaire survey was administered with 318 sharing economy users with multiple hypotheses investigated via a structural equation model (SEM). Results show that system and interaction qualities have a significant positive impact on the perceived ease of use (PEU). Safety factors and group psychology also have significant positive effects on perceived trust (PT). Altogether, PEU and PT have significant effects on the users’ adoption of a sharing economy. The paper contributes to the sharing economy and consumer behaviour literature in a comprehensive perspective.