Psychological Barriers and Facilitators in the Sharing Economy: Exploring Recognition, Visibility, Social Costs, Community Belonging, and Efficacies

This study investigates the dynamics of peer-to-peer support exchange (P2P SE) in non-monetized sharing economies. Utilizing a scenario-based within-subjects experiment with 93 participants across nine conditions, we examined how support request visibility and recognition for making requests affect perceived social costs of seeking help. We also explored the interplay between these social costs, community belonging, and confidence in giving and getting support in shaping future participation intentions. Our findings revealed that participants often leveraged different strategies to mitigate social costs of seeking support, such as justifying needs to ask for help, using apologetic language, and offering direct reciprocation or compensation, diverging from the ideals of non-monetized P2P SE. However, we found that receiving recognition for making requests, particularly from helpers, effectively reduces social cost concerns. We also discovered that interventions to strengthen a sense of community belonging and confidence in giving support should be prioritized to enhance future participation intentions. Our study offers insights for designing platforms to enhance participation and achieve critical mass in non-monetized sharing economies, addressing key psychological barriers and leveraging facilitators of P2P SE.