Social Crowding and Shared Consumption with Close Friends Versus Strangers

This study investigates how social crowding (e.g., overcrowded environments) influences individuals’ preferences for different modes of shared consumption (sharing-in vs. sharing-out). While existing research has predominantly explored shared consumption through the perspective of non-psychosocial environmental factors (e.g., time scarcity), this study shifts the focus to psychosocial environmental factors by analyzing the underlying mechanism through which social crowding shapes preferences for these modes of shared consumption. We conducted one field experiment and three scenario-based laboratory experiments to manipulate social crowding (vs. non-social crowding) across three distinct contexts: (1) restaurant-based social scenarios, (2) shopping mall consumption contexts, and (3) beach tourism settings. Across these experiments, diverse categories of shared goods were employed to examine participants’ preferences for sharing-in versus sharing-out. The findings demonstrate that social crowding increases individuals’ preference for sharing with close friends (i.e., sharing-in), whereas non-social crowding enhances their preference for sharing with strangers (i.e., sharing-out). This relationship is mediated by psychological distance. Furthermore, resource mindset (scarcity vs. abundance) moderates this effect. Specifically, under a scarcity mindset, social crowding strengthens preferences for sharing-in, whereas under an abundance mindset, it promotes preferences for sharing-out. By conceptualizing shared consumption from a psychosocial environmental perspective, this research extends current understanding of how environmental social cues shape interpersonal consumption decisions and provides practical implications for collaborative consumption platforms, hospitality services, retail environments, tourism destinations, and public service design. Specifically, platform managers and service designers can strategically optimize spatial layouts and perceived crowding levels to strengthen social connectedness among close friends or foster positive interactions between strangers.