Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy
Reputation cues, like star ratings, signal qualities of service providers in the sharing economy and may affect user behavior. Guided by concepts from signaling theory and using a repeated measures experiment (N = 221), this study manipulated the level of star ratings of ride sharing drivers. Intuit...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/4/49 |
| _version_ | 1797570894598504448 |
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| author | Sonny Rosenthal Jean Yi Colette Tan Ting Fang Poh |
| author_facet | Sonny Rosenthal Jean Yi Colette Tan Ting Fang Poh |
| author_sort | Sonny Rosenthal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reputation cues, like star ratings, signal qualities of service providers in the sharing economy and may affect user behavior. Guided by concepts from signaling theory and using a repeated measures experiment (N = 221), this study manipulated the level of star ratings of ride sharing drivers. Intuitive findings are perceived service quality and willingness to use the service provider are higher when the star rating is high versus low. Extending prior work, perceived service quality mediates the effect of reputation on willingness, explaining 83% of the total effect. Also, the direct effect of reputation cues on perceived service quality depends, albeit weakly (η<sup>2</sup><sub>p</sub> = 0.02), on how much users say they pay attention to them. These novel findings clarify the kinds of mental processing that occur when users of shared services evaluate reputation cues. We discuss findings in terms of costly signaling and consider practical implications for users and providers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:31:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63d7865f5b85494b8366fef5db483285 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:31:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-63d7865f5b85494b8366fef5db4832852023-11-19T21:21:06ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602020-04-01944910.3390/socsci9040049Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing EconomySonny Rosenthal0Jean Yi Colette Tan1Ting Fang Poh2Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, SingaporeWee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, SingaporeWee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, SingaporeReputation cues, like star ratings, signal qualities of service providers in the sharing economy and may affect user behavior. Guided by concepts from signaling theory and using a repeated measures experiment (N = 221), this study manipulated the level of star ratings of ride sharing drivers. Intuitive findings are perceived service quality and willingness to use the service provider are higher when the star rating is high versus low. Extending prior work, perceived service quality mediates the effect of reputation on willingness, explaining 83% of the total effect. Also, the direct effect of reputation cues on perceived service quality depends, albeit weakly (η<sup>2</sup><sub>p</sub> = 0.02), on how much users say they pay attention to them. These novel findings clarify the kinds of mental processing that occur when users of shared services evaluate reputation cues. We discuss findings in terms of costly signaling and consider practical implications for users and providers.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/4/49sharing economyride sharingservice qualityreputationsignaling theory |
| spellingShingle | Sonny Rosenthal Jean Yi Colette Tan Ting Fang Poh Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy Social Sciences sharing economy ride sharing service quality reputation signaling theory |
| title | Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy |
| title_full | Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy |
| title_fullStr | Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy |
| title_short | Reputation Cues as Signals in the Sharing Economy |
| title_sort | reputation cues as signals in the sharing economy |
| topic | sharing economy ride sharing service quality reputation signaling theory |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/4/49 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sonnyrosenthal reputationcuesassignalsinthesharingeconomy AT jeanyicolettetan reputationcuesassignalsinthesharingeconomy AT tingfangpoh reputationcuesassignalsinthesharingeconomy |