Between enthusiasm and refusal: A cluster analysis on consumer types and attitudes towards peer-to-peer sharing

The rise of peer-to-peer platforms for sharing private resources has introduced new possibilities for access beyond ownership. Although experiencing fast growth, the academic literature has only recently begun to study individual user attitudes towards such new forms of consumption. Building on findings on the underlying consumer motives for peer-to-peer sharing, this study differentiates prototypical consumers by means of cluster analysis. Based on data from a large-scale online survey (n=745) on consumer motives, we identify 5 main dimensions (concerns, benefits, product-specific aspects, social aspects, and ownership-related aspects). On these grounds, we identify 4 consumer types with distinct demographic and attitudinal characteristics: Social Enthusiasts, Conflicted Materialists, Skeptic Ascetics, and Individualistic Refuseniks. Based on these clusters' differences with regard to demographics and sharing behaviors, we derive implications for practitioners to tailor their business models and marketing strategies to the specific motivational patterns of the respective user groups.