Investor preferences between the sharing economy and incumbent firms

Stakeholder theory has called for more research on competing interests. This research contributes by investigating investor preferences that affect the competing positions of incumbents and sharing-economy firms. The sharing economy promises wider distribution of benefits across stakeholders, which may influence investor attractiveness. So this research asks when sharing-economy firms are competitive for investor support in comparison with incumbents. Value creation and value capture are employed to develop hypotheses predicting investor interests. Using data from a matched sample of 334 firms, we find evidence of conditional investor preference for non-sharing firms, and conclude implications for the sharing economy and sustainable development.