Winning strategies to retain customers in the sharing economy: understanding loyalty antecedents

Abstract

Loyalty is key for sharing economy (SE) platforms, as their success depends on gaining and retaining a critical mass of users. Using a sequential design of quantitative (exploratory factor analysis) and mixed methods (qualitative comparative analysis), a sample of 208 users of SE platforms was analysed. The results indicate that loyalty is achieved at the intersection of website (app) organisation, platform responsiveness and reliability, and customer interaction with the peer service provider. Three strategies are proposed to achieve loyalty, each comprising two out of the three mentioned antecedents. Sensitivity analysis of the loyalty antecedents suggests specific customer segments (millennials versus baby boomers and males versus females).