Resistance to shared consumption: Exploring the interplay of access-temporality, economic-value, and anticipated regret in case of carsharing

Abstract

Although the concept of shared consumption has garnered considerable scholarly attention, there remains a notable paucity of research on resistance to carsharing. In particular, the crucial role of access temporality, long-term economic evaluation, and anticipated regret has not been studied previously. While the economic benefit is considered a pivotal determinant of carsharing adoption, the potential for negative evaluation when consumers engage in long-term assessments remains underexplored. Further, its contribution to anticipated regret and its subsequent effect on carsharing resistance has not been studied. Addressing the gap, this study draws upon mental accounting theory and regret theory to examine the role of access temporality and long-term cues in the economic evaluation of carsharing and its relationship with anticipated regret contributing to consumers’ resistance towards carsharing. To this end, Study 1 and Study 2 employed two 2 × 2 experimental designs to demonstrate that long-term cues significantly alter consumers’ perceived economic value of carsharing. They illustrate that access temporality and usage frequency affect consumers’ economic evaluations of carsharing and their intention to engage. Further, Study 3 analysed 417 survey data responses using PLS-SEM to reveal that lower economic value perception, anticipated regret, and status quo bias contribute to consumers’ resistance to using sharing. The results confirm the importance of access temporality and frequency of use influencing consumers’ perceived economic value of carsharing.