When users decide to bypass collaborative consumption platforms: The interplay of economic benefit, perceived risk, and perceived enjoyment
Résumé
Bypass, which consists of intentionally circumventing a collaborative platform in the final transaction phase, represents a threat for commission-based platforms. This paper examines collaborative consumers' motivations to bypass and proposes a conceptual model explaining bypass intention. Multigroup analysis of 549 UK respondents (310 accommodation-rental users; 239 ride-sharing users) using PLS-SEM shows that perceived enjoyment and perceived risk are strong predictors of bypass intention. Our findings also confirm the significant impact of economic benefit influencing bypass decisions, both directly and indirectly, by reducing perceived risk and increasing perceived enjoyment. This study extends the literature on collaborative consumers' bypass motivations, identifying an interplay of utilitarian motive (economic benefit), hedonic motive (perceived enjoyment), and perceived risk. It also contributes to the field of misbehaviors in hospitality and tourism, by showing empirically the link between pleasure and deviance. Finally, it helps platforms to determine the types of exchange that are more prone to bypass.