Desvendando os Fatores Influenciadores do Consumo Colaborativo: Proposição de um Modelo Teórico Considerando a Regionalidade

Abstract

The emergence of collaborative consumption suggests a new way of buying, allowing consumers to consume without necessarily owning. Therefore, this type of consumption foresees the replacement of ownership with access. Thus, this research aims to identify the factors that influence collaborative consumption, while also evaluating the influence of the sector of collaborative consumption (transport, accommodation, or second-hand goods) and regional differences in this type of consumption. This study is justified in identifying and responding to the theoretical gaps perceived in previous studies on the subject. Three main gaps, found in the literature, were observed: (a) collaborative consumption encompasses different sectors and consumption possibilities, leading to difficulty in establishing factors that influence this type of consumer. Thus understanding how these factors differ or are similar, depending on the sector analyzed, results in a research opportunity; (b) identifying which factors influence collaborative consumption, allows different constructs to be analyzed and a new theoretical model to be proposed in order to understand the relationships between such constructs; and (c) understanding how consumers who opt for collaborative consumption behave in different regions, is an aspect not found in previous research on the topic. Based on the literature and the proposed theoretical model, it was chosen to investigate the following constructs: Economic Benefit, Sustainability, Social Interaction, Convenience, Fun, Experience, Trust, Materialism and Familiarity. To achieve the objective, this research used a quantitative approach, and to collect data, an electronic survey was used, collecting 426 valid responses. The data analysis technique that was used was Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which aimed to identify the multiple existing relationships present in the theoretical model proposed in the research. From the results found, it was observed that; (a) of all tested constructs, five of them positively influence attitude or intention towards collaborative consumption in a general way, without focusing on a particular sector, these constructs are: Economic Benefit, Sustainability, Social Interaction, Fun and Familiarity. One construct negatively influences Collaborative Consumption intention - Materialism; (b) It was possible to test the theoretical model for different sectors, confirming that, depending on the sector, the influencing factors of collaborative consumption either change or have a different intensity or influence; and (c) regional differences were tested as moderators in theoretical models; however, contrary to expectations, a statistically relevant result was not obtained.