Understanding the Sharing Economy: The Role of Response to Negative Reviews in the Peer-to-peer Accommodation Sharing Network

Recognizing the potentially ruinous effect of negative reviews on the reputation of the hosts as well as a subjective nature of the travel experience judgements, peer-to-peer accommodation sharing platforms, like Airbnb, have readily embraced the “response” option, empowering hosts with the voice to challenge, deny or at least apologize for the subject of critique. However, the effects of different response strategies on trusting beliefs towards the host remain unclear. To fill this gap, this study focuses on understanding the impact of different response strategies and review negativity on trusting beliefs towards the host in peer-to-peer accommodation sharing setting utilizing experimental methods. Examination of two different contexts, varying in the controllability of the subject of complaint, reveals that when the subject of complaint is controllable by a host, such strategies as confession / apology and denial can improve trusting beliefs towards the host. However, when the subject of criticism is beyond the control of the host, denial of the issue does not yield guest’s confidence in the host, whereas confession and excuse have positive influence on trusting beliefs.