How Airbnb Conveys Social and Economic Value through User Representation

New platforms for renting and sharing among private individuals are emerging in today’s e-commerce landscape. Airbnb can be regarded as a representative of many such platforms. Such accommodation rental commonly implies shared usage where both host and guest occupy a space at the same time, involving social interactions that can provide additional value. Drawing on social reward theory, this paper proposes a research model that links the guest’s intention to book to the host’s user representa-tion via the pathways of social and economic value. We propose a design to evaluate our research model by means of a scenario-based online experiment, including the common elements of user repre-sentation (1) text reviews, (2) profile information (e.g., occupation, hobbies and interests), (3) star rating, and (4) the listing price. With this, we expect to contribute to a better understanding of the driving factors behind guests’ booking decisions in accommodation sharing.