Research on the Relationship Between Materialism and Providers Participating in the Sharing Economy

Purpose/Significance The rapid development of the internet has made the sharing economy a new business model. The growth of the sharing economy lies in the growth of participants. As a resource provider, consumers’ participation in sharing economy is of great significance to the development of enterprise, improvement of resource utilization rate, reduction of waste and sustainable development of the environment. Design/Methodology A model of the influence of consumer materialism on the share intention is constructed based on the social exchange theory. The model and hypothesis are analyzed and verified through structural equations by using a questionnaire survey method. Findings/Conclusions (1) Economic value, social value and emotional value play a role of mediator between materialism and the sharing intention. (2) Different kinds of materialism have different mechanisms of participation in sharing intention: instrumental materialism has a significant positive impact on sharing intention through the complete mediation of economic value, social value and emotional value. Ultimate materialism has a significant negative direct impact on sharing intention, whereas it has a positive effect on the share intention through the suppressing effect of economic, social and emotional value.