Consumer attachment styles and preference for participating in sharing systems

This paper suggests and empirically shows that consumers’ attachment styles determine their likelihood to participate in sharing systems. While anxious consumers are more likely to participate in non-market based systems; avoidant consumers are less likely to take part in such settings. Only for anxious consumers, non-market based sharing systems have a self-esteem enhancing role, significantly increasing the likelihood to participate in sharing settings. Only for avoidant consumers, market based sharing systems provide trust, significantly increasing likelihood to participate in such systems. Interestingly, anxious consumers’ likelihood to use a shared item is dependent on its contagion level. Such individuals are more likely to use a shared good when the contagion level of that item is high.