In a recent study, economists show how we can increase the use of economically sustainable sharing services. The widespread desire for material possession can be supplemented or replaced by the phenomenon of psychological ownership. That is the result of a series of studies conducted by Martin P. Fritze (University of Cologne, Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences), Andreas Eisingerich (Imperial College London) and Martin Berkenstein (University of Rostock). The economists explored why property is increasingly being replaced by sharing offers, if we assume that property is an important element for people’s sense of self-worth. Hence the research team took a closer look at the psychological mechanisms behind this new form of consumption.

To do so, they carried out several field studies. The obtained data confirm for car sharing and music streaming that users perceive the service as a substitute for the actual possession of material products (e.g. their own car, their own CDs). In two further studies, which were designed as online experiments, the scientists tested how psychological ownership can be influenced. As possible influencing factors, they determined, for example, the sense of belonging to a (user) community and the perceived intensity of the relationship with the service provider.

‘A sense of community among customers, a clear understanding of the service offered, and the relevance of sharing to the self-image positively influence the development of psychological ownership of a specific sharing service’, said Martin Fritze.

Fritze and his colleagues presented their research results at the Summer Academic Conference of the American Marketing Association in Boston and received the Best Paper Award in the field of service marketing. Martin Fritze will be happy to make the study available on request.

Sharing services and material ownership are two available models for the use of goods, and they compete with each other. Well-known sharing services include car sharing, music streaming and desk sharing. The offer has multiplied over the last decade and customer interest is growing. According to the German CarSharing Association, the number of customers in car sharing exceeded the two million mark for the first time at the beginning of 2018. The sharing economy is sustainable because consumer goods are used more intensively and therefore have to be produced on a much smaller scale.