Project description DEENESFRITPL The importance of trust in the sharing economy The collaborative economy covers a variety of sectors and is rapidly emerging across Europe. Adding hundreds of billions of euro to the EU economy, it offers more choices to consumers and new opportunities to entrepreneurs. However, little is known about the bottom-up psychological factors driving the collaborative economy users’ behaviour. For responsible sharing, trust is necessary but not sufficient. The EU-funded TRUSTPATH project will develop and test a psychological theory of how people use the collaborative economy. The hypothesis is that trust encouraged without transparency can lead users to neglect the negative side effects trade has on others. The findings will advance our understanding of the psychology of the collaborative economy and inform policymakers seeking to regulate it. The results will also be useful for companies seeking to promote responsible sharing among users. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective The collaborative economy is estimated to add €160-€572 billion to the EU economy. Faced with blurry definitions in this emerging market, regulators use a top-down approach and introduce regulations that often fail to consider users’ behaviour. Although considerable knowledge on top-down regulatory solutions for the collaborative economy is accumulating, little is known about the bottom-up psychological factors driving the collaborative economy users’ behaviour. Online platforms rely and promote trust between users and service providers. For responsible sharing, however, trust is necessary but not sufficient. Only when trust is encouraged transparently can users share responsibly. TRUSTPATH will assess, if: (1) users are aware of, or motivated to learn about, the side effects of trade; (2) platforms’ promotion of trust increases users’ information neglect; and (3) transparent environments reduce information neglect and increase responsible sharing. Building on my expertise on trust and cooperation, and using insights from psychology, management, and economics, I will develop and test a novel psychological theory of how people use the collaborative economy: Transparency Based Trust theory (TBT). TBT’s novel hypothesis suggests trust encouraged without transparency leads users to neglect the negative side effects trade has on others. TRUSTPATH innovates by developing a novel methodology (the collaborative economy game) and using cutting-edge technologies (large-scale experiments). Support for TBT implies a major step forward in the systematic understanding of the collaborative economy in the social sciences, and the psychological mechanisms underlying users’ behaviour on platforms like Airbnb, Uber, and others. TRUSTPATH will contribute to establish a new field of study: the psychology of the collaborative economy; inform policymakers seeking to regulate the collaborative economy; and inform companies seeking to promote responsible sharing among users. Fields of science social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssocial sciencespsychology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2019-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2019-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Coordinator UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address Spui 21 1012WX Amsterdam Netherlands See on map Region West-Nederland Noord-Holland Groot-Amsterdam Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Netherlands Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address Spui 21 1012WX Amsterdam See on map Region West-Nederland Noord-Holland Groot-Amsterdam Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
