Merchandising/Marketing/Retailing: Management

Sharing Styles without Feeling Gross: The Influence of Contamination on Consumers’ Collaborative Consumption Intentions

Authors: Naeun Lauren Kim (University of Minnesota) , Byoungho Ellie Jin (North Carolina State University)

Abstract

One of the major concerns of consumers in the emerging phenomenon of collaborative consumption (CC) is the issue of contamination. Guided by the consumer contamination effect theory, the influence of physical attractiveness, and similarity attraction theory, this experimental research examines the effect of positive contamination through the sellers’ physical attractiveness (Study 1) and buyer/seller racial similarity (Study 2) in two distinct CC contexts (i.e., rental and secondhand purchase). A total of 377 US female consumers were assigned to an experimental CC scenario. The findings reveal that consumers prefer to purchase items from an attractive or racially similar seller in the secondhand context but not in the rental setting. Our findings suggest possible solutions to alleviate the contamination issue in CC.

Keywords: race, attractiveness, contamination, collaborative consumption

How to Cite: Kim, N. L. & Jin, B. E. (2020) “Sharing Styles without Feeling Gross: The Influence of Contamination on Consumers’ Collaborative Consumption Intentions”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.11720