Factors affecting the consumers' intention towards collaborative consumption: An intergenerational study

Collaborative consumption which is accepted as a new type of consumption in recent years, allows consumers accessing goods and services via other consumers and service providers for a certain period of time and price rather than owing them. Accordingly, it is also possible to say that collaborative consumption aiming to provide diverse benefits to consumers, may become more important in future periods. The factors such as changes in consumers' purchasing power, economic crisis, consumers' unwillingness related to bear the cost of products, increasing importance of time have a significant impact on directing individuals to alternative forms of consumption. However, recent observations related to changes in behavioral patterns of individuals, have led to investigate external, internal and other motivational factors that may be effective in the participation of consumers taking place in different generations and using different product/service groups. In this regard, the major objective of this research is to determine the validity of the dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption among different generations. The other objectives of this research are; (2) to identify the effects of each dimension that are effective in consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption and estimate the possible effects on the consumers' collaborative consumption attitude, (3) to identify the effect of consumers' collaborative consumption attitude on consumers' collaborative consumption intention, (4) to analyze whether the dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption in different age generations, (5) to examine whether the dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption among consumers in different product/service groups. The results of the study reveal that the dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption consist of 10 dimensions. The results obtained from structural equation model show that the dimensions of friendship and belief in common goods did not have a statistically significant effect on the attitude towards collaborative consumption of the consumers in four generations, however all the remaining dimensions directly and positively affect attitude dimension. The risk dimension directly and negatively affect the consumers' collaborative consumption attitude. The consumers' collaborative consumption attitude affects directly and positively the consumers' collaborative consumption intention. According to these results, it can be said that dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption affect consumers' collaborative consumption attitude and consumers' collaborative consumption attitude affect consumers' collaborative consumption intention. MANOVA analysis results point out that dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption vary statistically significant among consumers partaking in different age generations. Also, dimensions that are effective in the consumers' propensity for collaborative consumption vary statistically significant among consumers using diverse product and service groups. Keywords: Collaborative consumption, baby boomers generation, X generation, Y generation, Z generation, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, multivariate analysis of variance