Abstract:

The core of the sharing economy lies in emphasizing the right of use instead of the right of ownership. This not only enhances the efficiency of resource allocation but also alleviates the psychological burden of users. However, to some extent, this alleviation of the psychological burden also prompts users to adopt a more relaxed attitude when engaging in deviant behaviors. Deviant behaviors, like users’ exclusive possession, occupation, and even destruction of goods in sharing- economy services, have emerged as practical challenges that hamper the healthy and sustainable development of the sharing economy. These behaviors not only go against the original intention of the sharing economy but also severely impede its long-term development. Nevertheless, the theoretical findings of existing research are still inadequate to account for the formation and management of this phenomenon. In view of the realistic predicament in the development of the sharing economy, this paper explores the deviant behavior of sharing-economy users from the perspective of social exchange theory.

This study aims to explore, within the context of the sharing economy, the common deviant behaviors present in sharing-economy services, the formation mechanisms of these deviant behaviors, and the actions to be taken to regulate them. The research focuses on the following three aspects: (1) Uncovering the specific dimensions of such behavior and developing an operational measurement instrument; (2) Determining the perceived benefits, perceived risks, and personal characteristics that affect users’ deviant behavior, and revealing the formation mechanism of such behavior; (3) Identifying industry regulations and government supervision measures, exploring the influence of external intervention measures on the decision-making process of deviant behavior, and optimizing the management strategy.

This research will demonstrate the following theoretical contributions. Firstly, the study is dedicated to enriching and deepening the connotation of research on user behavior in the sharing economy field. By categorizing the dimensions of deviant behavior and explaining its formation mechanism, it further enhances the understanding of users’ behavior in the sharing economy. Secondly, based on the social exchange theory and closely integrating the unique characteristics of the sharing economy services, the research deeply analyzes the delicate balance mechanisms between long-term risks and long-term benefits, as well as short-term risks and immediate benefits. Thus, it innovatively expands the social exchange theory in the spatio-temporal dimension, opening up new perspectives for the spatio-temporal research of this theory. In this study, full consideration is given to the influence of personal trait factors on deviant behavior. It is proposed that individual difference factors such as moral awareness, privacy and security awareness, risk preference, and conformist tendency have a direct impact on deviant behaviors. Therefore, the study contributes to enriching and deepening the research on user behavior in the sharing economy, promotes the development of sharing economy management theory, and in particular, expands new theoretical knowledge in the area of deviant behavior. Finally, the research constructs the influence mechanism of external intervention measures on the decision-making process of deviant behavior, providing in-depth theoretical and empirical support for how to correct deviant behavior through external intervention measures. Moreover, by deeply exploring how external intervention measures for deviant behavior regulate the trade-off mechanism between benefits and risks, it further expands the social exchange theory. By conducting an empirical exploration from three aspects: the dimensional classification of deviant behavior, its formation mechanism, and optimization measures, this work will contribute to understanding the dilemmas encountered in the development of the sharing economy, explain the internal mechanism of users’ deviant behavior in the sharing economy at the theoretical level, and provide practical solutions. As a result, it will enrich the dimensions of social exchange theory and promote theoretical innovation regarding deviant behavior in the sharing economy.

Key words: sharing economy, deviant behavior, social exchange theory, formation mechanism, external intervention