Given the lockdown measures imposed for much of the Covid pandemic, it was perhaps understandable that many feared that it would significantly curtail the growth in the sharing economy. Research from Columbia Business School suggests that not only were those fears confounded but that the sharing economy actually grew during the pandemic.

The research found that this growth was not uniform, however, and that it varied considerably by country. For instance, whereas Americans seemed to increase their openness to the sector, Indian consumers went the opposite way.

“The results highlight that the pandemic reinforced the importance of interpersonal relationships in American consumers’ lives,” the researchers explain. “Marketing professionals must understand this as they craft their strategies.”

Openness to sharing

The research suggests that culture is the main determinant of whether someone is open to sharing, and this was true both before and during the pandemic. For instance, in countries where the culture is more one of higher interdependence, there was less willingness to share one’s possessions with others. These people would have stronger boundaries around who they might share with, with a greater willingness to do so with others like them.

In contrast, countries like the US, where citizens have lower levels of interdependence, were generally more open to sharing with different types of people, even though they were less open to sharing overall.

“As sharing-economy companies continue to expand their footprint globally, it is important for marketers to better understand consumer motivations, behavior, and feelings around collaborative consumption,” the researchers explain.

This is especially so as the study also found that people were putting greater emphasis on interpersonal relationships after the pandemic than before it. This made people more open to sharing than before.