Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour in Sharing Economy in Russia Exemplified by Airbnb Company

Master thesis is devoted to the identification of factors that determine the behavior of consumers in the sharing economy market as well as to the development of practical recommendations for the improvement of Airbnb communication channels and tools for interaction with the proposed segments of consumers. Currently, within the framework of the innovation economy, the model of collaborative consumption is gaining special popularity, which forms the industry of sharing economy. At the moment, its volume is estimated at $15 billion, and according to the forecasts of PWC, by 2025, it will exceed $300 billion. Sharing economy is an economic model, when a new class of micro-entrepreneurs opens up the idle possibilities of their assets and allows strangers to access their own goods as an important and fashionable alternative to property. This study can be described as a mixed B2C study since it was carried out using a combination of basic quality (a series of in-depth and expert interviews) and an auxiliary quantitative (Internet survey) methods. At the first stage, two expert interviews were conducted with specialists involved in the development and management of Airbnb communication projects, as well as 30 in-depth interviews of Airbnb consumers and non-consumers. As a result, there were defined drivers and barriers of using Airbnb service, the significance of which was justified by the quantitative research method (the sample consisted of 328 respondents, which implies 5.41% deviation of the average indicators of the sample from the average characteristics of the population). As a result, there were defined 4 groups of factors: economic, social, personal and environmental. There was also conducted the behavioral segmentation of Airbnb consumers.