Value Co-creation Inside the Ridesharing Economy: Evidence from the Chinese Sharing Economy Experiencescape with Set-theoretic and SEM Applications

Abstract

The study empirically examines value co-creative behaviors within the framework of ridesharing, complexity theory, and fsQCA. A total of 301, questionnaires were acquired through social media and conventional sources in the study. The questionnaires were analysed to validate our proposed hypotheses by using structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), ostensibly to assess the direct (indirect) relationships, and all feasible solutions that defined Equifinality respectively. The SEM results of the study revealed that resources and experiential consumption remain the corner stone of distinct value formation; and the antecedents of commuters’ high intention to participate in ridesharing value co-creation. Furthermore, among the dimensions of experiential consumption, escapism was found to be the most influential contributor of commuters’ high intention to participate in ridesharing value co-creation. In terms of fsQCA, the results revealed seven (7) recipes of configurations (solutions) for predicting commuters’ high intention to participate in ridesharing value co-creation. Arguably, there is a chasm in literature with respect to ridesharing value co-creation. Whiles the study intends to address this chasm, the implications of the study will enhance managerial decision-making on how to combine their scarce resources to design memorable and authentic-laden services that will attract the commuting public for value co-creation. The study narrows the chasm and further deepens the stream of literature on sharing economy through its theoretical provision, and unique focus on value co-creation in the ambit of ridesharing.

Keywords: Value co-creation/destruction, fsQCA, sharing economy, experience economy, memorable experience. S-D logic, complexity theory.