Operational risks and coping strategies of micro-enterprise in peer-to-peer accommodation service sector: evidences from China
Industrial Management & Data Systems
ISSN: 0263-5577
Article publication date: 17 August 2020
Issue publication date: 7 September 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Focusing on the supply side of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation service sector, this study identifies the emerging types of micro-enterprise operators in the growing Chinese market, and investigate their respective operational risks and coping strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was adopted to explore the micro-enterprise in peer-to-peer accommodation in China. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the operators' behaviors in the service sector.
Findings
Based on the types of property ownership and forms of interaction, four groups of operators were identified, i.e. hospitable sharers, remote sharers, roommates and butlers. This study uncovers their operational risk factors (safety, cost, legal and social, psychological) and respective coping strategies.
Originality/value
Most prior studies on P2P accommodation sector are conducted from the demand side about customer behaviors. This study not only enhances the understanding of the hosts in the sharing economy by developing a novel typology of operators, but also provides insights into the operational behaviors on an individual operator perspective.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Social Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. 17NDJC192YB), Science and Technology Bureau Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. 2018C03052), the project of annual talent by Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018 (No. WMYC20181-016).
Citation
Wang, W., Su, C., Chan, J.H. and Qi, X. (2020), "Operational risks and coping strategies of micro-enterprise in peer-to-peer accommodation service sector: evidences from China", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 120 No. 9, pp. 1759-1775. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-04-2020-0238
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited