The unintended consequences of collaborative consumption: A quantitative investigation on household rebound effects in the sharing economy

It is commonly believed that the sharing economy (SE) promotes sustainable consumption. However, a debate is open on its possible negative effects. The cost savings and convenience of sharing practices generates the so-called “rebound effect”, a response to a measure that offsets the effect of the measure itself. The purpose of this research is to shed light on the rebound effects that are associable with the SE, focusing on the household level. This emerges as a gap in the wider stream of research about SE and consumer behavior, that is currently receiving great attention, and for which extended knowledge has been called for. Yet, despite some sparse efforts, an investigation on the possible micro- rebound effect is currently missing. The study adopts a quantitative approach based on an online questionnaire administered to users of sharing economy platforms (n=265). The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that economic rebound effects are primarily associated with perceptions of the sharing economy’s affordability and value-driven adoption factors. Meanwhile, a platform’s experiential and emotional value proposition generates both economic and social effects. Environmental rebound effects, on the other hand, are more closely linked to the complementary − rather than substitutive − use of sharing economy platforms. Overall, the study demonstrates that the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of rebound are interconnected, offering new evidence on the potential externalities of the sharing economy.