The Effect of the Relationship Characteristics and Social Capital of the Sharing Economy Business on the Social Network, Relationship Competitive Advantage, and Continuance Commitment

Abstract

This study assessed relationship characteristics and social capital from the perspective of interdependent linkage between sharing economy businesses and consumers, which can create the social network and relationship competitive advantage. It verified the importance of the creative production process of the value network of sharing economy businesses. For this purpose, the statistical techniques were used to perform frequency, reliability/validity, suitability, and path analyses on 522 subjects active in sharing economy service communities. A structural model was thus proposed. The results of the study are as follows. First, the results of the path analysis between the relationship characteristics and social network (social relationships, social commitment) of sharing economy businesses showed that mutual influence and emotional connection had a significant effect on social relationships, and mutual influence, sense of belonging, and emotional connection had a significant effect on social commitment. Second, the results of the path analysis between social capital and social network (social relationships, social commitment) of sharing economy businesses showed that pursuit for self-fulfillment, social participation, and pleasure had a significant effect on social commitment. Third, the results of the path analysis between the social relationships, social commitment, relationship competitive advantage, and continuance commitment of sharing economy businesses showed that social relationships and social commitment had a significant effect on relationship competitive advantage, while relationship competitive advantage had a significant effect on continuance commitment.

1. Introduction

The sharing economy is an emerging economic phenomenon, driven by the development of ICT, social trade and sharing, consumer awareness, and the increasing number of collaborative web communities. For consumers, it has created a lot of relationships and social networks that change the viewpoint of ownership and use, along with saving the cost of ownership. The sharing economy business type is centered on social benefits and utility value of resources through cooperation between individuals. It changes the perspective of consumption from ownership to utilization, and creates relationships and social networks [1]. In this context, Riflin [2] stated that the sharing economy is more dependent on social capital, such as social trust, than invisible market forces. It is a type of “network commons” rather than a market. In addition, with the increase in consumer size participating in these collaborative spending, shared companies are creating new business models and challenging existing ones competitively [3]. Hence, the sharing economy is configured through the social economy, which is an economic concept that prioritizes the implementation of social values; collaborative consumption, which focuses on social values; collective intellect, for which the internet, voluntary participation, and sharing of knowledge are core; digital community, where the activities of digital communities occur in a digital space; and social capital, which is a social force that solves community issues through trust and cooperation [2,3,4]. It spreads coexistence in the digital economy paradigm, which begins with the consumer.

Above all, sharing economy businesses are under the premise that companies and consumers collaborate by sharing their value relationships and work together to solve problems using continuous business methods in order to create positive social change. From the “diffusion of economic relationships-network economy” perspective, an individual group can overcome the uncertainty of values by creating new economic relationships, and core values can provide a basis for creating mental commonalities through strengthening the network between members [5]. Social capital can be understood under the content and structure of social relationships between transactors. The quality of the relationship in terms of mutual interaction between members in a group is promoted by social capital from the relationship perspective, while actions that create mutual benefits are induced by sharing group values, standards, beliefs, and attitudes from a cognitive perspective [6]. When similarities of each group member are shared in the sub-network, the closeness of their relationship becomes strengthened [7]. Networks with higher trust than other types of networks tend to share and exchange more rich and sensitive information through solidarity [8].

Hence, the content produced through the distribution process is reinterpreted through the consumer’s perspective for the value chain. Moreover, the process of reproducing new and creative products with higher added value is evaluated as important in the value chain [9]. From the relational view, particularly, the strategic combination of knowledge and information sharing and complementary resources enables a group to gain a competitive advantage [10]. When relation-specific assets accumulate—such as increases in the duration of a relationship or trade between organizations—the competitive advantage between organizations increases [11]. As such, when assessing a company’s continuous competitive advantage from a relationship view, it is believed to be a useful approach that can reflect the role of social capital, which emphasizes the value network perspective.

This study will assess the relationship characteristics and social capital from the perspective of interdependent linkage between sharing economy businesses and consumers that can create the relationship competitive advantage and achievement (continuance commitment). We also verify the importance of the creative production process of the value network of sharing economy businesses. These results will help understand the importance of achievements (continuance commitment) in sharing economy businesses, both academically and practically, for core value sharing activities that occur through social networks and relationship competitive advantage. They can be utilized as theoretical data that configure their core values as relationship and social sharing activities.

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. Sharing Economy Business and Collaborative Consumption

The core of the sharing economy is a consumption culture that goes beyond personal ownership. It pursues and produces community values that people can share. Recent developments in ICT (information and communication technologies), the perception of collaborative consumption, and social sharing and trading facilitate consumers in the community’s production and continuity. This enables the sharing economy model to develop further [4]. Above all, these technical developments and changes in perception caused a paradigm shift from “linear economy”, which centers around a physical market where the goal of consumers is ownership, into “network economy”, which centers around a social network based on transactions or sharing activities between consumers [12]. Lorna [12] also stated that “economy” in the sharing economy refers to the social space itself, and it has an instrumental value when contributing to the development of the larger social community.

In this context, the sharing economy is defined through the concept of collaborative consumption or a community economy [13]. Since the movements toward collaborative consumption are a type of alternative consumption unlike ownership, it is motivated through increasing the value of utilization.

Hence, sharing economy businesses utilize social marketing based on collaborative consumption in order to resolve social issues, such as economic growth strategies, redistribution strategies, large-scale foreign aid, and population control, among others. Rather than seeking profit, they can act with the aim of changing behaviors [14,15]. They can serve as a “intermediary”, who creates a global network that distributes necessary resources by connecting consumers with resources, which are not used by these companies, with people who are willing to pay to use those resources [16]. Furthermore, collaborative consumption in a sharing economy can also reduce the cost of new product development and raw materials by using unused resources more efficiently. This may be regarded as an indication of sustainable behavior to consumers [4].

2.2. Relationship Characteristics

How an individual is connected to someone shows mutual influence in the general function of their social relationship [17]. Brief and Weiss [18] stated that organization members’ emotional and psychological factors will influence their attitude and behaviors. They determine the members’ achievements. They argued that relationship characteristics are important influential variables of sharing. Above all, these relationship qualities are strategic resources [19]; they are intangible assets that help one gain competitive advantages and trigger positive behaviors. In this way, Brazeltion and Gorry [20] proposed a diverse knowledge community of the knowledge management system as an important strategy to induce the active social participation of organization members. Wenger et al. [21] also proposed a working community as a conscious personnel network for knowledge creation activities and the effective knowledge and information sharing within an organization.

If we look at these relationship characteristics with a respect of sharing economy business, Wittel [22] argued that things that were shared in society before the digital era were led by strengthened social interactions based on the principles of mutual, social, and generalized reciprocity. Although the digitalization of sharing has brought about new functions in sharing, these new forms themselves have not strengthened all social interactions. However, an individual’s social relationships with others has a central value in the sharing economy; there is a constitutive relationship with other people. Therefore, the individual is not an isolated subject, but a subject-in-relation with other people, leading to mutual influence in a relationship [23].

Moreover, the sharing economy has us-rationality characteristics. These characteristics are manifested from the spirituality of unity or a sense of belonging toward the network of relationships. Intrinsic idea motivation (motivation to actively express one’s ideas) plays an important role in the sharing economy. Purchasing an ethical product is not an optimization of an individual’s method-objective relationship, but rather an effort to achieve an individual’s fulfillment of needs. This can be seen as a form of striving toward sharing economy businesses or a social economy that offers part of its profits for shared ownership in order to express one’s belief toward the economy or life. Furthermore, the important characteristic of the rationality of communion is unconditional reciprocity; this reciprocity is ex-post conditional rationale rather than ex-ante conditional rationale. Thus, it significantly affects the creation of mutual connection in terms of user’s feeling of importance for sharing relationship, forming close relationship, and fellowship in the sharing economy services [24].

As mentioned above, mutual influence, sense of belonging, fulfillment of needs and emotional connection will be important relationship characteristics as a practical sense to maintain and develop relationship with consumers in sharing economy business.

2.3. Social Capital

Social capital is an assembly of actual or potential resources related to the continuous network ownership level. It is regarded as a “collective asset” that increases the efficiency of the general society in the exchange of resources that occur in it [25]. It increases economic and affective efficiency by enabling adjustment and cooperation for the mutual benefit of members in society relevant to the characteristics of a social organization, such as trust, standards, and the network [26]. Furthermore, from an individual’s perspective, it is perceived as a resource that is obtained through the network and social relationship with the outside, and the acquired social capital is then used as a resource that can provide pleasure in terms of personal benefits [27]. From this perspective, considering the positive social values of social capital, social capital can expand the sharing economy in society. The stable settlement of the sharing economy can accumulate collaborative consumer experience to form a structure of a virtuous cycle where social capital is accumulated once more. Considering the positive social values of social capital, it can be regarded as a necessary or sufficient condition for systematically settling and spreading the sharing economy [28].

Social capital also configures a series of aspects in the social structure. It promotes certain behaviors in transactors in the structure. The root of such behaviors is the social structure within a rational behavior paradigm [29,30]. Social capital is also regarded as a factor that promotes adjustments and cooperation for the mutual benefit of the members of society as a collective resource for overcoming the “collection action dilemma” [26,28,31].

Above all, from the perspective that social capital expands social trust and values in the community or on an even wider scale, it is a theoretical resource of the sharing economy that involves an orientation toward a common goal. Members with social trust utilize knowledge in a way that is helpful to one another. The exchanging of knowledge and information sharing are perceived to be an act of achieving the company’s common goals [32]. By maintaining a sustainable relationship and network through individuals or an organization, social capital is assessed as one of the most important origins for building an information collection and knowledge base [33].

Further, there is an active understanding and sharing of information and knowledge that are obtained from the outside through various communication networks. This enables the goals and directions of organizational learning to be shared in order to create new values and ultimately vitalize organizational learning for pursuing self-fulfillment [34]. In addition, as the components of social capital, Chung et al. [35] suggested the characteristics of social participation in terms of social exchange, rewards, cooperation, competition, and conflict, while Park [36] proposed standards, trust, cooperation within a group, information sharing, political participation, horizontal organizations, vertical organizations, and participation in volunteer work, among others. Putnam [26] categorized social capital into reciprocity, intensity of involvement, social participation, community and volunteer work, and unofficial association, among others, while Ellison et al. [37] proposed trust, self-fulfillment based on reciprocity, social norms, network, and social structure as the components of social capital based on the structure of social capital. Therefore, social capital is assessed under an individual’s perception about self-fulfillment regarding the social relationship between developmental members [38]. A structural dimension refers to the type of social structure that is formed between members, and it exhibits various factors according to the type of network connection, participation, category, and structure.

Further, these characteristics can be explained to those individuals who are unfamiliar with common goals, matters of interest, and visions as the mutual intimacy among the social participants and pleasure seeking behaviors involving fun and benefits for knowledge and information sharing [39], and they can be defined through the quality and quantity of relationships on a social scale. As they can be regarded as individual or social assets, they provide advantages to the individual or organization.

As mentioned above, information sharing, self-fulfillment, social participation and pleasure for mutual benefit among actors in the network will be important factors as social capital of sharing economy business.

2.4. Social Network

The social network is a social system that exchanges resources. Here, interactions occur between individuals or organizations to achieve a common goal. The type of exchange that occurs includes infinite and continuous transactions within the context of general interaction. The network is configured as an effective alternative that improves competition compared to other strategies when a company corresponds to the environment from the perspective of competitive superiority [40]. The core concept of this network is a comprehensive concept that includes the exchanging and sharing of various resources, such as technology, information, production, capital, products, and services, among others, through voluntary cooperation for the purpose securing a competitive advantage. In addition, social capital arises from the formation of networks, and interactions cause people to form networks, maintain communities, and build social structures [41].

Above all, a social network is a set of social relationships that maintain social identity and receive emotional support, material assistance, services, information, and new contact opportunities. The connection between interconnected systems and members is regarded as a relationship system that influences their actions [42]. Furthermore, the instrumental value of the social network may change according to the type of information that the individual requires and how that information will be used [43]. The sharing of resource, information, and knowledge in social network creates a social relationship that has an important influence on achievements [44].

Furthermore, opportunities for creating shared values occur, since social issues can give rise to economic costs within a company’s value network [45]. The social network and cooperation promote collaborative consumption; interaction between users and sharing of personal experiences permit the creation of social relationships and maintenance of social commitment with others [1]. From the perspective of the similarity-attraction theory, when a transactor perceives that the values of another transactor are consistent with their own, they will be happier with the other party, trust them, and attempt to maintain their social commitment [46,47]. In other words, shared values between transactors decreases cognitive dissonance, increases predictability regarding the other party’s actions, forms a better social relationship between transactors, and helps maintain that relationship.

Moreover, a productive network reduces conflicts, costs, and time and maintains the social commitment in the community. It serves as a social relationship that advances the social structure as a factor that can verify the practical effects of social capital. It reinforces social trust and shares reciprocal standards to form a virtuous cycle structure that expands the range of the productive network [48].

As mentioned above, the social network in the sharing economy business is an aggregate linked by various social relationships and social commitments based on the relational concept, which needs to be examined in terms of the connection with social capital.

2.5. Relationship Competitive Advantage

A continuous relationship competitive advantage is achieved through resources and learning effects that are valuable, rare, incomplete for replication, and irreplaceable within a company [49], and can be secured when a company executes a customer value strategy that the competitor does not. In other words, when a company designs a new method with respect to value chain activities and offers values to the customer that are superior to that of competitors, they are able to create a competitive advantage [50]. The ownership of intangible resources, such as customer capital, and the effective distribution of these resources become accumulated as a unique strength of the organization. They are reported to be an extremely necessary approach for achieving continuous relationship competitive advantage [51,52,53]. Since effective governance between organizations enables cooperation for value creation to occur more freely, relationship specific assets, information sharing, or supplementary resources can be strategically combined for an organization to gain a competitive advantage [10].

According to Dyer and Singh [10], who established a basis for the relational view regarding an organization’s competitive advantage, the relationship assets that can acquire a competitive advantage through cooperation in and between organizations can be classified through relationship specific assets, information sharing practices, supplementary resources, competence, or effective governance. Of these, relationship specific assets are an extension of the perspective that they become equivalent to productivity in the value chain when each company is willing to invest in relationships or transaction-specific investments [11]. In other words, this perspective claims that when relationship specific assets accumulate—such as a longer relationship between organizations or increased transactions between organizations—the relationship competitive advantage between the organizations also increases.

In this way, upon examining a company’s sustainable competitive advantage, it can be seen as a useful perspective that can reflect the role of the value network in which the relational view is emphasized. More than anything, if a cooperative value chain stage can be built in the relationship with sharing economy businesses that share a vision of coexistence and strengthened competitiveness, it will greatly help the company gain a continuous relationship competitive advantage.

As we have seen above, the relationship competitive advantage in the sharing economy business will be an important factor for firms in continuously achieving the relationship-based performance better than the competitors.

2.6. Continuance Commitment

Continuance commitment in relationship is important because the key standard of making decisions regarding the future achievements of relationships will bring about future values or benefits to partners [54]. This is because transacting parties in an exchanging relationship exchange common items and observe key variables in order to achieve certain results with mutual values between partners [55]. From the company’s perspective, they must perceive customers as partners who can continuously maintain and develop this exchange relationship, understand customers, and establish strategies that strengthen long-term ties. However, this is not limited to efforts simply from the business aspect [56].

This type of continuance commitment is also defined in various ways in relationship marketing based on mutual exchange relationships [57]. Emotional commitment derives particularly from strong emotional loyalty or a sense of belonging; it is based on social and emotional tendencies [58]. In order to maintain and develop such exchange relationships in terms of the intent to maintain relationships, the company must perceive consumers as partners, understand customers, and develop strategies that can strengthen long-term ties [56]. Behavioral intention was reported to have a more direct appearance than continuance commitment under the concept that long-term relationship orientation includes relationship continuity and interdependence [59,60]. Furthermore, under the concept that long-term orientation also includes the desire and expectation to continue a long-term relationship with the other party, Shin and Leem [61] and Yi and Ji [62] assessed that long-term orientation does not refer to the intent to continue transactions regarding all general suppliers or retail companies, but refers to the intent to continue transactions with a certain few transacting parties.

Furthermore, Park and Lee [63] and Lee [64] stated that a long-term cooperative relationship increases when continuance commitment is highly perceived, while Ra and Woo [65] found that satisfaction toward long-term orientation increases as perception toward relationship strength increases. Kim and Park [66] stated that a customer will be unable to switch to another company if the benefits of the relationship that they have been experiencing with a certain company are high, and will form a continuous relationship with the company. As a result, a strengthened relationship in continuance commitment will not be influenced by alternative attractions or changes in surrounding circumstances, and it can continuously bring a certain level of profit to the company [65]. Furthermore, Dibb and Meadows [67] claimed that providing more valuable services to customers will serve as a core factor that gives rise to a superior competitive advantage compared to other competitors.

As we have seen above, it is essential to achieve a performance through continuous improvement of consumer social relationship and social commitment in a sharing economy business.

3. Research Methods

3.1. Research Model and Hypotheses

Sharing the vision of strengthened competition and coexistence with consumers and pursuing a more collaborative value chain stage will significantly help sharing economy businesses gain a continuous relationship competitive advantage. This viewpoint too can be supported through the relational view. In this way, it can be seen as a useful aspect to reflect the role of social capital, which emphasizes the aspect of value network, when we grasp the continuance commitment through the continuous relationship competitive advantage of the sharing economy business.

In the regard for relationship characteristics, Moody and White [68] categorized the types of relationships that can exist in a group based on “fulfillment of needs” based on individual’ experience, issues related to group immersion, “continuance commitment”, and group cohesion. They claimed that this network structure has an influence on “emotional connection” which is known as emotional attachment regarding relationships. Ok and Han [69] found that the sub-network structure is a group within a network based on the relationship characteristics of commonalities, consciousness of kind, similarity, etc. and it shows the “mutual influence” of members in a group. They reported that, if certain information is exposed within a node of the sub-network, then that information may quickly spread through neighbors that are closely related to that node through the “sense of belonging”. Dyer and Singh [10] found that relationship assets that can help gain a competitive advantage through cooperation between members can be formed through knowledge sharing practices, relationship specific assets, supplementary competence or resources, and effective governance. Above all, these relational dimensions lead to behaviors that bring benefits to one another by sharing norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs of the group [6]. In this process, the meaning of the group becomes important to the members, and they can form the social network by identifying the value of themselves along with the value of the group [70].

Moreover, the core of social capital is referred as a “collective asset” that enhances the efficiency of society as a whole in the social network, and network members are encouraged to take part in certain social behaviors and pursue “social participation” through the social structure formed in this fashion [29]. When relationship embeddedness is formed, and this relationship benefit is positively assessed, it is highly likely to lead to the company’s approval [71]. From this perspective, the formation of mutual reciprocity and accessibility will serve to maintain the connection between the consumer and service provider through the enhancement of “self-fulfillment” by consumer. The formation of a sense of belonging will provide members with emotional safety, become the basis for enabling members to express their emotions and desires, and form a sense of mutual closeness and “pleasure” [72]. Hence, a successful sharing economy business must be able to share a set of values and facilitate “information sharing” that are enabled through common goals and activities. First of all, the nature of the connected network of social capital provides the advantages of sharing new information and knowledge, expanding the opportunity of acquiring resources [73], and increasing the communication about the products and service based on the relational network [74].

Furthermore, the core concept of a network is a voluntary cooperation to secure a strategic advantage, and it can be seen as a comprehensive concept including exchange and sharing of various resources such as technology, information, production, capital, products and services. In the social network perspective, consumers actively express their preferences and consumers with similar preferences tend to form a group in a way of “social commitment” [75]. Under the context of a sharing economy business that regards social values with higher importance, consistency in social values is expected to have a stronger effect on the attitude of consumers on sharing economy businesses and relevant behavioral intentions. These factors are among the achievement variables of sharing economy businesses. They may be regarded as the ability of “social relationship” to acquire the resources required to maintain the current industry, and guarantee the continuity and sustainability of programs and services [76]. In addition, it can achieve organizational competitive advantage by strategically combining relationship-specific assets, knowledge sharing, and complementary resources formed by social relations and social cohesion [10]. In particular, if the unique assets of the relational network, such as the longer duration of the inter-organizational relationship and the increased inter-organizational transaction volume, accumulate, the competitive advantage between the organizations increases [77].

Moreover, social commitment is seen as a key variable for achieving any mutually valuable outcome between partners in an exchange social relationship, and the continuous maintenance of relationships, such as long-term orientation, was found to be achieved through the provision of greater relationship benefits. As the strength of the relationship increases, consumers will be more likely to seek greater “relationship competitive advantage” [78]. This implies that the social network and relationship competitive advantage not only serve to maintain social relationship, but can also strengthen “continuance commitment” in relationships simultaneously.

In this way, it is important to identify the relationship characteristics and social capital roles emphasized in terms of social network formation when we examine the continuance commitment through the sustainable relationship competitive advantage of companies. Thus, the following research model and hypotheses were configured as seen in Figure 1 and below.

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

As the relationship characteristics of sharing economy businesses and consumers increase, the social network will increase.

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

As the social capital of sharing economy businesses and consumers increases, the social network will increase.

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

As the social network of sharing economy businesses and consumers increases, relationship competitive advantage will increase.

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

As the relationship competitive advantage of sharing economy businesses and consumers increases, continuance commitment will increase.

3.2. Measurement Tools

We use the respective variables in the research model because the examination of the prior research on sharing economy businesses as discussed in Section 2 of the paper showed that they could be considered as relevant variables affecting the key features and dynamics of the sharing economy businesses. Further, based on the rationale provided by the results of the prior research, we measure the variables with the questions items suggested since they are indicated as the appropriate and valid measures to examine the effects of relevant independent variables on the dependent variables in the causal relationships (see

Table A1. Operational definitions of measurement tools.

Variables	Definition	Sub-Variables	Sub-Variables Definition	References
Relationship Characteristics	Practical awareness of trying to maintain and develop the relationships between sharing economy businesses and consumers.	Mutual Influence	Degree of user information exchange activity, active response to the demands of user, and importance of relationship in sharing economy services.	[8,20,24]
		Sense of Belonging	Degree of user participation, user’s feeling of relational comfort in service use, and sense of belonging in sharing economy services.	[1,79]
		Fulfillment of Needs	Degree of user satisfaction value, use of value information acquired, personal use of contents in sharing economy services.	[1,18,22]
		Emotional Connection	Degree of user’s feeling of importance for sharing relationship, forming close relationship, and fellowship in sharing economy services.	[6,24,68]
Social Capital	The total level of actual resources that appear in the overlapping relationships of systematic networks for mutual benefit between transactors in the network of sharing economy businesses.	Information Sharing	Degree of sharing professional knowledge, activities and tendencies, and personal photos related to sharing economy services.	[2,34,38]
		Self-fulfillment	Degree of consistency between the matters of interest and activities, expressing opinions regarding features, and proactively proposing personal interests in sharing economy services.	[27,30,39]
		Social Participation	Degree of concerns regarding issues, debating with neighbors regarding issues, and interest regarding information on others presented by sharing economy services.	[4,37,70]
		Pleasure	Degree of stress relief, entertainment and benefits, and satisfaction through experiencing sharing economy services.	[15,28,30]
Social Network	An assembly that is connected through various relationships.	Social Relationships	Degree of interest in information, value of one’s activities, and reality of information that are shared by the sharing economy service users.	[1,5,16,45,47]
		Social Commitment	Degree of fellowship, formation of a sense of belonging, and importance on the relationship among sharing economy service users.	[42,46,47,75,81]
Relationship Competitive Advantage	Degree of relationship depth through the information activities of users, intent to maintain a continuous relationship, and activity as a member in the sharing economy services.			[49,52,77,78]
Continuance Commitment	Degree of importance on maintaining a continuous relationship, expectation toward a long-term relationship, and profits from a long-term relationships with sharing economy services.			[58,61,67,78,82]

in Appendix A).

The measurement tool for conducting this study involved questions related to relationship characteristics of sharing economy businesses, social capital, social network characteristics, relationship competitive advantage, continuance commitment, and demographic characteristics as shown in the Appendix A (see Table A1,

Table A2. Reliability and validity analysis of relationship characteristics factors.

Variables		Items	Component	Eigenvalues	Variance	Cronbach’s α
Relationship Characteristics	Mutual Influence	Degree of information exchange activity between sharing economy service users	0.810	2.561	22.342	0.799
		Degree of active responses to the demands of sharing economy service users	0.783
		Degree of importance on the relationship with sharing economy service users	0.777
	Sense of Belonging	Degree of participation as a member of sharing economy activities	0.867	2.090	18.414	0.817
		Degree of safety when using sharing economy services	0.827
		Degree of sense of belonging regarding sharing economy services	0.793
	Fulfillment of Needs	Degree of satisfying values through sharing economy services	0.823	1.914	16.946	0.721
		Degree of use of value information acquired from sharing economy services	0.791
		Degree of personal use (SNS exposure) of sharing economy service content	0.773
	Emotional Connection	Degree of importance of the sharing relationship between sharing economy service users	0.857	1.637	14.646	0.860
		Degree of forming close relationship such as informative comments from sharing economy service users	0.837
		Degree of fellowship among sharing economy service users	0.775

,

Table A3. Reliability and validity analysis of social capital factors.

Variables		Items	Component	Eigenvalues	Variance	Cronbach’s α
Social Capital	Information Sharing	Degree of sharing professional knowledge related to sharing economy services	0.812	2.406	21.053	0.715
		Degree of sharing activities and tendencies related to sharing economy services	0.735
		Degree of sharing personal activity photos related to sharing economy services	0.720
	Self-fulfillment	Degree of consistency between matters of interest and activities related to sharing economy services	0.840	2.248	19.735	0.806
		Degree of expressing opinions regarding features of sharing economy services	0.772
		Degree of proactively proposing personal interests in sharing economy services	0.770
	Social Participation	Degree of concerns regarding issues presented by sharing economy services	0.820	1.750	16.580	0.777
		Degree of debating with neighbors regarding issues presented by sharing economy services	0.818
		Degree of interest regarding information on others presented by sharing economy services	0.798
	Pleasure	Degree of stress relief through experiencing sharing economy services	0.856	1.280	13.667	0.827
		Degree of entertainment and benefits through experiencing sharing economy services	0.839
		Degree of satisfaction through experiencing sharing economy services	0.744

,

Table A4. Reliability and validity analysis of social network factors.

Variables		Items	Component	Eigenvalues	Variance	Cronbach’s α
Social Network	Social Relationships	Degree of interest in information on sharing economy service users	0.825	2.311	39.519	0.777
		Degree of the value of one’s activities as a sharing economy service user	0.822
		Degree of reality of information that is shared on sharing economy service users	0.792
	Social Commitment	Degree of fellowship among sharing economy service users	0.918	1.824	35.400	0.843
		Degree of formation of a sense of belonging with sharing economy service users	0.901
		Degree of importance on the relationship with sharing economy service users	0.794

and

Table A5. Reliability and validity analysis of single factors.

Variables	Items	Component	Eigenvalues	Variance	Cronbach’s α
Relationship Competitive Advantage	Degree of relationship depth regarding the sharing economy through the information activities of sharing economy service users	0.848	2.217	36.954	0.745
	Degree of intent to maintain a continuous relationship with sharing economy services	0.817
	Degree of activity as a member of sharing economy services	0.780
Continuance Commitment	Degree of importance on maintain a continuous relationship with sharing economy services	0.896	2.131	35.518	0.840
	Degree of expectation toward a long-term relationship with sharing economy services	0.861
	Degree of benefits from a long-term relationship with sharing economy services	0.854

). The 5-point Likert scale was used as the measurement method. Relationship characteristics were measured using 12 items involving mutual influence, sense of belonging, fulfillment of needs, and emotional connection as the practical awareness of trying to maintain and develop the relationships between sharing economy businesses and consumers. These were based on the studies conducted by Adler and Kwon [8], Botsman and Rogers [1], Brazelton and Gorry [20], Brief and Weiss [18], Reich et al. [79], Lee [23], Moody and White [68], Uphoff and Wijayaratna [6], and Wittel [22]. Social capital was measured using 12 items involving information sharing, self-fulfillment, social participation, and pleasure as the total level of actual resources that appear in the overlapping relationships of systematic networks for mutual benefit between transactors in the network of sharing economy businesses. This was done so based on the studies conducted by Chiu et al. [39], De Carolis and Saparito [27], DeClercq et al. [34], Ellison et al. [37], Field [30], Ju [28], Kankanhalli et al. [38], Rifkin [2], Tussyadiah [4], Walljasper [15], and Yim et al. [71]. Social network was measured using six items involving social relationships and social commitment as an assembly that is connected through various social relationships based on the studies conducted by Aron et al. [46], Abreu et al. [5], Adler and Kwon [8], Arthur et al. [47], Botsman and Rogers [1], Boyd and Ellison [42], Morrison [43], Moshe and Lemer [76], Ok and Han [69], Park [16], Jun et al. [80], Porter and Kramer [45], Schindler and Bickar [81], and Zarrella and Zarrella [75]. Competitive advantage (relationship competitive advantage) was measured by three items involving the degree of superiority, wherein the competitive advantage factors of a sharing economy business can continuously create more relationship-based achievements than competitors. This was based on the studies conducted by Carter et al. [52], Hennig-Thurau et al. [78], Jaakkola et al. [49], and Palmatier et al. [77]. Achievements (continuance commitment) was measured by three items involving achievements regarding a sharing economy business formation of continuous consumer relationships based on the studies conducted by Bendapudi and Leone [82], Dibb and Meadows [67], Gilliand and Bello [58], Hennig-Thurau et al. [78], Shin and Leem [61], and Yi and Ji [62].

3.3. Data Collection and Analysis

Data was collected in this study using the questionnaire method. The following methods were used to verify the suitability of the measurement tool.

First, the social network and relationship competitive advantage of a sharing economy business were diagnosed. A sustainable competitive advantage framework was built for sharing economy businesses based on the literature study and interview results for assessing relationship characteristics and social capital from this perspective. The framework was applied to the sharing economy business cases centered on the evaluated research variables in order to give shape to research variables. A scale regarding the sustainable competitive advantage of sharing economy businesses was materialized using the delphi technique (a structured communication technique or method; also known as a systematic, interactive forecasting method which relies on a panel of experts for their ‘self-estimation’ and ‘keen insight’) for professionals within domestic sharing economy businesses regarding preceding investigation results. An additional critical analysis technique (CIT) analysis was conducted through open-ended questions regarding the relationship characteristics that were experienced by consumers in sharing economy business categories. This was done using individuals with social value activity experience in sharing economy businesses as the analysis unit. The details regarding research variables were extracted accordingly.

Furthermore, an accurate evaluation was performed on the measurement tool in this study, and preliminary and main surveys were conducted for each study using individuals with experience in purchasing shared products from sharing economy business as the subjects in order to collect reliable and valid data. After selecting suitable items through a repetitive evaluation and discussion on graduate students majoring in business administration for one month in March 2017, a preliminary survey was conducted on 100 subjects with experience in sharing economy businesses during 1–10 April 2017. Questionnaire items were revised and supplemented by reflecting the results of the preliminary survey, and the measurement tool was completed accordingly. The main survey involved an accurate evaluation of the measurement tool regarding sharing economy businesses as perceived by consumers. The convenience sampling method was used on consumers with experience in using services from a sharing economy business at least one time from 1–30 May 2017 in order to collect reliable and valid data. Data collection occurred through a specialized online survey agency focusing on university students and working individuals. Questionnaires were conducted through online and mobile sharing economy community forums and also distributed via e-mail after receiving prior consent; they received as an e-mail reply. Of all 540 responses that were obtained, responses from 522 subjects without missing values were used in the data analysis. The SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 statistical packages were used as the data analysis method to conduct reliability, validity, suitability, and path analyses.

4. Results

4.1. Demographic Characteristics of Research Subjects

Based on the demographic characteristics of the survey subjects, the gender distribution was relatively balanced with 56.3% (294 subjects) women and 43.7% (228 subjects) men. In terms of age, 42.1% (220 subjects) were in their 20s, 36.6% (191 subjects) were in their 30s, 15.7% (82 subjects) were in their 40s, and 5.6% (29 subjects) were in their 50s. In terms of education level, individuals who had graduated or were enrolled in university had the highest proportion at 81.6% (426 subjects), 8.0% had graduated or were enrolled in graduate school or higher (42 subjects), 5.2% (27 subjects) were individuals who had graduated or were enrolled in a junior college, and 4.6% (24 subjects) were high school graduates or lower. In terms of occupation, 32.2% (168 subjects) were in general office jobs, 15.3% (80 subjects) were students, 12.8% (67 subjects) were in professional fields, 11.5% (60 subjects) were homemakers, 7.9% (41 subjects) were in business administration/management positions, 5.4% (28 subjects) had other occupations, 5.0% (26 subjects) were government workers, 4.8% (25 subjects) were technical workers, 2.9% (15 subjects) were in sales service jobs, and 2.3% (12 subjects) were unemployed. In terms of marital status, 51.7% (270 subjects) were married, 48.3% (252 subjects) were single. For monthly average household income in Korean won [in U.S. dollar], 37.3% (197 subjects) had an income of less than ₩3–5 million [$2688.17–4480.29], 26.2% (137 subjects) had less than ₩5–7 million [$4480.29–6272.40], 13.0% (68 subjects) had less than ₩1–3 million [$896.06–2688.17], 11.3% (59 subjects) had less than ₩7–9 million [$6272.40–8064.52], 10.3% (54 subjects) had ₩9 million [$8064.52] or more, and 1.3% (7 subjects) had less than ₩1 million [$896.06].

4.2. Reliability and Validity Test

Before evaluating the measurement model, the Cronbach’s α coefficient, which verifies the internal consistency regarding each study concept, was calculated to verify reliability. First, the varimax rotation was used on the 12 items that explain factors related to relationship characteristics for a factor analysis. In the results, four factors of “mutual influence (three questions)”, “sense of belonging (three questions)”, “fulfillment of needs (three questions)”, and “emotional connection (three questions)”, with an eigenvalue of 1.0 or higher, were extracted, as shown in the Appendix A (see Table A2). The total variant that was explained by these four factors was 72.348%, and the Cronbach’s α was 0.721 or higher for all factors, demonstrating that the questions had high reliability.

The varimax rotation was used on the 12 items that explain factors related to social capital for a factor analysis. In the results, four factors of “information sharing (three questions)”, “self-fulfillment (three questions)”, “social participation (three questions)”, and “pleasure (three questions)”, with an eigenvalue of 1.0 or higher, were extracted as shown in the Appendix A (see Table A3). The total variant that was explained by these four factors was 71.035%, and the Cronbach’s α was 0.715 or higher for all factors, demonstrating that the questions had high reliability.

The varimax rotation was used on the six items that explain factors related to social network for a factor analysis. In the results, two factors of “social relationship (three questions)”, and “social commitment (three questions)”, with an eigenvalue of 1.0 or higher, were extracted, as shown in the Appendix A (see Table A4). The total variant that was explained by these two factors was 74.919%, and the Cronbach’s α was 0.777 or higher for all factors, demonstrating that the questions had high reliability.

The Appendix A (see Table A5) shows the results of verifying the single dimensionality of each research variable of sharing economy business achievements. The factor load of each single factor was 0.814 or higher. The reliability of each single factor was also found to be high with 0.783 or higher.

4.3. Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The results of the confirmatory factor analysis are shown in the Appendix A (see

Table A6. Confirmatory factory analysis results.

Measured Item	Non-standardized Coefficient	Standardized Coefficient	S.E.	C.R.	Construct Reliability	AVE
Relationship Characteristics
Mutual Influence
1	1.000	0.760	-	-	0.801	0.670
2	0.995	0.798	0.037	20.508
3	0.986	0.794	0.031	17.070
Sense of Belonging
1	1.000	0.740	-	-	0.849	0.622
2	0.961	0.867	0.041	20.082
3	0.682	0.881	0.028	13.815
Fulfillment of Needs
1	1.000	0.695	-	-	0.749	0.622
2	0.770	0.706	0.049	26.313
3	0.672	0.945	0.025	13.695
Emotional Connection
1	1.000	0.764	-	-	0.915	0.678
2	0.966	0.893	0.038	16.628
3	0.782	0.976	0.032	13.797
Social Capital
Information Sharing
1	1.000	0.805	-	-	0.732	0.625
2	0.947	0.712	0.054	27.231
3	0.915	0.883	0.031	15.700
Self-fulfillment
1	1.000	0.807	-	-	0.805	0.657
2	0.966	0.823	0.446	21.408
3	0.894	0.868	0.321	15.409
Social Participation
1	1.000	0.886	-	-	0.779	0.637
2	0.938	0.968	0.059	23.151
3	0.811	0.917	0.040	15.645
Pleasure
1	1.000	0.944	-	-	0.839	0.660
2	0.886	0.735	0.045	23.124
3	0.863	0.720	0.021	10.573
Social Network
Social Relationships
1	1.000	0.859	-	-	0.763	0.634
2	0.861	0.696	0.036	21.186
3	0.673	0.688	0.026	15.365
Social Commitment
1	1.000	0.937	-	-	0.873	0.674
2	0.981	0.906	0.038	15.447
3	0.813	0.847	0.018	7.221
Relationship Competitive Advantage
1	1.000	0.882	-	-	0.769	0.678
2	0.954	0.801	0.044	19.646
3	0.910	0.908	0.031	13.746
Continuance Commitment
1	1.000	0.808	-	-	0.871	0.716
2	0.950	0.856	0.028	13.635
3	0.934	0.824	0.021	10.421

). The results of measuring the non-standardized coefficient, standardized coefficient, S.E., error variance, C.R., construct reliability, and average variance extraction value (AVE) showed that the standardized coefficient was 0.6 or higher, thus securing construct validity. The average variance extraction value was 0.5 or higher for all results, thus securing convergent validity. Construct reliability was 0.7 or higher for all results, thus securing internal consistency and convergent validity. In this study, the suitability and parameter of the path analysis were measured through maximum-likelihood classification. The goodness of fit index of the path analysis regarding the continuance commitment of sharing economy businesses was X² = 355.93(df = 5, p = 0.000), GFI = 0.934, AGFI = 0.927, RMR = 0.004, NFI = 0.934, CFI = 0.923, RMSEA = 0.042.

4.4. Research Hypothesis Testing

Figure 2 and

Table 1. Results of verifying research hypotheses.

Type	Pathway			Estimate	S.E.	C.R.	p-Value	Result
H1-1-1	Mutual Influence	→	Social Relationships	0.251	0.043	5.796	0.000	Accept
H1-1-2	Sense of Belonging	→	Social Relationships	0.062	0.043	1.437	0.151	Reject
H1-1-3	Fulfillment of Needs	→	Social Relationships	0.011	0.045	0.247	0.805	Reject
H1-1-4	Emotional Connection	→	Social Relationships	0.139	0.050	2.760	0.006	Accept
H1-2-1	Mutual Influence	→	Social Commitment	0.131	0.038	3.450	0.001	Accept
H1-2-2	Sense of Belonging	→	Social Commitment	0.224	0.038	5.882	0.000	Accept
H1-2-3	Fulfillment of Needs	→	Social Commitment	0.039	0.039	0.999	0.318	Reject
H1-2-4	Emotional Connection	→	Social Commitment	0.359	0.044	8.128	0.000	Accept
H2-1-1	Information Sharing	→	Social Relationships	0.059	0.041	1.433	0.153	Reject
H2-1-2	Self-fulfillment	→	Social Relationships	0.182	0.046	3.924	0.000	Accept
H2-1-3	Social Participation	→	Social Relationships	0.151	0.039	3.866	0.000	Accept
H2-1-4	Pleasure	→	Social Relationships	0.174	0.042	4.123	0.000	Accept
H2-2-1	Information Sharing	→	Social Commitment	0.090	0.036	2.498	0.013	Accept
H2-2-2	Self-fulfillment	→	Social Commitment	0.163	0.041	3.982	0.000	Accept
H2-2-3	Social Participation	→	Social Commitment	0.132	0.034	3.851	0.000	Accept
H2-2-4	Pleasure	→	Social Commitment	0.079	0.037	2.133	0.033	Accept
H3-1	Social Relationships	→	Relationship Competitive Advantage	0.205	0.033	15.239	0.000	Accept
H3-2	Social Commitment	→	Relationship Competitive Advantage	0.507	0.047	23.678	0.000	Accept
H4	Relationship Competitive Advantage	→	Continuance Commitment	0.665	0.033	19.758	0.000	Accept

S.E. = Standard Error; C.R. = Critical Ratio.

show the results of verifying the structural model research hypotheses regarding the relationship characteristics of sharing economy businesses and the relationship of continuance commitment with social capital. The verification results of each research hypothesis are as follows.

The results of the study are as follows (see Table 1). First, the results of the path analysis between the social network (social relationship, social commitment) and relationship characteristics of sharing economy businesses showed that mutual influence had a significant effect on both social relationship (β = 0.251, CR = 5.796, p = 0.000) and social commitment (β = 0.131, CR = 3.450, p = 0.001). Sense of belonging had a significant effect on social commitment (β = 0.224, CR = 5.882, p = 0.000), but did not have a significant effect on social relationship (β = 0.062, CR = 1.437, p = 0.151). Fulfillment of needs did not have a significant effect on social relationship (β = 0.011, CR = 0.247, p = 0.805) and social commitment (β = 0.039, CR = 0.999, p = 0.318), and emotional connection had a significant effect on social relationship (β = 0.139, CR = 2.760, p = 0.006) and social commitment (β = 0.359, CR = 8.128, p = 0.000). Second, the results of the path analysis between the social network (social relationship, social commitment) and social capital of sharing economy businesses showed that information sharing had a significant effect on social commitment (β = 0.090, CR = 2.498, p = 0.013), but did not have a significant effect on social relationship (β = 0.059, CR = 1.433, p = 0.153). Self-fulfillment had a significant effect on both social relationship (β = 0.182, CR = 3.924, p = 0.000) and social commitment (β = 0.163, CR = 3.982, p = 0.000), and social participation also had a significant effect on both social relationship (β = 0.151, CR = 3.866, p = 0.000) and social commitment (β = 0.132, CR = 3.851, p = 0.000). Pleasure also had a significant effect on social relationship (β = 0.174, CR = 4.123, p = 0.000) and social commitment (β = 0.079, CR = 2.133, p = 0.033). Third, the results of the path analysis between the social relationship, social commitment, relationship competitive advantage, and continuance commitment of sharing economy businesses showed that social relationship had a significant effect on relationship competitive advantage (β = 0.205, CR = 0.15.239, p = 0.000), social commitment on relationship competitive advantage (β = 0.507, CR = 23.678, p = 0.000), and relationship competitive advantage on continuance commitment (β = 0.665, CR = 19.758, p = 0.000).

Based on the study results between these research variables, first, the significant results between the mutual influence & emotional connection of relationship characteristics and social relationship can be regarded as similar to the perspective that the relationship dimension promotes interaction, which shows the quality of the social relationships between transactors in a group. The cognitive dimension leads to actions that bring about mutual influence by sharing the standards, values, attitudes, and beliefs of a group in social relationship [H1-1-1] [6], in addition to the results of a study that found that a community generally shares a common purpose, understanding, interdependence between social members, communication, and sense of emotional connection as core factors [H1-1-4] [79]. Regarding significant results between mutual influence, sense of belonging, emotional connection, and social commitment, these results can be viewed under the same context of (1) the study reporting that a successful community will share a common purpose, activity, oral traditions that are passed down, and a set of values, and members will regard the meaning of the group with importance and attempt to align their values with the group’s values [H1-2-1] [70]; (2) a study claiming that a sense of belonging as in membership provides members with emotional safety and becomes a basis for expressing one’s desires and emotions and forming a social commitment in a sense of closeness with one another [H1-2-2] [83]; and (3) a study reporting that members want to develop important resources and a sense of belonging through the community and share their emotional connection and awareness [H1-2-4] [84].

Second, the significant results between self-fulfillment, social participation, pleasure, and social relationship of social capital may be regarded as the same results that were derived in (1) the study that states how people invest in the social network and come to form expectations regarding trust, standards for reciprocity, and self-fulfillment, and this is required in order to successfully take part in group activities in social relationships [H2-1-2] [26]; (2) the study reporting that increased communication & social participation and formation of new social relationships may occur through a connection with bonding social capital [H2-1-3] [37]; and (3) the study claiming that sense of connectedness, responsibility, closeness, pleasure, sustainability, and commitment, which are properties of the social capital network, can be conceptualized as important factors of reciprocity in social relationship [H2-1-4] [85].

The significant results between information sharing, self-fulfillment, social participation, pleasure, and social commitment are similar to the results of (1) the study reporting that the characteristics of a connected network of social capital have the advantage of sharing new information and knowledge, and expanding opportunities to acquire resources in social commitment [H2-2-1] [73]; (2) the study claiming that consumers feel a sense of self-definition or self-fulfillment when they consume a product or service, thus increasing communication and social commitment regarding a product of service that reflects this effectively [H2-2-2] [74]; (3) the study on how the motivation of self-fulfillment using social media ultimately serves as a means for social interaction, leading to enhanced social commitment [H2-2-2] [86]; (4) the study that found that self-fulfillment through social participation offers the power to strengthen social commitment between people who share similar thoughts [H2-2-2] [87]; (5) the study regarding how people express themselves in social participation and build their identity and sense of self through revealing information to actively promote and maintain relationships with others in terms of social commitment [H2-2-3] [88]; and (6) the study claiming that sharing and communicating matters of interest by forming a network can also be used for simple entertainment purposes, and information which provides much pleasure increases social commitment and serves as an influential factor regarding social presence and relational embeddedness [H2-2-4] [81].

Third, the significant results between social relationship, social commitment, and relationship competitive advantage support (1) the study reporting that, because effective governance between organizations enables cooperation in social relationship to occur more freely for value creation, relationship specific assets, knowledge sharing, or supplementary resources can be strategically combined, so that an organization achieves a relationship competitive advantage [H3-1] [10]; and (2) the perspective that when relationship specific assets accumulate—such as a longer relationship between organizations or increased transactions between organizations based on social commitment—the relationship competitive advantage between the organizations will also increase [H3-2] [77].

Fourth, the significant results between relationship competitive advantage and continuance commitment support the perspective that if a consumer is committed into the relationship, and has positive views on the benefits of the relationship, referring to relationship competitive advantage, the relationship with the company will likely become long-term, referring to continuance commitment [H4] [82]. Furthermore, as the strength of the relationship increases, the customer will be more likely to seek greater benefits from the relationship [78]. We also find that the important point in a transaction relationship refers to creating a long-term relationship with customers and continuously maintaining and developing this type of exchange relationship [89]. Thus, [H4] was supported that relationship competitive advantage is significantly associated with continuance commitment.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

Upon examining the continuous competitive advantage of sharing economy businesses through relationship-based perspectives in this study, the role of social capital that emphasizes the value network perspective can be easily reflected. The structure features of sharing economy businesses can promote actions that pursue group benefits by creating standards or rules in the group. From the relationship perspective, the quality of the relationship (interaction) between transactors in a group is promoted, while the group’s standards, values, beliefs, and attitudes are shared from a cognitive perspective that can lead to actions that bring about mutual benefits. Furthermore, as noted in the interview with a sharing economy experts or professionals for developing measurement tools in this study, if the vision of strengthened competitiveness and coexistence of sharing economy businesses is shared and a more collaborative supply network stage is pursued through this, it could assist a company in a gaining sustainable relationship competitive advantage. Moreover, social capital, social commitment, and core value-sharing activities can help understand the importance of achievements in sharing economy businesses in academic and practical terms. They can be used as theoretical data for composing core values as sharing activities. This research is a departure from the earlier research that referred only to the value and potential of a sharing economy business. This research helps to integrate the elements of sharing economy business and shared value services and to create better social values for consumers. Furthermore, it will be able to establish theoretical conditions for maximizing competitiveness and sustainable relationship competitive advantage model and to maximize academic achievement.

The marketing implications of this study are as follows. First, in order to increase interest in information on sharing economy service users, the value of individual activity, and social relationships related to the reality of shared information, from the perspective of relationship characteristics, there must be more active sharing of information between sharing economy service users. Furthermore, there must be active responses to the demands of users and mutual influence, which must regard user’s social relationship with great importance. The social relationship of users of sharing economy services must be regarded with importance, a close relationship must be formed through comments on user information, and emotional connection that can create a sense of belonging with users must be increased. From the perspective of social capital, actions related to sharing economy services must match the interests of users. Moreover, users must increasingly express their opinions about certain matters, there must be self-fulfillment where an individual’s interests can be presented first in the service, the issues presented in the sharing economy business must be considered and discussed with neighbors, stress must be relived through social participation and experience sharing economy services through opportunities that can deeply examine the information provided on other people, it must be entertaining and beneficial, and increase pleasure, which can give users a sense of satisfaction.

Second, in order to increase social commitment—wherein sense of fellowship, sense of belonging, and social relationship of sharing economy users are regarded as important—there must be increased active information sharing between sharing economy service users, mutual influence regarding the importance of social relationship and actively responding to demands, sense of belonging that forms a sense of safety and social participation as a part of sharing economy activities by using sharing economy services, importance of sharing relationships between users, formation of close relationships, and emotional connection that can create a sense of fellowship. From the perspective of social capital, there must be increased sharing of professional knowledge related to sharing economy services; sharing of recent trends; sharing of information on individual usage activities; alignment of interests; expression of opinions regarding particular matters; self-fulfillment, such as proposing one’s interest; considering and discussing provided issues; social participation, such as taking an interest in information on other people; and pleasure, such as entertainment, benefits, decreased stress, and satisfaction from experiencing sharing economy services.

Third, in order to achieve deeper relationships regarding the sharing economy through information activities from sharing economy service users, increase the expectation of continuous relationships and sharing economy services, and increase relationship competitive advantage related to active activities as a member compared to similar services, there must be increased interest in information on sharing economy service users, values regarding user activities, social relationship that increases the reality of shared information, sense of fellowship with sharing economy service users, sense of belonging as a member, and social commitment that regards user social relationship with importance.

Fourth, in order to increase the importance of maintaining continuous relationships with sharing economy services, expectation of long-term relationships, and continuance commitment related to benefits from being part of this long-term relationship, there must be a deeper relationship regarding the sharing economy through information sharing with sharing economy service users compared to other similar services, an increased desire to have a continuous relationship with the service, and increase the relationship competitive advantage so that users can actively take part as a member.

Based on the above, an important part of the strategic utilization aspect of a sharing economy is focused on communication for social relationship and social commitment. To do this, firms must expand services through various partnerships, unusual events, specific local promotions, and short-term pop-up shops. Further, firms must secure the social connections through the strategies of various partnerships, unusual events, specific local promotions, and short-term pop-up shops. In addition, firms are also encouraged to secure the social connections through the strategies of aggressive customer support hotlines, media exposure of member activities, sharing economy of joint purchasing methods, communityization beyond transaction sites, redeployment of shared products, division of use time of shared services, etc.

In sum, the findings of our research provide the business implications for the firms that appropriate business strategies should be developed to gain relationship competitive advantage in the sharing economy businesses by considering the relationship characteristics and social capital issues along with other relevant factors. The core benefit of our study from sustainability perspective is that firms can develop the core strategies for efficiently pursuing sharing economy businesses by considering the critical factors discussed in our paper. Thus, the business strategy development effort can help firms maintain their relationship competitive advantage in the sharing economy business and enhance their business performance in the competitive market with sustainable development.

Hence, the results of this study will not only enable a social relationship between members in a sharing economy business, but can be applied as a phenomenon that can effectively explain the continuous maintenance, strengthening, and expansion of this relationship for theoretical expansion and evaluation. From the perspective of shared values and information sharing in this study, the variables that are applied in sharing economy businesses were categorized, a criterion was developed on variables based on individuals with community activities related to sharing economy services and investigated accordingly, and the study’s suitability and validity was hence increased. However, there is still a need to gradually and systematically examine the measurement factors and relationships that were not considered in this study. Further studies must reveal the many variables that serve as preceding and mediating factors—such as the user’s psychological characteristics—from the perspective of social relationships between the sharing economy service and the user. Furthermore, new comparison studies must consider the types of shared services and characteristics of shared products to further verify the distinction of the influence of more valid sharing economy businesses in the research results.