The influence of personal motivation and environmental stimuli on customer participation and engagement behavior: the mediating role of experience evaluation

Purpose This paper aims to help hosts or service providers of sharing economy-based accommodation (SEA) to attract new customers and retain existing customers by exploring the antecedents and outcomes of customers’ participation intention. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based empirical study was conducted to explore the proposed relationships in SEA. Partial least squares modeling with SmartPLS was used to estimate the model and interpret the results. Findings The study shows that personal factors (utilitarian and hedonic motivation) positively influence customers’ participation intention. The relationship between environmental stimuli (perceived information fit-to-task and perceived visual appeal) and participation intention is negatively moderated by hedonic motivation. Furthermore, the results suggest a positive effect of participation intention on customer engagement behavior and the partial mediating role of experience evaluation. Practical implications This paper provides industry practitioners of SEA with valuable insights on attracting new customers and retaining regular customers. First, they can distinguish customers in terms of motivation and provide information based on their requirements. Second, they can encourage customers to evaluate their experience and provide feedback, which would help in promoting the accommodation and service and building a long-term and harmonious relationship with the customers. Originality/value This study first investigates the interaction effect of personal motivation and environmental stimuli on participation intention in SEA. It further examines the influence of participation intention on customer engagement behavior and the mediating role of experience evaluation.