Entry of Providers Onto a Sharing Economy Platform: Macro-Level Factors and Social Interaction

Despite the recent proliferation of sharing economy platforms, little is known about what drives providers (individual people who own assets) to enter onto a sharing economy platform. The platform does not own the assets that underlie transactions but depends on individuals to provide them. In the burgeoning market of home rental properties, we investigate the role of macro-level factors to explain geographical differences in the number of...