Discrimination in the sharing economy

Many sharing economy platforms face the same crucial challenge: How do you convince people to enter a stranger’s car (Uber) or home (Airbnb)? One common strategy for creating engagement is to foster trust by displaying personal information about sellers in the form of profile photos, names, and biographies. As Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, put it: “Access is built on trust, and trust is built on transparency. When you remove anonymity, it brings out the best in people.” I will present the results of three projects, which highlight the negative consequences of this strategy. Specifically, I find that people rely on profile photos to discriminate against unattractive sellers and sellers from racial minorities. To counteract potential discrimination, some sellers remove personal information from their profile. However, in a series of lab experiments, I find that this strategy may not be effective, as people distrust and avoid sellers without profile photos. In general, my findings highlight that, on sharing economy platforms, transparency and trust (often promoted by companies to increase engagement) may conflict with sellers’ preferences for anonymity and fairness.

Contact Ana Martinovici for the Zoom details.