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Paper Number
ICIS2025-1754
Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
The decentralized model of the sharing economy, which lacks formal hierarchy, enhances informal groups' influence on user practices and economic outcomes. Research on informal networks in traditional settings has been conducted, but their influence—especially the role of in-group female leadership—within sharing economy remains underexplored. Leveraging expectation states theory (EST), we investigate how informal groups enhance platform profitability and resilience, while uncovering a paradox in female leadership effectiveness: female leadership faces a pronounced competence penalty in routine operations but becomes indispensable during crises. Informal groups boost revenue but female leaders’ contributions are marginalized under normal conditions, consistent with gendered devaluation in EST. Disasters disrupt these hierarchies: informal groups reverse the downward trend in revenue post-disasters, with female-led groups driving strong resilience effects. Our study contributes to informal governance in sharing economy, challenging EST’s assumptions on gendered competence perceptions and illuminating the precarious authority of female leaders in digital platforms.
Recommended Citation
Pan, Jingwen; Lu, Angela; and Fang, Yulin, "Sharing Economy Informal Groups and In-Group Female Leadership: Evidence from Airbnb" (2025). ICIS 2025 Proceedings. 9.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2025/is_good/is_good/9
Sharing Economy Informal Groups and In-Group Female Leadership: Evidence from Airbnb
The decentralized model of the sharing economy, which lacks formal hierarchy, enhances informal groups' influence on user practices and economic outcomes. Research on informal networks in traditional settings has been conducted, but their influence—especially the role of in-group female leadership—within sharing economy remains underexplored. Leveraging expectation states theory (EST), we investigate how informal groups enhance platform profitability and resilience, while uncovering a paradox in female leadership effectiveness: female leadership faces a pronounced competence penalty in routine operations but becomes indispensable during crises. Informal groups boost revenue but female leaders’ contributions are marginalized under normal conditions, consistent with gendered devaluation in EST. Disasters disrupt these hierarchies: informal groups reverse the downward trend in revenue post-disasters, with female-led groups driving strong resilience effects. Our study contributes to informal governance in sharing economy, challenging EST’s assumptions on gendered competence perceptions and illuminating the precarious authority of female leaders in digital platforms.
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