Exploring the Relationship between Host Self-Description and Consumer Purchase Behavior Using a Self-Presentation Strategy

Information on short-term rental platforms plays an important role in consumer purchase behavior. However, information asymmetry between host and guest has been identified as a problem in sharing economy contexts. In this paper, to fill this gap, the authors develop six hypotheses about the focal impacts of self-presentation strategy and the moderating effects of third-party certification. Based on data from Airbnb, the authors first examine how the tactics of self-presentation strategy influence consumer purchase behavior. The results show that different self-presentation tactics affect consumer purchase behavior differently. The authors also found that the third-party certification level weakens the influence of self-presentation strategy interactions on consumer purchase behavior.