Unraveling sustainable behaviors in the sharing economy: An empirical study of bicycle-sharing in China

Abstract Sustainable behaviors in the sharing economy have attracted attentions from both researchers and practitioners. Prior literature has mostly focused on sustainable development in the traditional economy and treated sustainability as an influential factor of participation in the sharing economy. Based on the self-determination theory and the stimulus-organism-response (S–O-R) framework, this paper explores the formation mechanisms of sustainable behaviors in the bicycle-sharing economy. An online survey was conducted in China and data were collected from 387 shared-bicycle users. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the research model and research hypotheses. The study presents three critical findings. First, environmental stimulation (including government laws, enterprise regulations, and social ethics) have a significant and positive impact on user's sense of self-determination (including perceived autonomy, perceived competence, and perceived relatedness). Second, both perceived competence and perceived relatedness can help promote user sustainable behaviors. Third, this study also supports that both perceived competence and perceived relatedness have a mediating effect on the relationship between environmental stimuli and sustainable behaviors of shared-bicycle users. The paper offers insights to both government and firms supporting bicycle-sharing on how to effectively elicit user sustainable behaviors in the bicycle-sharing economy.