“I Am Your Partner, Am I Not?” An inquiry into stakeholder inclusion in platform organizations in times of crisis
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
In this paper we contribute to the understanding of how failed stakeholder inclusion in times of crisis can lead to distrust of platform organizations. Drawing on the revelatory case of Airbnb, we explore how stakeholder inclusion was practiced when the platform was confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, a severe context in which its business practices were disrupted and social interactions uprooted. Our qualitative analysis suggests that platform leaders failed to notice a dissonance between articulated stakeholder meaning and understanding (i.e., what they said) and the crisis response practices implemented (i.e., what they did and did not do). This ultimately fostered distrust and selective disengagement as stakeholders re-interpreted Airbnb's claims about their role and how stakeholders were given voice in times of crisis. Drawing on research in psychology, we utilize the concept of inattentional blindness as a novel metaphorical explanation for failed stakeholder inclusion in platform organizations in times of crisis.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 113776 |
Journal | Journal of Business Research |
Volume | 160 |
Publication status | Published - May 2023 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
ORCID | /0000-0002-0958-5514/work/165877128 |
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Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- Inattentional blindness, Platform economy, Platform organizations, Stakeholder inclusion, Trust