Mine is yours? Using sentiment analysis to explore the degree of risk in the sharing economy

The sharing economy is a new business model of e-commerce that stimulates new thinking in different ways. However, security and privacy are the most critical problems in the sharing economy. Stakeholders in this area need to build trust through online reviews. It may be risky when most people make decisions by reading fewer reviews. This research considers the emotions of comments in online reviews, and discovers the positive-negative sentiment ratio based on sentiment analysis. The sentiment ratio matches the level of risk, and customers view it as being suitable decision-making. The results suggest that the selected rankings were different between the base sentiment ratio and the rating stars for accommodations. In addition, different generation customers may make different decisions when they are shown pictures, room information, and the sentiment ratio for online reviews. Generation Z (under 20) and Generation Y (21-34) paid more attention to reviews, cost, and cleanliness. Generation X (35-49) paid attention to cleanliness, reviews, and total stars. The three generations all indicated the importance of online reviews for decision-making. On the other hand, high-risk people are more likely to be affected by the negative reviews, and make different decisions.