Work

The Intertemporal Spillover of House Rules: How Governance Disclosures Shape Booking Decisions in Peer-to-Peer Accommodation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: House rules are a central governance mechanism in peer-to-peer accommodation, yet prior research reports mixed effects on guests’ booking behaviors. We propose that these inconsistencies arise from overlooking the intertemporal spillover of rules, the extent to which the consequences of violation extend beyond the focal stay. Drawing on construal level theory, we distinguish between High-Spillover Rules, which protect long-term property quality and future guest experience, and Low-Spillover Rules, which regulate encounter-bounded behaviors and operational procedures. Using natural language processing and hierarchical regression, we analyzed 883 P2P accommodation listings from a Chinese context. The results show that High-Spillover Rules increase booking volume, whereas Low-Spillover Rules decrease it only when host identity-relevant expressions are absent. The second experiment, with 138 samples, provides causal evidence that these effects are mediated by perceived quality and perceived threats to freedom, respectively. A third experiment, with 183 samples, further demonstrates that host identity-relevant expressions attenuate both effects by weakening the quality-signaling advantage of High-Spillover Rules and reducing autonomy-related resistance to Low-Spillover Rules. This research advances understanding of governance disclosures in P2P markets and offers actionable guidance for rule design and platform communication strategies.

Source: Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research

DOI: 10.3390/jtaer21090292

Authors: Jialei Wang, Dogan Gursoy, Mengying Zhang, Xiaorong Fu, Lifei Bai, Xi Huang

Institutions: Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Washington State University, Southwest Jiaotong University, Sichuan Normal University

Language: English

Topic: Sharing Economy and Platforms

Subfield: Marketing

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,207