Understanding the Success of Sharing Economy Startups: A Necessary Condition Analysis

Abstract

Sharing economy businesses such as Uber and AirBnB have disrupted the traditional business models and drawn considerable attention from researchers. While many sharing economy startups are found, a majority of them go unnoticed and fail to reach a critical mass for survival. Prior studies have mostly focused on consumer engagement as success factors for sharing economy businesses. Yet, there is a scarcity of research on success factors at the entry level of sharing economy businesses, namely, the fundraising rounds. This study uses a Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) on 99 sharing economy startups to explore how human capital, innovativeness, and entrepreneurial footprint impact their fundraising success. Our findings show a large necessary effect for human capital and entrepreneurial footprint, and a medium effect for innovativeness on fundraising success. Additionally, firms only need a range of 30% to 40% level of three factors to achieve at least 40% level of fundraising success.