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2021/2022  AO-ASTHV1001U  Collaborative Consumption in Tourism and Hospitality

English Title
Collaborative Consumption in Tourism and Hospitality

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Third Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
AO Study Board for cand.soc.
Course coordinator
  • Szilvia Gyimothy Mørup-Petersen - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Customer behaviour
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 21-06-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
This course aims to consolidate consumer behaviour insights with specific focus on collaborative and moral consumption in a tourism and hospitality context. The specific learning objectives of the course are the following:
  • Describe and to discuss the assumptions that underlie collaborative consumption by combining insights from social psychology, consumer culture theory and moral consumption
  • Identify and analyse the relationship between relevant models, concepts and theories from the curriculum.
  • Analyse and explain the differences between consumption practices on commercial, vs cooperative platforms and their relationships to moral consumerism.
  • Evaluate different organisational solutions to build, enhance and repair trust among peers
  • Apply these models and concepts, singly or combined to fit a concrete case situation under study and critically assess the value and relevance of models, concepts and theories presented throughout the course in relation to their practical application in a relevant case.
Examination
Collaborative Consumption in Tourism and Hospitality:
Exam ECTS 5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-3
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Case based assignment
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Spring and Spring
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

The exam is an oral group examination (based on a written product of a maximum of 10 pages). Throughout the entire duration of the course, students will work on a self-selected mini-project within the topic of collaborative consumption. The preparation of the written project follows the principles of problem-based-learning (PBL) and peer assessment (in paired buddy groups), which will facilitate students’ synthesizing knowledge gained through the course and to apply them on a specific empirical case.

 
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The emergent collaborative (sharing or platform) economy has radically disrupted and transformed the  consumption of tourism. Platform corporations and cooperatives facilitate short-term accommodation rental, house swapping, ridesharing, free guided tours, couchsurfing, dinner hosting and similar peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions between host communities and guests. This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of social, cultural ad psychological aspects of collaborative consumption, touching upon P2P phenomena in different contexts. Students will develop in-depth knowledge of motivational perspectives, trust mechanisms, peer rating and meritocratic reputational systems. They will critically discuss the changing social dynamics and power asymmetries arising from collaborative platform strategies and consumer performances. You will discuss how public and private actors address current challenges presented by sharing economy disruptions, including skewed competition, misbehaving customers, precarious labour and social discrimination. You will work with complex dilemmas related to new sustainable practices offered by the sharing economy and in your assessment of business models, you will address ethical, social and economic rationales.  Through exploring the character, scope, opportunities and challenges of sharing economy disruptions, you will gain both theoretical and practical insights into the digital and collaborative prospects of tourism management.

You will learn about different types of sharing platforms, ranging from global platform corporations (such as Airbnb and Uber) to local platform cooperatives This elective is a cross-disciplinary and research based course, integrating the latest advances from sustainable operations management, organisation theory and service management. The diverse thematic and theoretical perspectives will be synthesised in a competitive case format, where students in groups will explore and solve a sustainable design challenge for a given hospitality business. This course requires no previous knowledge of hospitality management (but an undergraduate-level knowledge of the basic principles of organization theory and management is expected).  
Description of the teaching methods
Through providing an overview of relevant literature about content and methods, as well as some hands-on insights from research practice the course is designed to be highly interactive. The course builds upon the principles of problem-based learning (PBL). Students are expected to devise their own learning trajectory, by analysing a self-selected empirical case of sharing platform (ranging from global platform corporations) to local platform cooperatives. In class activities entail group exercises and two workshops on sharing economy operations. The introductory session informs about the aims and structure of the course, the compulsory and recommended readings as well as the workshop exercises. The final module entails an in-class feedback session and briefing about the exam.

Preliminary overview of modules:

Module 1. Introduction to the course and the PBL-process (2 hours)
Module 2. Why do we share? Understanding collaborative consumption and sharing cultures (3 hours)
Module 3. Platformcoops and moral consumption (3 hours)
Module 4. Trust mechanisms and reputation systems (3 hours)
Module 5. Consumer misbehaviour in the sharing economy (3 hours)
Module 6. Value co-creation and collaborative action in the sharing economy (3 hours)
Module 7. Workshop: Critical perspectives of social power dynamics in collaborative consumption (3 hours)
Module 8: Summing-Up + exam briefing (2 hours)
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will receive feedback in various forms during the course: For instance, through discussions in class, obligatory group assignments with oral feedback, and written feedback after the exam.
Student workload
Attending class 22 hours
Preparation 67,5 hours
Exam 48 hours
In total 137,5 hours
Expected literature

Course book and literature:

 

Shaw, D., Carrington, M., & Chatzidakis, A. (Eds.). (2016). Ethics and morality in consumption: interdisciplinary perspectives. Routledge.

+ 10-12 selected academic journal articles

 

Akhmedova, A., Mas-Machuca, M., & Marimon, F. (2020). Value co-creation in the sharing economy: The role of quality of service provided by peer. Journal of Cleaner Production, 266, 121736.

Belk, R. (2014). You are what you can access: Sharing and collaborative consumption online. Journal of business research, 67(8), 1595-1600.

Dredge, D., & Gyimóthy, S. (2015). The collaborative economy and tourism: Critical perspectives, questionable claims and silenced voices. Tourism recreation research, 40(3), 286-302)

Gyimóthy (2017). Networked cultures in the collaborative economy. In Dredge, Dianne & Gyimóthy, Szilvia (2017). Collaborative Economy and Tourism: Perspectives, Politics, Policies and Prospects. Cham: Springer International. Tourism on the Verge. (available online at CBS library)

Kas, J., Corten, R., & van de Rijt, A. (2020). Reputations in mixed-role markets: a theory and an experimental test. Social Science Research, 85, 102366.

Martin, D. M., Lindberg, F., & Fitchett, J. (2019). Why Can’t They Behave? Theorizing Consumer Misbehavior as Regime Misfit between Neoliberal and Nordic Welfare Models. In Nordic Consumer Culture (pp. 71-94). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Schaefers, T., Wittkowski, K., Benoit, S., & Ferraro, R. (2015). Customer misbehaviour in access-based consumption. Journal of Service Research, 19(1), 3-21.

 

Roelofsen, M., & Minca, C. (2018). The Superhost. Biopolitics, home and community in the Airbnb dream-world of global hospitality. Geoforum, 91, 170-181.
Last updated on 21-06-2021