Too much of a good thing? An experimental investigation of the impact of digital technology-enabled business models on individual stress and future adoption of sustainable services

The pervasive diffusion of digital technologies affords the development of innovative and sustainable business models. With increased connectivity, options arise for enabling sharing-based services with pay-per-use pricing. Besides the merits that these services gather, e.g., concerning sustainability, flexibility and economics, less is known about the potential adverse impacts on individuals. Thus, we employed an experimental research design to examine how digital technology-enabled business models affect individual stress and perception concerning the future usage of these services. Specifically, we investigated the context of car sharing, a service that has recently been advanced by the use of digital technologies and received increasing adoption rates. The empirical results indicate that digital technology-enabled business model designs significantly influence psychological stress in an unfavorable manner, and hence, negatively affect the willingness to use car sharing. Thus, our investigation points to the importance of accounting for potential dysfunctional societal effects of information systems in sustainability transformation.