The sharing economy and digital discrimination: The case of Airbnb

This research derives insights into digital discrimination through the lens of a series of online newspaper comments made in response to an article reporting Airbnb’s new anti-discrimination policy using text-mining and co-stakeholder analysis.

Abstract

Digital discrimination has become a buzz word following the recent reports of racial and other discrimination associated with Airbnb. This issue is perceived to pose serious concerns with the rapid growth of the sharing economy. This research derives insights into digital discrimination through the lens of a series of online newspaper comments made in response to an article reporting Airbnb's new anti-discrimination policy. The data were analysed by using text-mining and co-stakeholder analysis. The visualized network and each stakeholder's surrounding discourse reveal that digital discrimination contains multiple layers and meaning constructions. This paper provides a starting point for tourism and hospitality researchers to contribute to the thinking around the digital discrimination with the rapid growth of the sharing economy.