The term ‘sharing economy’ implies ‘sharing’, through alternative ownership and use of products and services (Clemens et al., 2022). The concept of a sharing economy was first presented by Lawrence Lessig in 2008 (Colin & Brangier, 2022). It is distinct from the traditional idea of sharing, as the sharing economy is enabled by digital communication, though which people trade with others, at any time, around the world (Dabbous & Tarhini, 2021). The notion of a sharing economy is of vital importance to nations as it has several benefits (Geissinger et al., 2019). A number of academicians and practitioners investigate the concept and highlight its critical role in the economy, as well as from the perspective of the customer (Borges et al., 2020; Nikpay, 2020; Petera & Šoljaková, 2020).

The sharing economy has been introduced in several sectors, and has major benefits for asset owners and customers. The rapid growth of the sharing economy has been noted in the traditional economic system (Moreno-Izquierdo et al., 2019; Mouratidis et al., 2021), however, it also affects consumption patterns of consumers and has a major effect on product manufacturing companies. Implementing the idea of a sharing economy in the traditional economic system moves it toward the consumption patterns of people. Because digital communication interventions have the potential to change consumption patterns, alternative ownership and use of services and products influences customers and affects customer intention (Florini & Pauli, 2018). The changing consumption patterns of people lead to community development globally, as the idea of a sharing economy has a wide influence on the development of communities (Govindan et al., 2020) through alternative ownership, services, and products. The idea of a sharing economy is emerging in China. As shown in Fig. 1, the sharing economy in China is at the top. Alternative ownership and use of products and services, along with the digital communication technologies prevailing in China, have a major influence on community development (Giusti et al., 2020; Ralević et al., 2020).

Fig. 1.

Sharing economy of China in 2020.

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Source: Statista.

In 2020, 830 million Chinese consumers were involved in the sharing economy, comprising 84 million service providers. Les Echos (a French financial newspaper) reveals that the total business value is 43.23 billion euros, meaning the sharing economy trend in China is increasing significantly (Alawi, 2021; Alsahlawi, 2021; Alshuaybat, 2021; Alsoud et al., 2021; Guo et al., 2021; Martanto, 2021) which makes an important contribution to the business market. It has significant economic benefits for communities at the national level. The concept of the supply chain is majorly involved in the sharing economy, and has major importance in promoting the idea amongst people. Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in China is well connected with the sharing economy (Sánchez-Flores et al., 2020). The important relationship between supply chains and the sharing economy is highlighted in the literature (Hu et al., 2019), which is the foundation of the current study. However, customer intention toward the sharing economy is a challenge. The positive intention of customers for a sharing economy in relation to supply chains is the most significant part of supply chain sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China. Customer intention is a major element in the process of promoting SDGs in supply chains (Sánchez-Flores et al., 2020). The positive intention of customer is always required for the development of the connection between a sharing economy and supply chain sustainability, as shown by the literature investigating the relationship between SDGs and the sharing economy (Shereni, 2019). Thus, this study proposes a connection between SSCM, customer intention, and sustainable development in the supply chain (Al-Maadeed et al., 2022; Churchill et al., 2021; Krizanic et al., 2021; Lin & Wu 2021; Streimikiene & Akberdina 2021).

In this study, the relationships between the environmental pillar of SSCM, the economic pillar of SSCM, and the social pillar of SSCM are considered in relation to customer intention and SDGs. SSCM practices are considered in relation to the sharing economy. This relationship is considered in the research design, on the basic of previous studies researcher developed the conceptual framework of the study in Fig. 2. For the selection of an appropriate research design and method, the study considers previous studies in the field of supply chains, sharing economies, and SDGs. The review of previous studies highlights the large number conducted using quantitative research methods, of which most follow a cross-sectional research design. The relationship in this study is consistent with a quantitative research method. Following previous studies, such as Mohajan (2020) and Lahane et al. (2020), this study selects a quantitative research method. However, the study uses primary data rather than secondary data, because the study analyses the behaviour of customers who have knowledge of SSCM and sharing economy experience from China. Thus, while using a quantitative research method, this study uses first-hand data to examine the relationships between the variables.

Fig. 2.

Framework of the study.

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The selection of target respondents is very important in any research, because the results are based on the responses of the respondents. Inappropriate respondent selection can decrease the originality of the results. This study is based on SSCM practices in a sharing economy in relation to general people. Therefore, the target respondents are customers with related knowledge and shared economy experience from China. Only respondents with knowledge related to the sharing economy are selected. 650 respondents involved in sharing economy practices related to supply chains are chosen via Amazon Mechanical Turk, and questionnaires are distributed electronically. This online survey of Chinese customers returned 260 questionnaires which are used in the data analysis. Simple random sampling of the respondents is used. After the data collection, the study employs initial data screening to remove errors (Ahmad Mahmoud et al., 2018; Wesarat et al., 2018). Initial data screening before the data analysis is important to fix errors in the data, so the study removes various types of error (Babagana et al., 2019).

The questionnaire is based on five main constructs: the environmental pillar of SSCM, the economic pillar of SSCM, the social pillar of SSCM, customer intention, and SDGs. The environmental pillar of SSCM is measured using eco-design, internal green management, and green supplier management. The economic pillar of SSCM is measured using investment recovery. The social pillar of SSCM is measured using CSR. The questions related to the environmental, economic, and social pillars of SSCM are adopted from Hu et al. (2019). Customer intention is measured by asking various questions related to the willingness to use sharing platforms or services in the future. The questionnaire scale items for customer intention are adopted from Hu et al. (2019). The dependant variable, SDGs, is measured using a questionnaire from Gericke et al. (2019). The scale items of all the variables are presented in Table 1. The complete questionnaire is presented in the appendix (Table 1). After its development, the scale was shared with various experts to check the face validity. Five experts were selected from various academic institutions. Only experts in scale validation related to the social sciences were selected. All the suggestions of the experts were incorporated into the scale. The content validity of the scale was also considered. For this, various academicians were selected, and changes proposed by the experts were incorporated.

The questionnaire is divided into six sections (A-F). Section A is based on the scale items related to the demographic profile of the respondents: age, gender, marital status, education, income, and occupation. Section B collects data related to the SDGs. Section C collects data related to the environmental pillar of SSCM. Section D collects data related to the economic pillar of SSCM. Section E collects data related to the social pillar of SSCM. Section F collects data related to customer intention. The complete questionnaire is attached in the appendix.

This study employs AMOS as a statistical tool to analyse the data. AMOS is one of the most popular data analysis tools in social sciences studies (Mustafa et al., 2020). AMOS works on the assumptions of structural equation modelling (SEM) (Purwanto et al., 2020). Several previous studies of the supply chain, sharing economy, and SDGs employ SEM through AMOS.

The demographic results show that most of the respondents were male, and those involved in the supply chain and sharing economy were 25 to 35 years old. The majority of the respondents held bachelor's or master's degrees. A higher percentage of respondents were self-employed and married.

SEM starts with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which is recommended by several previous studies, to refine the scale items (Ilyas et al., 2020; Nayal et al., 2022). The CFA results are given in Fig. 3. Factor loadings are considered in this study, and 0.5 is chosen as the minimum level to retain a scale item, as proposed by a number of previous studies (Jordan & Spiess, 2019; Xu, 2022). Initially, 10 scale items were selected to measure the environmental pillar. One item was deleted following the CFA, while all other remaining items were retained due to having a factor loading higher than 0.5. Five items were selected to measure customer intention, and one was deleted following the CFA. SDGs were measured by five scale items, of which one was deleted, meaning SDGs are measured by four scale items. All the retained scale items have factor loadings above 0.5, as shown in Table 2.

Fig. 3.

AMOS data analysis.

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The CFA results include Cronbach's alpha, the values of which must be greater than 0.70 (Rosli et al., 2021), composite reliability (CR) the values of which must by greater than 0.70, and average variance extracted (AVE) the values of which must be greater than 0.50 (Kalkbrenner, 2021). Cronbach's alpha is higher than 0.7 for all constructs. The convergent validity is determined by CR and AVE, with a CR higher than 0.7 required to achieve the minimum level of reliability. Table 2 shows that CR is higher than 0.7 for the environmental pillar of SSCM, economic pillar of SSCM, social pillar of SSCM, customer intention, and SDGs. AVE is higher than 0.5 for the environmental pillar of SSCM, economic pillar of SSCM, social pillar of SSCM, customer intention, and SDGs. The levels of CR and AVE confirm the convergent validity (Cheah et al., 2018; Mustafa et al., 2020). Finally, while considering CFA, the study addresses the discriminant validity (Hyland et al., 2019), which is examined using the AVE square root, as shown in Table 2.

The measurement model fit is examined by considering Chi-square/df (CMIN/DF), which should be greater than 3 and less than 5. The comparative fit index should be higher than 0.90. The normed fit index should be higher than 0.80. The goodness of fit index should be larger than 0.90. The adjusted goodness of fit index should be larger than 0.80. The root mean square residual, standardized root mean square residual and root mean-square error of approximation should all be less than 0.05. All these measures, shown in Table 3, are recommended in the literature to check the fitness of the measurement model using AMOS (Nam et al., 2018). All the values shown in Table 3 achieve the required criteria.

Finally, after assessing the factor loadings, reliability, and validity, the study proceeds to the data analysis and hypothesis testing. This study proposes 10 hypotheses, including direct and indirect hypotheses, based on the relationships between the environmental pillar of SSCM, economic pillar of SSCM, social pillar of SSCM, customer intention, and SDGs. The results of the hypotheses are given in Table 4. The study uses the structural model, which is widely used, to test the hypotheses (Cheah et al., 2018; Purwanto & Sudargini, 2021; Rahi & Abd Ghani, 2018).

In this section, the direct effects of the environmental, economic and social pillars on customer intention and SDGs, followed by the indirect effect of customer intention on SDGs are considered. The results, given in Table 4, show that: the environmental pillar has a significant relationship with customer intention and SDGs; the economic pillar has a significant effect on customer intention and SDGs; and the social pillar has a significant effect on customer intention and SDGs. The significance of the relationships is shown by the t-statistics, the value of which must be higher than 1.96 in order for a hypothesis to be accepted (Mia et al., 2019). Any hypotheses with a t-value less than 1.96 is not considered to be supported. Additionally, this study tests three indirect effects: the indirect effect of customer intention between the environmental pillar and SDGs; the indirect effect of customer intention between the economic pillar and SDGs; and the indirect effect of customer intention between the social pillar and SDGs. The results, given in Table 4, show that the indirect effect of customer intention between the environmental pillar and SDGs is significant; the indirect effect of customer intention between the economic pillar and SDGs is insignificant; and the indirect effect of customer intention between the economic pillar and SDGs is significant. Thus, two indirect effects are significant, while one is insignificant. However, all the direct effects are significant.

The sharing economy has been studied several times. However, the current study contributes to the literature by considering the SSCM practices of a sharing economy in relation to customer intention and SDGs in China. To fill the literature gap, this study proposes several hypotheses, both direct and indirect. The results highlight important relationships which provide insights for practitioners.

This study identifies the effects of the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar on customer intention and SDGs. The results are consistent with the literature, as previous studies using similar constructs provide results in line with this study. Firstly, the environmental pillar is considered in terms of eco-design, internal green management, and green supplier management. According to the results, the environmental pillar has a positive impact on customer intention, which indicates that the environmental pillar of the supply chain has vital importance in enhancing customer intention in relation to the sharing economy. A change in the environmental pillar can change customer intention. Martínez et al. (2019) also prove a significant and positive relationship between customer intention and the environment. Therefore, eco-design has a vital influence on customer intention, an increase in internal green management can increase the intention of customers, and green behaviour in supply chain activities is important to customer behaviour. As reported by Zhang & Yousaf (2020), customers’ green preferences and green supply chains have a positive relationship. Thus, green practices in a sustainable supply chain can increase the positive intention of customers. Green supplier management is another important element of the environmental pillar that can increase customer intention. Thus, the results of this study prove that the environmental pillar of the supply chain, in relation to the sharing economy, has a positive influence on the positive intention development of customers. Moreover, this study proves that the economic pillar has a major positive influence on customer intention, which indicates that an increase in the economic pillar can increase customer intention. Investment in the supply chain to improve the process can have a positive influence. Additionally, the social pillar of the supply chain has major importance for customer intention. Companies being involved in various CSR activities has an influence on customers. Similar to this study, previous investigations indicate a positive connection between CSR and customer intention (Guping et al., 2021). The activities of the supply chain companies that address the welfare of people have a positive influence on customer intention. Therefore, along with previous studies, the current study proves that SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, can increase customer intention.

This study's focus is the effect of SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental, economic, and social pillars, on SDGs. A positive role of the environmental pillar is proved in relation to SDGs. An increase in focus on the environment in supply chain practice can increase the achievement of SDGs. The results indicate that eco-design, internal green management, and green supplier management influence SDGs. The existing literature also highlights the positive role of environmental practices in the supply chain on SDGs (Ilyas et al., 2020). Furthermore, investment in the supply chain, denoted by the economic pillar, is found to be positively correlated with SDGs. A positive role of the social pillar is also found in relation to SDGs. Hence, SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, have a positive effect on the achievement of SDGs. Similar to these results, previous studies identify the positive role of the supply chain in SDGs.

The direct effect of customer intention has a positive influence on SDGs. However, the indirect hypotheses also present some valuable insights. The indirect effect of customer intention is important for SDG achievement in China. Customer intention has a positive role in the positive effect of the environmental pillar on SDGs. Similarly, customer intention also has a positive role in the positive effect of the social pillar on SDGs. Thus, the environmental and social pillars have a positive effect on customer intention, which enhances SDGs in China.

The aim of the study is to explore the role of SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, in achieving SDGs. It explores the role of customer intention between SSCM practices on sharing economy platforms, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, and SDGs. An empirical analysis of SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, social pillar, customer intention, and SDGs achievement is made in China. The results show that SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, have a positive relation to SDGs. Customer intention has a positive impact on SDGs, and customer intention plays a significant mediating role between SSCM practices in sharing economies, including the environmental pillar, economic pillar, and social pillar, and SDGs.

The results show that the execution of SSCM practices in a sharing economy reduces the total use of energy, technology, plants, infrastructure, and transportation and, thus, reduces environmental pollution. The reduction of environmental pollution is helpful to achieve the SDGs which relate to climate, natural resources, and the health of human beings. The results indicate that the implementation of SSCM practices in a sharing economy enhances the social bonding between firms in the chain by developing feelings of care and a sense of responsibility towards one another. The welfare of the entities involved in the sharing economy makes it possible to achieve SDGs such as justice, decent work, reduced inequality, peace, partnership, etc. The results indicate that the implementation of SSCM practices in a sharing economy helps overcome financial issues, reduces total costs, offers access to resources, and leads to continuity of business functioning. The economic benefits of SSCM practices in a sharing economy lead to the achievement of SDGs such as decent work and economic growth, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, partnerships, and strong institutions. The results show that SSCM practices in a sharing economy are helpful in improving environmental performance. In this way, firms can inspire customers and motivate them to purchase, meanwhile customers’ eco-friendly intentions motivate firms to achieve SDGs. The study concludes that SSCM practices in a sharing economy improve social performance. Firms can inspire purchase intention in customers, and the customers’ social-friendly thinking motivates firms to achieve SDGs. Furthermore, with SSCM practices in a sharing economy, firms improve their economic performance, which leads to increasing customer intentions that help achieve SDGs.

The current study has many new things for academics to learn. The relationships between the environmental pillar of SSCM, the economic pillar of SSCM, and the social pillar of SSCM, customer intention, and SDGs are important relationships which are not identified in the literature. These relationships contribute majorly to the body of literature in several ways. For instance, the study explores the role of SSCM practices in a sharing economy, which is very rare in the literature. Additionally, the mediating effect of customer intention between SSCM practices in a sharing economy and SDGs is not studied elsewhere in the literature. Therefore, Chinese management should enhance SSCM practices in relation to the sharing economy in order to enhance SDGs.

The present study has great empirical significance. It is useful for developing countries such as China which are overly populated and face many environmental and social issues, because of which sustainable development achievement is not clear. It serves as guide for economists and various organizations to achieve SDGs in China through SSCM practices on sharing economy platforms. The study suggests that ecologically friendly SSCM practices on sharing economy platforms should be performed effectively to enhance firms’ ability to achieve SDGs. The study suggests that SSCM on sharing economy platforms must be encouraged to enhance firms’ social performance so that it becomes easy to achieve SDGs. Likewise, SSCM on sharing economy platforms must be implemented to gain economic benefits, because, in this way, SDGs can be achieved. The study guides firms to implement SSCM on sharing economy platforms to improve customer intentions. Similarly, they must adopt business strategies to influence and inspire customer purchase intentions in order to achieve SDGs. The study finds that, with effective economic or environmental policies, SSCM on sharing economy platforms must be encouraged to improve customer intentions and enable firms to achieve SDGs.

This study carries out research in relation to the supply chain practices of a sharing economy, customer intention, and SDGs. The study covers important literature gaps which are not considered by earlier studies. However, the study still has a few limitations. The limitations of this study could be used as future directions by future studies in the field of supply chains, sharing economies, and SDGs. There are a number of supply chain practices suggested in literature, but this study only covers a few. Various important practices are not included which future studies should consider. Similarly, the economic aspect of the supply chain is only considered in terms of investment recovery, which is not sufficient to describe the economic pillar. Hence, future studies should include various other economic elements of the supply chain.