Developing a Postphenomenological Methodology to Investigate Trust Relations on Digital Platforms

Short abstract:
The study develops a methodology to investigate how trust is mediated through digital technologies like accommodation platforms. The methodology includes several qualitative methods and focuses on both an exploration of typical use and a critical comparison of multiple version of the technology.

Long abstract:
This study proposes a postphenomenological methodology to examine the complex nature of trust mediated through digital technologies, with Airbnb as a case study, offering empirical grounding to the philosophical investigation of trust in the digital society. Airbnb operates within a complex trust ecosystem, balancing interpersonal trust between hosts and guests concerning personal safety and property security, and its role as service provider fostering trust within its community. The case offers a clear instance of a temporally and spatially distributed process of trust formation, maintenance and potential breaches, from initial booking considerations to post-stay reviews. The research design departs from the postphenomenological focus on materialities, which are identified as different sites of mediation: the platform; the devices to access it; the physical spaces; the human body, which moves in space and time and experiences trust both psychological and physiologically (the “gut feeling”). The research design follows Aagaard’s (2017) two elements of postphenomenological research: an exploration of typical use and a critical comparison of multiple versions of the technology. These are combined with principles of constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014), constantly moving between theory and data, leading to a theory-laden but open-minded collection of data through three different methods: documentary research, go-along interviews and a diary method. While document analysis, media go-alongs and diaries can help explore the typical use of the platform; elicitation methods (scenarios, vignettes, use of props) during interviews and the study of other hosting platforms can achieve a more critical comparison of multiple versions of the same technology.