Facilitating Repurchase in the Sharing Economy: The Interaction of Service Quality, Perceived Usefulness, and Sustainability Motivations in Chinese Car-Sharing Services

Chinese users possess unique service experiences and behavioural intentions for utilising car-sharing. Car-sharing services offer a variety of competitive car-sharing options and possess distinctive traits that merit exploration. This mixed methods study examines the factors influencing repurchase intention in China’s car-sharing market by combining qualitative insights with quantitative validation. Utilising the theory of planned behaviour and the technology acceptance model, we propose a framework wherein perceived ease of use, price consciousness, perceived security, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern directly affect repurchase intention, with service quality and perceived usefulness acting as essential mediators. Qualitative studies from 12 in-depth interviews indicate that user experiences are influenced by multifaceted convenience, pricing transparency, risk perception, and contextual usage patterns. A later quantitative analysis of 416 car-sharing service users was conducted utilising PLS-SEM. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness (β = 0.272, p < 0.001) is the most significant direct predictor of repurchase intention, followed by perceived security (β = 0.209) and environmental concern (β = 0.195). Service quality exerts a significant full mediating effect on the influence of perceived ease of use, and perceived security has a mediating effect on perceived usefulness (the direct effects of perceived ease of use and perceived security on perceived usefulness are not significant after including service quality as a mediator). The qualitative phase involved participants from eight major Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Wuhan, Changsha, and Zhengzhou), while the quantitative survey covered over 20 cities (including first-tier, new first-tier, and prefecture-level cities) via the Credamo platform, ensuring broad geographic representation. Significantly, price-quality beliefs do not substantially influence repurchase intention. This study contributes to the literature on the sharing economy by integrating technology, trust, and sustainability factors, providing practical recommendations for platform operators seeking to improve client retention in China’s competitive mobility sector.