Navigating remote host management and strategic information disclosure in Airbnb: A dual-theory perspective

Airbnb, a prominent sharing economy platform, has experienced significant global expansion, offering lucrative investment opportunities irrespective of investors' geographical locations. Despite the rising trend of using Airbnb for remote investments, this phenomenon has received limited research attention. This study employs a dual-theory lens, integrating social exchange and social penetration theories, to propose a unified theoretical framework for examining the dynamics of remote host management and information disclosure. Using a mixed-method approach—combining deep learning-based text classification to extract nuanced information aspects from host self-disclosures and econometric modeling on an extensive panel dataset—we reveal that while remote management exhibits lower performance than locally managed counterparts, strategic information disclosure can effectively mitigate such impacts. As a groundbreaking exploration of remote host management, this study contributes theoretically to the sharing economy, social exchange and social penetration theories, and information disclosure literature, while providing practical implications to support remote management and strategic information disclosure decision-making.