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DOI :10.26650/JECS2019-0003   IUP :10.26650/JECS2019-0003    Full Text (PDF)

The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process

Serhat Aydın, Emin Can Duyan

The subject of this research is the formation of Couchsurfing (CS) based on free accommodation on the internet within the context of social change theory. The aim of the research is to discover why people share their homes with people through CS and to evaluate them in accordance with social change theory. In this context, seven participants were interviewed in Eskişehir with CS members and hosted guests. As part of the research, the concepts of the CS experience, expectations, purpose, established relationships, trust and reciprocity were questioned. In this study, the CS experience process of the participants was learned and it was determined that CS might provide a different perspective in social change theory. The CS experience is explained with a model proposal as a process within social change theory. According to this model proposal, people move through three phases in CS. The first phase is the internet interaction. The second phase is the face-to-face interaction and the last phase is the communication following the CS experience. Trust for participants is a prominent topic in research in this area. This is due to the fact that the first interaction is caried out over the internet. In the context of social exchange theory, the prominent concept is reciprocity. Future research can be structured on the variables trust and reciprocity. In addition, CS research can be developed through participatory observation and colecting field notes. Lastly, research suggestions are presented. 
Keywords: Social Exchange Theory, Couchsurfing, Eskisehir
DOI :10.26650/JECS2019-0003   IUP :10.26650/JECS2019-0003    Full Text (PDF)

Post-modern Tanrı Misafiri: Couchsurfing Deneyim Süreci

Serhat Aydın, Emin Can Duyan

Bu araştırmanın konusu, sosyal mübadele teorisi kapsamında internet üzerinden ücretsiz konaklama üzerine kurulu Couchsurfing (CS) oluşumudur. Araştırmanın amacı ise CS üzerinden insanların neden evlerini tanımadıkları bir insanla paylaştığını keşfetmek ve sosyal mübadele teorisi kapsamında değerlendirmektir. Bu doğrultuda, Eskişehir’de CS üyesi ve misafir ağırlamış yedi katılımcı ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında CS deneyimi, beklenti, amaç, kurulan ilişki, güven ve karşılıklılık kavramları bağlamında sorgulanmıştır. Bu araştırmada, katılımcıların CS deneyim süreci keşfedilmiştir. CS’nin sosyal mübadele teorisine farklı bir bakış açısı kazandırabileceği tespit edilmiştir. CS deneyimi, sosyal mübadele teorisi kapsamında bir süreç olarak model önerisiyle açıklanmıştır. Bu modele göre CS aracılığıyla insanlar üç aşamada karşılaşmaktadır. İlk karşılaşma tarafların internet üzerinden etkileşimini açıklamaktadır. İkinci karşılaşma ise yüz yüze etkileşimi ve son karşılaşma ise CS deneyimi sonrası iletişimi açıklamaktadır. Ek olarak, katılımcılar için güven, araştırmada öne çıkan bir kavram olmuştur. Bunun nedeni ise ilk karşılaşmanın internet üzerinden gerçekleşmesidir. Sosyal mübadele teorisi kapsamında ise öne çıkan kavram karşılıklılıktır. Bu bağlamda, ileride yapılacak araştırmalar güven ve karşılıklılık değişkenleri üzerinden kurgulanabilir. Ayrıca CS araştırmaları katılımcı gözlem ve alan notları yoluyla geliştirilebilir. İleride yapılacak araştırmalara öneriler sunulmuştur. 
Keywords: Sosyal Mübadele Teorisi, Couchsurfing, Eskişehir

EXTENDED ABSTRACT


Couchsurfing (CS) is a suitable field for research in both tourism and social psychology. CS reveals social change, relationships and interactions within the cross-cultural context (Chen, 2017). CS is associated with voluntary or intimate tourism concepts in tourism (Bialski, 2006). This is because the development of CS has focused more on social relations than on any material return. The basis of CS is made up of travel and accommodation. CS literature generally relates to online confidence, confidence in the initial phase between the host and the guest, technological infrastructure and demographic characteristics of CS users (Luo and Zhang, 2016).

Rosen et al., (2011) investigated participation activities in an online resource exchange community that explored the elements of belonging, commitment and trust. Adamic et al. (2011) tried to identify the relationship between friendship and trust through CS. Ayers-Greenidge (2012) identified the motivation and demographic characteristics of CS members in this qualitative study on Taiwanese CS members. Hellwig et al. (2014) focused on the question of why CS members make their homes available to foreigners. Geiger and Germelmann (2015) explored concepts of social interaction such as sharing, reception and reciprocity through CS. Based on the theory of interpersonal relations, Luo and Zhang (2016) aimed to explore the process of interpersonal trust building in CS, which includes both online and offline interactions. Liu et al. (2016) focused on discovering critical success factors to ensure CS’s sustainable development. Avcikurt et al. (2017) examined CS’s member behavior in the context of slow tourism. Schuckert et al., (2017) interview 14 people living in Austria to understand the motivations and behaviors of CSs and hosts, to learn more about travel experience in general, to understand hostguest relationship perception, and travel behavior. Geiger et al., (2018), explores reciprocity and expectations as well as obligations in the free choice of free accommodation sharing or social context shape preferences.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the Couchsurfing within social change theory. This research was designed as a qualitative research. In this context, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants who are members of CS in Eskişehir. The data was analyzed without using any qualitative data analysis program. Research participants were selected based on pre-defined criteria such as reference number, return rate, last online status, and hospitality number. The research question is to determine why people do not know why they host people in their homes. Social change theory explains the social and economic interactions between people. In this study, it is assumed that the social element of the theory is important. The reason for this is that CS is kept on the economic side and is based on free exchanges. Furthermore, there is a negative situation for the tourism sector through the emergence of a different social psychological point of view. The aim of this research, is to learn the motivations, experiences and relationships of the CS users with the guests. Because of human relations, this research was evaluated within social exchange theory. As a result of the research, CS experience was evaluated within social change theory and a model proposal explaining the process was presented. It was concluded that CS is similar in terms of the interaction of social change theory with the interaction of two people, but usually in terms of the interaction of any two people. It was stated that such applications are based on technology and it should be re-adapted to the theories depending upon past and social relations. In this context, instead of the concept of reciprocity, which is a key element in social change theory, the concept of partial reciprocity was proposed. In addition, the CS experience process is explained in a theoretical model. According to this model proposal, people encounter three stages through CS. The first step is the internet interaction. The second is the face-to-face interaction and the last step is the communication after the CS experience. In addition, trust for participants is a prominent concept for research. This is due to the fact that the first encounter is carried out over the internet. In the context of social exchange theory, the prominent concept is reciprocity. Future research can be structured on the variableso of trust and reciprocity. In addition, CS research can be developed through participatory observation and collection of field notes.


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APA

Aydın, S., & Duyan, E. (2019). The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process. Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 0(60), 227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


AMA

Aydın S, Duyan E. The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process. Journal of Economy Culture and Society. 2019;0(60):227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


ABNT

Aydın, S.; Duyan, E. The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process. Journal of Economy Culture and Society, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 60, p. 227-243, 2019.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Aydın, Serhat, and Emin Can Duyan. 2019. “The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process.” Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0, no. 60: 227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


Chicago: Humanities Style

Aydın, Serhat, and Emin Can Duyan. “The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process.” Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0, no. 60 (May. 2024): 227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


Harvard: Australian Style

Aydın, S & Duyan, E 2019, 'The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process', Journal of Economy Culture and Society, vol. 0, no. 60, pp. 227-243, viewed 8 May. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Aydın, S. and Duyan, E. (2019) ‘The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process’, Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 0(60), pp. 227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003 (8 May. 2024).


MLA

Aydın, Serhat, and Emin Can Duyan. “The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process.” Journal of Economy Culture and Society, vol. 0, no. 60, 2019, pp. 227-243. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003


Vancouver

Aydın S, Duyan E. The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process. Journal of Economy Culture and Society [Internet]. 8 May. 2024 [cited 8 May. 2024];0(60):227-243. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003 doi: 10.26650/JECS2019-0003


ISNAD

Aydın, Serhat - Duyan, Emin Can. “The Postmodern Unexpected Guest: The Couchsurfing Experience Process”. Journal of Economy Culture and Society 0/60 (May. 2024): 227-243. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2019-0003



TIMELINE


Submitted22.01.2019
Accepted02.06.2019
Published Online20.11.2019

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