Customer behavior has always been of interest for business researchers. However, it is just in recent years that there has been an increasing interest in the phenomenon of the sharing economy. It has been suggested that there is an ongoing shift in the traditional way of consuming. The idea behind the sharing economy is that two different parties can make use of their underused assets through an online platform. Previous quantitative research in the area of interest mainly focuses on the motivational factors for participation in the sharing economy; four of the most prominent factors were therefore identified and further investigated. In this thesis, these factors are referred to as drivers and more specifically, the drivers of enjoyment, sustainability, convenience, and financial benefits. Further, previous research gives an indication of a discrepancy between customer attitudes and actions when making a decision in the sharing economy. With this in mind, the purpose of this thesis is to describe customer behavior in the sharing economy. More specifically, this thesis seeks to study the relationship between attitudes and actions of customers in the sharing economy. Taking this into account, the following research question was formulated:   What is the relationship between attitudes and actions of the customers participating in the sharing economy of Rentl AB?   In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis, the Swedish sharing economy business Rentl was addressed. To answer the research question a quantitative research strategy was followed where a survey was sent out to randomly chosen customers of Rentl and 145 responses were collected. The collected data was statistically analyzed by the use of Paired T-tests and Regression Analyses. Further, the empirical findings regarding the four identified drivers were analyzed in accordance with the theoretical framework. The identified attitude-action gap is therefore analyzed by the application of basic customer decision-making, the theory of Bounded Rationality, the Theory of Reasoned Action & the Theory of Planned Behavior, and finally the Self-Determination Theory.   The authors established that there is a positive relationship between attitudes and actions regarding the extrinsic drivers, convenience and financial benefits. However, it was further established that the intrinsic drivers, enjoyment and sustainability, do not have a significant influence on the actual actions. In other words, a positive attitude toward enjoyment and sustainability as drivers for participation in the sharing economy does not necessarily translate into actions. Thus, the authors identified that there is an attitude-action gap in the sharing economy.     In addition to the theoretical contributions, this research further contributes with practical aspects. More importantly, the sharing business Rentl is provided with a better understanding for the customer behavior in their business. Considering that the findings of this research identify convenience and financial benefits as significant drivers for participation, this can be emphasized in marketing contexts by managers.

De miljövänliga problem som världen står inför idag är tätt sammanhängande med den masskonsumtion som skapats av fast fashion-industrin. Detta har skapat en större efterfrågan av miljövänligt producerade kläder av konsumenter då de har en allt större inblick och påverkan på modeindustrin. Tidigare forskning visar att det är många konsumenter som tycker att det är viktigt att konsumera miljömedvetet, men utav dessa respondenter så var det dock bara cirka 30% av dessa deltagare som faktiskt agerade enligt sina miljömedvetna värderingar. Gapet mellan miljövänlig attityd och faktiska beteende kallas det gröna gapet och är något som har undersökts sedan 70-talet. Intentionen med denna uppsats är att undersöka det gröna gap som finns hos kvinnliga studenter på Textilhögskolan i Borås då dessa anses ha stor inblick i modeindustrin och dess miljömässiga påverkan men trots detta ändå handla fastfashion. Fokusgrupper sattes samman för att genom en gruppdiskussion undersöka och svara på frågan vad som påverkar konsumenter till att handla enligt sina hållbara attityder. Resultaten från undersökningen visade att lågt pris, trendig design och lättillgänglighet var de främsta faktorerna som ledde till att konsumenter handlar fast fashion hellre än hållbart mode. Resultatet visar däremot att mer och bättre information var det som skulle kunna få respondenterna att handla mer miljömedvetet. Fastän de redan är insatta i ämnet så nämndes det att det finns en otydlighet och osäkerhet gällande på vilket sätt företag faktiskt är hållbara och vad man betalar ett dyrare pris för. / The environmental problems that the world is facing today are closely connected to the mass consumption that is caused by the fast fashion industry. This has resulted in a greater demand of environmentally produced clothing by consumers as they have an increased insight and impact on the fashion industry. Previous research shows that many consumers mentioned that they think it is important to consume environmentally friendly, however there was only 30% out of these respondents that actually act according to their environmental values. The gap between environmental attitude and actual behavior is called the green gap and is a topic that has been investigated since the 70’s. The intention of this study is to research the green gap that exists at female students studying at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås. These respondents were chosen as they are assumed to have a great insight in the fashion industry and its environmental impact but still shop fast fashion. Focus groups were put together inorder to create a group discussion which investigates and answers the question of what affects consumers to consume according to their sustainable attitudes. The results from the study showed that a low price, trendy design and easy access were the main factors that resulted inconsumers to shop fast fashion rather than green fashion. The results show that an increased knowledge and better information were the main things that could make the respondents to act more sustainable. Even though they already have a good insight in the subject they found that there is an insecurity and ambiguity regarding in what way companies are sustainable and what the more expensive price actually goes to. The upcoming study further down is written in Swedish.