If It’s Convenient: Leveraging Context in Peer-to-Peer Variable Service Transaction Recommendations

Peer-to-Peer Variable Service Transaction (P2P-VST) systems enable people to offer and receive help with a wide range of task types. However, such services are hampered by the difficulty of finding relevant and convenient opportunities for transactions in a timely fashion. Many transaction opportunities are missed as a consequence of members not being aware of offers and/or requests from people nearby or en route that match their needs and/or abilities. In this paper, we explore the impact of context-awareness on P2P-VSTs to address this problem. Using mobile technology and an in situ study, we evaluate how recommending service requests targeted at a person’s context impacts their willingness to enter a transaction. Our results show that, even when people have not actively volunteered for a service, they are significantly more likely to accept a transaction opportunity if it is convenient for them in terms of time and location. These findings demonstrate how context-aware technology holds the promise of increasing the efficiency and activity level in P2P-VST systems.