A Research On Rational Choices Of Online Car-hailing Companies In Consumer Rights Protection

The online car-hailing is closely related to residents’ lives.Relying on the advantages of technology and price,once the online car-hailing appear,it quickly becomes one of the main choices of residents,reshaping the travel industry.However,while facilitating the lives of residents,some consumer rights issues have also emerged in the online car-hailing service.The current research on the issue of consumers’ rights in online car-hailing is mainly taken in law and administration fields,and sociological research is relatively scarce.Judging from the study of consumer rights in sociology,studies have focused on analyzing the institutional environment,consumers,and their binary relationships,exploring the institutional environment’s constraints on consumer behavior and the impact of consumer individual rationality and individual rights awareness on their own rights and interests.For the service provider’s impact on consumer rights,there are few existing research and analysis.This study uses a case study method,based on the new business model of online carhailing service,from the perspective of the company,analyze the influence of the rational choice of the company as an actor on the rights and interests of consumers.The study found that H company’s attitude towards consumer protection has undergone a process of transition from "passive to active".Specifically,in the early stage,the company pursues economic benefits and strategically protects consumers’ rights and interests;in the mid-term,regulatory policies are gradually introduced,and the company protects consumer rights according to policy requirements;in the later stage,H company becomes the market leader,taking proactive measures to protect consumer rights and interests.The change of attitude of H company to the protection of consumer rights is due to H company’s different rational choices.Under the guidance of instrumental rationality,Company H will calculate and weigh the expected benefits of the operation.In the earlier period,the pursuit of business development and economic benefits for the company brought the highest expected return;With the gradual improvement of regulatory regulations,H company’s demand for social recognition and legal status increased,in this phase,according to policy requirements,targeted anticipatory protection measures have the highest expected return.In the end,H company became the market leader.Under the background of tightening policies and the elimination of customers due to the cancellation of subsidies,take a number of consumer protection measures and increase the level of protection will get the highest expected benefits.In addition,changes in the system environment such as technological progress,changes in organizational structure,and continuous improvement of regulatory regulations have also contributed to the transformation of attitudes of H companies in protecting consumer rights and interests.Different rational choices of H companies will have different effects on the protection of consumer rights.Driven by instrumental rationality,Company H pursues business development and economic benefits that have caused consumers’ rights and interests to be impaired.H Company’s pursuit of social benefits has also raised the level of protection of consumer rights while also leading to cross-border issues of consumer rights.