Indirect Reciprocity in Contributions to a Peer-to-Peer Music Sharing Network - An Empirical Analysis of Individual Level Data

This study assesses the influence of indirect reciprocity on individual contribution to a peer-to-peer network. We find that individuals’ level of contributions increases with number of contributors in the peer-to-peer network but decrease with number of free riders in the networks, indicating that individual contributions are reciprocal in nature. Moreover, we show that individuals have strong incentive to punish free riders and reward contributors in the peer-to-peer network. They do so through the setting of servers that allows discrimination among downloaders. When number of free riders increases, individuals are more likely to change the server settings to provide priority services to contributors and lesser services to free riders. The phenomena are consistent with findings from economic experiments which suggest that reciprocity and the ability to punish free riders could sustain contribution to pubic goods. The findings have important implications on the design and practical management of peer-to-peer networks

Efficient Contracts for Digital Content

This paper analyses efficient contracts for digital content, focusing on the music industry. It contributes to the quest for an efficient intellectual property rights environment for information goods. Moreover, it adds an interesting application to the field of behavioural economics. The model is set in a contract theory framework with the copyright holder being the principal and a consumer the agent. We offer three contract cases for analysis: strong copy protection, a strategically low price and voluntary reciprocal contributions. Insights from the economics of information and behavioural economics - information goods have public goods properties; social preferences are significant among individuals - are applied to examine the value of a strict copyright enforcement in the digital age. We find that endogenous incomplete contracts based on fair, reciprocal behaviour may achieve a first-best allocation of information goods, while complete contracts are limited to second-best results.internet, music industry, social preferences, reciprocity, moral hazard, file sharing

The role of reciprocation in social network formation, with an application to blogging

This paper deals with the role of reciprocation in the formation of individuals' social networks, that is to what extent initiating a relation brings about its reciprocation. Following the activity of a panel of bloggers over more than a year, we seek to establish whether bloggers are mainly involved in social networking or are part of the media industry. We adapt a standard capital investment model to study the effect of reciprocation on the building of social capital. Results of our analysis confirm that activity and reciprocation both play a role in the dynamics of social media.Bloggers, Friendship, LiveJournal, Media, Panel Data, Reciprocation, Reci procity, Social Capital, Social Networks

Social Learning Theory and Digital Piracy: Explaining Uploading Behaviors of Digital Pirates

Digital piracy has received significant attention in criminological research but almost no studies have explored illegal uploading and how it may differ from illegal downloading. It is important to examine what theories can explain illegal uploading behaviors and their related factors to develop more effective policies to address digital piracy. This dissertation examined whether Akers’ (1998) social learning theory could explain engagement in digital piracy, both illegal downloading and uploading behavior. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between reciprocity and digital piracy. Questionnaires were administered to 398 university students and 315 visitors to several online communities using a combination of random and nonrandom sampling techniques. Confirmatory factor analysis and a series of structural equation models were used for analysis. Social learning theory was modeled as a second-order latent factor with latent factors for reciprocity and both outcomes while controlling for multiple covariates. Social learning theory was positively related to self-reported illegal downloading behavior and self-reported illegal uploading behavior. Perceptions of reciprocity had a positive direct effect on illegal uploading behavior but did not have a significant direct effect on illegal downloading behavior. Perceptions of reciprocity partially mediated the relationship between social learning and illegal uploading behavior. Self-control was not related to illegal downloading and uploading behaviors, but did have significant indirect effects through social learning. The main contributions of this dissertation were the application of social learning theory to explain illegal uploading and the empirical evidence supporting reciprocity. Possible directions for future research and policy implications are discussed

The role of reciprocation in social network formation, with an application to blogging

This paper deals with the role of reciprocation in the formation of individuals' social networks. We follow the activity of a panel of bloggers over more than a year and investigate the extent to which initiating a relation brings about its reciprocation. We adapt a standard capital investment model to study how reciprocation affects the build-up of the individual social capital of bloggers, as measured by their links and interactions with others. This allows us to measure the role of content production and relationship building in the dynamics of online social networks and to distinguish between the social networking and media aspects of blogging.Blogs, Friendship, LiveJournal, Reciprocation, Social Capital, Social Networks

Online Peer-to-peer Communities: An Empirical Investigation of a Music Sharing Network as a Dynamic Two-sided Network

Online peer-to-peer communities and online social networks have become increasingly popular. In particular, the recent boost of online peer-to-peer communities leads to exponential growth in sharing of user-contributed content which have brought profound changes to business and economic practices. Understanding the formation and sustainability of such peer-to-peer communities has important implications for businesses. We develop a dynamic two-sided network model that relates growth of communities to interactions between contribution and consumption of resources in online sharing activities. Using online music sharing data collected from a popular IRC music sharing service over five years, we empirically apply the model to identify dynamics in the music sharing community. We find that the music sharing community demonstrates distinctive characteristics of a two-sided network. Contribution in the community leads to more consumption and consumption leads to more contribution, creating positive network effects in the community. Moreover, we find significant negative externalities among consumption activities and among contribution activities. The combination of the positive and negative externalities drives the underlying dynamics and growth of online sharing communities. Using the dynamic model, we quantify equilibrium growth rate of the community. We find that the equilibrium growth rate changes over time, possibly as a result of legal actions taken by the music industry. Our study provides a first glimpse into the mechanism through which peer-to-peer communities sustain and thrive in a constantly changing environment

The Role of System Trust and Risk Perception in Providing Assets for Collaborative Consumption Schemes

The emergence of the sharing economy has fueled the development of collaborative consumption (CC) schemes around the world. The promise of non-ownership particularly in the peer-to-peer environment makes it attractive for a plethora of users to engage in practices such as carsharing and the rental of private holiday accommodations or tool supply from their peers. Yet while financial and environmental benefits for both users and providers do exist, providers of private goods may be reluctant in many cases to offer their belongings for sharing. This study thus draws on social exchange theory to examine the key role of generalized, barterand money-balanced reciprocity as a pivotal scheme characteristic that predicts the intention of providers to participate in peer-to-peer CC schemes. As such, the findings from two empirical studies provide evidence that consumers are most eager to provide their personal assets against a reciprocal compensation where perceived risk functions as a mediator of the explained effect. Market mediation is also used to show that CC schemes are more attractive to consumers when facilitated by a non-profit market intermediary (vs. a for-profit intermediary), emphasizing the propensity of consumers to escape the market while sharing. A mechanism in which system trust mediates the proposed relationships is therefore suggested

Conceptual Foundations of Online Communities

The purpose of this working paper is to provide conceptual foundations for the reader interested in online communities. A useful summary of research conducted on online communities is provided in this paper. Beside several classifications for online communities, we will also pay attention to the questions why consumers belong to online communities, and what are the reasons and motives for consumers to join these communities. The different perspectives for the reasons and motives complement each other. We have proposed a valueinterest framework where several theories are combined into one, integrated model. The value-interest framework looks the motives from several perspectives simultaneously. It must be remembered, however, that beside this integrated model, it is fruitful to look at the motives and reasons from the different perspectives separately, too

Social Software, Groups, and Governance

Formal groups play an important role in the law. Informal groups largely lie outside it. Should the law be more attentive to informal groups? The paper argues that this and related questions are appearing more frequently as a number of computer technologies, which I collect under the heading social software, increase the salience of groups. In turn, that salience raises important questions about both the significance and the benefits of informal groups. The paper suggests that there may be important social benefits associated with informal groups, and that the law should move towards a framework for encouraging and recognizing them. Such a framework may be organized along three dimensions by which groups arise and sustain themselves: regulating places, things, and stories

Reciprocal attention and norm of reciprocity in blogging networks

Bloggers devote significant time not only producing content for others to read, watch or listen to, but also paying attention to and engaging in interactions with other bloggers. We hope to throw light not only on the factors that gain bloggers significant readership and lively interactions with their audience, but also on the rules that govern their relations with others. We relate bloggers' activity with the size and structure of their network of fellow bloggers. A blogger's readership increases with his activity, while bloggers who read back proportionally fewer of their readers tend also to be more active. We find evidence that those bloggers who read back proportionally fewer of their readers have less readers than bloggers who reciprocate more, but tend to receive more comments per posts.Blog, Community, Interaction, Internet, LiveJournal, Media, Network, Reciprocity, Social Network, Web 2.0