Addressing information asymmetries in online peer-to-peer lending

Digital technologies are transforming how small businesses access finance and from whom. This chapter explores online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, a form of crowdfunding that connects borrowers and lenders. Information asymmetry is a key issue in online peer-to-peer lending marketplaces that can result in moral hazard or adverse selection, and ultimately impact the viability and success of individual platforms. Both online P2P lending platforms and lenders seek to minimise the impact of information asymmetries through a variety of mechanisms. This chapter discusses the structure of online P2P lending platforms and reviews how the disclosure of hard and soft information, and herding can reduce information asymmetries. The chapter concludes with a discussion of further avenues for research

Charity starts at home

Data for studies 1-

Consumers' response to really new products: A cohesive synthesis of current research and future research directions

The past decades have witnessed an abundance of research on how consumers learn about, evaluate, and adopt really new products (RNPs)—products that are hard to define using existing product categories and require behavioural changes. Yet, every year, RNPs fail to garner consumer enthusiasm despite promising interesting new features and benefits. The goal of this research is to synthesise extant RNP knowledge with a focus on consumer behaviour and identify future research opportunities. To that end, we screened 587 papers published in marketing journals related to new products and focused on all those that specifically examine consumers’ reaction to new products (53 core papers). We build their findings into a cohesive framework illuminating how consumers learn about RNPs and evaluate their novel benefits considering the uncertainty surrounding these benefits. We also derive recommendations for managers to communicate the utility of a RNP more effectively. We conclude by identifying under-researched aspects and offering suggestions for future research

How accounts shape lending decisions through fostering perceived trustworthiness

We examine the roles of social accounts in influencing lenders' decisions about loaning money to borrowers. Using field data and a laboratory experiment, we show that lenders will lend money depending on the accounts borrowers tell. In Study 1, field data from a peer-to-peer lending website reveal that two-account combinations (explanation-acknowledgment and explanation-denial) increase the likelihood of favorable lending decisions. A laboratory study helps explain the important role of accounts by unpacking the process of perceived borrower trustworthiness in lending decisions. A final field study assessing the performance of loans 2 years after origination shows that accounts, despite having a positive effect on the loan decision process, negatively predict loan performance. Collectively, the three studies show that accounts facilitate economic exchanges between unacquainted transaction partners because of their role in increasing perceived trustworthiness, but that ironically, accounts can negatively relate to loan performance.Accounts Trustworthiness Auctions Decision making under uncertainty Lending Peer-to-peer