Problem Specification in Crowdsourcing Contests: A Natural Experiment

Problem specification is a key aspect in crowdsourcing contests through which seekers convey their requirements and taste for the desired submissions. Hence, it is important to understand how problem specification should be framed to achieve better crowdsourcing contest outcomes. In this empirical study, we investigate the effects of a relatively more structured problem specification on contest quantity, solver quantity, and idea quality. We leverage a natural experiment set up on a major crowdsourcing contest platform where the problem specification of logo design contests changed from open-ended to structured. Our results show that the specification change impacts both seekers and solvers. Specifically, the number of contests increases after the change but solver quantity and idea quality in the respective contests tend to be lower. We discuss the theoretical and practical contributions of this research

Confirmation Bias in Adoption of Seeker Exemplars in Crowdsourcing Ideation Contests

This study examineshow solutionexemplarsthat seekers providein crowdsourcing ideation contestsaffect the scanning, shortlisting, and selection of ideas by solvers; thesethreeideation activities are essential layersin the Knowledge Reuse for Radical Innovation model.Specifically, we consider the role of confirmation bias in solvers’ behaviors and their use of seeker exemplarsinthe ideation activities. We posit that solvers’ use of exemplars is affected by the extent to which the exemplars are consistent with solvers’ prior beliefand by different considerations in different ideation activities. The results from a crowdsourcing ideationcontest experiment largely support our theorizing, as we find that problem-related and problem-unrelated seeker exemplars affecteddifferent ideation activitiesdifferently. This research contributes insights into seeker involvements and solver behaviors in crowdsourcing ideation contests and offers practical implications for seekers

Trust Across Borders: Buyer-Supplier Trust in Global Business-to-Business E-Commerce

This study focuses on trust formation and development in global buyer-supplier relationships. Trust affects all business relationships, especially global business-to-business (B2B) transactions due to the distances between buyers and suppliers. We use information signaling theory to examine how information indices and signals affect buyers’ trust in suppliers in global B2B commerce. Specifically, we examine how buyers’ trust is affected by (1) their perceptions of the national integrity and legal structure of suppliers’ country, and (2) third-party verifications of suppliers on B2B exchanges. Because buyer-supplier relationships usually evolve over time, we study how the effects of indices and signals change as the number of transactions between the partners increases. A survey of global organizational buyers finds that perceptions of national integrity, legal structure, and supplier verifications are all positively related to buyers’ trust. However, the number of prior transactions between buyers and suppliers moderates the impact of perceived legal structure on buyers’ trust

The role of Simmelian friendship ties on retaliation within triads

We examine the effect of friendship in triads on retaliatory responses to unfair outcomes that originate from a group member. Drawing on Simmel’s classic discussion of relationships in social triads versus dyads, we hypothesized that the effect of unfairness on retaliation between friends is stronger when the third party in the triad is a mutual friend, rather than a stranger. We also draw on social categorization theory to hypothesize that the effect of unfairness on retaliation between strangers is stronger when the third party is a friend of that stranger than when the triad consists of all strangers. Hypotheses were tested in an experiment where participants negotiated with one another in a three-person exchange network. The results supported our hypothesis that between friends, the increase in retaliation was stronger following an unfair deal when third parties were mutual friends, rather than strangers. </jats:p

Use of Seeker and Peer Feedback in Ideation Contests: An Anchoring Effect Perspective

Ideation contests help solution-seeking firms (seekers) address their problems by engaging agents (solvers) in the crowd to generate ideas. An integral aspect of these contests is the solvers™ use of feedback during ideation. In this study, we examine ho

Participants’ Strategy in Crowd-Based Design Contests – A Prospect Theory Perspective

Using crowd-based contests to acquire creative designs is increasingly popular. In this study, I examine how client-provided information in design contests affect participants’ strategy and contest submissions. In these contests, clients often provide examples of designs that they like, thereby signaling their design preference. Using prospect theory, I relate participants’ contest payoffs and cost considerations to the extent that they deviate their submissions from client-provided examples. Results from a banner ad design contest show that participants (i) deviate their designs more from clients’ examples when the examples’ quality is lower, and when the examples are relatively similar, and (ii) submit designs that are more distinctive in contests when they deviate from clients’ examples. These results indicate that participants do not always seek to win contests by aligning their submissions to clients’ preference. Instead, participants’ strategy also depends on other benefits of contest participation and their preference to minimize participation costs

Multihoming Users’ Preferences for Two-Sided Exchange Networks

Online business-to-business (B2B) exchanges are proliferating, giving firms numerous platforms from which to choose. Many firms are also multihoming, using competing platforms concurrently. In this study, we examine how selling and buying activities on B2B exchanges affect multihoming buyers’ preferences for exchanges. We posit that these activities influence buyers’ perceived returns and risks of using the exchanges, and impact buyers’ preferences. Using a unique dataset of 118 buyers’ participation in two B2B exchanges over seven months, we find that buyers prefer exchanges with more selling activities. However, buyers’ preferences and buying levels on the exchanges are non-monotonically related. At low buying levels, an increase in buying by others positively affects buyers’ preferences. This effect may result from observational learning, where individual buyers learn from other buyers’ behaviors. On the other hand, as buying level increases further on the exchange, competition among buyers also increases. Consequently, buyers lower their preferences for the exchange. In addition, we find that the effects of selling and buying activities on buyers’ preferences change over time. Our results highlight the need to correctly model buyers’ homing behavior; failing to do so could bias the picture of competitive dynamics between platforms and lead to suboptimal strategies by exchanges

Emotional Intensity and User Engagement on Community-Based Question Answering Platforms

Viewers’ engagement with content on community-based question answering (CQA) platforms is critical for both platforms and content creators. In this study, we examine the effect of emotional intensity of an answer on the number of votes, comments and rewards that the answer receives and how this effect is moderated by answer length. There are two possible countervailing mechanisms by which emotional intensity affects viewer engagement, and we theorize that which mechanism dominates depends on whether the answer is long enough to provide sufficient information. Analyses of data from Zhihu, a CQA platform in China, support our theorizing. The results suggest that the effect of emotional intensity on viewer engagement is negative for short answers but positive for long answers. This study contributes to the literature on online knowledge sharing and emotional expression in user-generated content. It also has practical implications for platforms and content creators

Cointegration of electronics sector and related dual listed stocks.

An investigation of the possible existence of the cointegrating relationships between similar sectors listed in different countries and the related dual listed stocks and whether there exists benefits to diversifying across such sectors and arbitrage opportunities for dual listed stocks

Co-movement among sectoral stock market indices and cointegration among dually listed companies

This paper analyzes the co-movement between sectoral stock indices of the US and Singapore, through examining whether the S&P 500 Electronics (Semiconductor) Price Index leads Stock Exchange of Singapore's Electronics Price Index. The article also examines price co-movement of stocks listed dually in Singapore and the US. Using Johansen's (1988) Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the paper concludes the existence of long-run cointegrating relationship both between the US and Singapore electronic sectors in general, and more specifically among the three dually listed stocks under consideration. However, the results point to a short-term disequilibria in the prices of dually listed stocks, leading to the conclusion that short-run arbitrage opportunities may exist