Peer recognition, badge policies, and content contribution: An empirical study

Xintong Han, Yushen Li and Tong Wang

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2023, vol. 214, issue C, 691-707

Abstract: In this study, we explore the effect of peer recognition on content creation within a prominent Chinese Question-and-Answer (Q&A) platform, specifically focusing on whether votes from peers encourage influencers to engage in providing more answers. Using panel regression models with instrumental variables, our analysis reveals that peer votes have a substantial positive effect on content production. Additionally, we investigate the consequences of two distinct badge policies, the “self-authentication” and the “best-answerer” badge, on content production. Our results demonstrate that while badges aid users in recognizing the quality of an influencer, badges with strong connotations may constrain content creation due to concerns about reputation management and privacy. As such, strategies that enhance platform traffic by promoting voting could be counterproductive if they exacerbate privacy and reputation worries. Our findings provide valuable insights into the role of peer recognition and badge policies in shaping content contribution, bearing crucial policy implications for the design of Q&A platforms.

Keywords: Badge policies; Content provision; Peer recognition; Question-and-answer platform (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C26 L82 M38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268123003098
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:214:y:2023:i:c:p:691-707

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.08.021

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is currently edited by Houser, D. and Puzzello, D.

More articles in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().