Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production

Michael Restivo and Arnout van de Rijt

PLOS ONE, 2012, vol. 7, issue 3, 1-3

Abstract: We test the effects of informal rewards in online peer production. Using a randomized, experimental design, we assigned editing awards or “barnstars” to a subset of the 1% most productive Wikipedia contributors. Comparison with the control group shows that receiving a barnstar increases productivity by 60% and makes contributors six times more likely to receive additional barnstars from other community members, revealing that informal rewards significantly impact individual effort.

Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0034358

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034358

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