Under-contribution is a problem for many online communities. Social psychology theories of social loafing and goal-setting can provide mid-level design principles to address this problem. We tested the design principles in two field experiments. In one, members of an online movie recommender community were reminded of the uniqueness of their contributions and the benefits that follow from them. In the second, they were given a range of individual or group goals for contribution. As predicted by theory, individuals contributed when they were reminded of their uniqueness and when they were given specific and challenging goals, but other predictions were not borne out. The paper ends with suggestions and challenges for mining social science theories as well as implications for design.
Under-contribution is a problem for many online communities. Social psychology theories of social loafing and goal-setting can provide mid-level design principles to address this problem. We tested the design principles in two field experiments. In one, members of an online movie recommender community were reminded of the uniqueness of their contributions and the benefits that follow from them. In the second, they were given a range of individual or group goals for contribution. As predicted by theory, individuals contributed when they were reminded of their uniqueness and when they were given specific and challenging goals, but other predictions were not borne out. The paper ends with suggestions and challenges for mining social science theories as well as implications for design.
Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals for short) are personalized employment arrangements negotiated between individual workers and employers and intended to benefit them both (D. M. Rousseau, 2005). Coworkers' acceptance of another's i-deal can ultimately impact its overall effectiveness for the organization. By using a network approach to the study of work group dynamics, this research addresses the contributions coworker relationships with both the i-dealer and their employer make to coworker's willingness to accept a peer's i-deal. In a study of 65 employees in 20 research and development groups, coworker acceptance of i-deals is greater for group members who are their close personal friends than for members who are not. The coworkers' social exchange relationship with their employers is positively related to acceptance, while economic exchange is negatively related. Coworkers' belief in the likelihood of obtaining comparable future opportunity is positively related to their acceptance of another's i-deal. Results suggest that the relationship of both economic and social exchange with acceptance is likely to be mediated by beliefs regarding comparable future opportunity. Implications for both research and practice are discussed.
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