XU, Lei, Nian, Tingting and Cabral, Luis
(2020)
What makes geeks tick? A study of stack overflow careers.
Management Science, vol. 66 (n° 2).
pp. 587-604.
Abstract
Many online platforms rely on users to voluntarily provide content. What motivates users to contribute content for free however is not well understood. In this paper, we use a revealed preference
approach to show that career concerns play an important role in user contributions to Stack Overflow,
the largest online Q&A community. We investigate how activities that can enhance a user’s reputation
vary before and after the user finds a new job. We contrast this with activities that do not improve a user’s
reputation. After finding a new job, users contribute 23.7% less in reputation-generating activity. By contrast, they reduce their non-reputation-generating activity by only 7.4% after finding a new job. These
findings suggest that users contribute to Stack Overflow in part because they perceive this as a way to
improve future employment prospects. We provide direct evidence against alternative explanations such
as integer constraints, skills mismatch, and dynamic selection effects.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Language: | English |
Date: | February 2020 |
Refereed: | Yes |
JEL Classification: | D82 - Asymmetric and Private Information D83 - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief H41 - Public Goods J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity L86 - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software M51 - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions (hiring, firing, turnover, part-time, temporary workers, seniority issues) |
Subjects: | B- ECONOMIE ET FINANCE |
Divisions: | TSE-R (Toulouse) |
Site: | UT1 |
Date Deposited: | 10 Dec 2020 15:46 |
Last Modified: | 27 Oct 2021 13:37 |
OAI Identifier: | oai:tse-fr.eu:122886 |
URI: | https://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/32258 |