Content Contribution for Revenue Sharing and Reputation: A Dynamic Structural Model

• Main Authors: TANG, Qian, GU, Bin, Whinston, Andrew B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: content contribution; dynamic structural model; motivations to contribute; reputation; revenue sharing; social media; YouTube; Communication Technology and New Media; Computer Sciences; Technology and Innovation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/1839; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/2838/viewcontent/Content_Contribution_Revenue_Sharing_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This study examines the incentives for content contribution in social media. We propose that exposure and reputation are the major incentives for contributors. Besides, as more and more social media Web sites offer advertising-revenue sharing with some of their contributors, shared revenue provides an extra incentive for contributors who have joined revenue-sharing programs. We develop a dynamic structural model to identify a contributor's underlying utility function from observed contribution behavior. We recognize the dynamic nature of the content-contribution decision-that contributors are forward-looking, anticipating how their decisions affect future rewards. Using data collected from YouTube, we show that content contribution is driven by a contributor's desire for exposure, revenue sharing, and reputation and that the contributor makes decisions dynamically.