Platformed
The limits of platforms: Why disintermediation has failed in the art market
Rachel Ricucci & Grant Blank
New Media & Society, forthcoming
Abstract:
Platforms have disintermediated the markets for books, film, television, and music, but the online art market has reproduced offline structures, leaving intermediaries intact. This study explores the limits of platforms by describing why disintermediation failed in the art market. Along with museums and other intermediaries, the most important function of galleries is to co-create artistic value. They not only sell art but also form a central part of the status system of art. We examine #artistsupportpledge (ASP) on Instagram. ASP uncovered a market for art that had no place in the existing system. ASP facilitated direct sales to consumers while allowing artists to maintain links to galleries for reputation, career development, exhibitions, and sales of large, expensive work. The art market experienced unique partial disintermediation under narrow conditions with continued allegiance to existing intermediaries and status structures. We conclude by discussing four implications for the theory of platforms.
Economics of Social Media Fake Accounts
Zihong Huang & De Liu
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Amid the rise of the influencer economy, fake social media accounts have become prevalent on many social media platforms. Yet the problem of fake accounts is still poorly understood, and so is the effectiveness of coping strategies. This research models the ecosystem of fake accounts in an influencer economy and obtains insights on fake account purchasing behaviors, the impact of antifake efforts, and the roles of various contextual factors. We show that as the antifake effort increases, the equilibrium may transition from a "pooling" equilibrium, where a low-quality influencer buys fake accounts to mimic a high-quality one, to a "costly separating" equilibrium, where a high-quality influencer may buy fake accounts to prevent mimicry from a low-quality influencer, and to a "naturally separating" equilibrium where low- and high-quality influencers are separated without buying fake accounts. We find that increasing antifake efforts and increasing social media literacy may sometimes result in more fake accounts. A purely profit-driven platform always prefers a pooling equilibrium with zero antifake effort. As a platform puts more weight on consumer welfare, it may exert a positive effort to induce a separating equilibrium, but the platform's preferred antifake effort tends to be lower than that of consumers. We also find that the platform sometimes prefers a lower social media literacy and a lower fake account base price, whereas consumers prefer the opposite. In contrast, improving the antifake technology level can benefit both the platform and consumers. Our main insights are applicable to scenarios with more influencer types and repeated interactions.
Marvel and Machine: The Influence of Awe on the Acceptance of Artificial Intelligence
Heng Li
Basic and Applied Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), a burgeoning and pervasive technological force, is profoundly reshaping the global landscape. Given the extensive integration of AI into the fabric of society, it is important to understand the underpinnings of public acceptance of this technological wave. Here, we focused on the role of awe, an overwhelming feeling of reverence and an acknowledgment of grandeur, in influencing whether people accept or reject AI use in different settings. Based on the findings that the experiences of awe induce a perception of the self as insignificant and a recognition of one's limitation, we hypothesized that exposure to awe-evoking scenes would promote receptivity to AI technologies. In Experiment 1, student participants who recalled awe-inspiring events -- as opposed to those recounting feelings of pride or neutrality -- self-reported a higher acceptance of AI. Leveraging a field study and using a naturalistic induction of emotional experiences, Experiment 2 found that induction of awe increased non-student participants' preference for AI-powered solutions in a real-life context. Across both studies, we found that decreased self-perception mediated the effect of awe on AI acceptance. Taken together, these findings highlight the important role of emotional factors in shaping the interaction between humanity and machine intelligence.
Merely increasing bids increases charitable donation
Erika Weisz & Mina Cikara
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, forthcoming
Abstract:
Amid a sea of requests for aid, what factors affect decisions to donate? Here, we investigate the efficacy of a manipulation of choice architecture to affect giving: increasing the number of bids available to donors to increase how much they give. Across six experiments (N = 6,153), participants recruited online responded to single- or multiple-bid donation requests. Viewing multiple bids for aid increased both intention to donate and actual donation without decreasing the proportion of people who donated at all. We rule out previously documented heuristics (i.e., 1/n, fairness), anchoring, and agency as explanations for our effect. Finally, we replicate our effect in a natural experiment (N = 10,000 donors): Presenting donors, giving their own money, with multiple bids increased the average donation by $8.77 (a 19.7% increase). Our findings have theoretical implications for invigorating prosocial behavior and offer practical suggestions for how charitable organizations can better engineer solicitations for aid.
The Promotional Effects of Live Streams by Twitch Influencers
Yufeng Huang & Ilya Morozov
Marketing Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We study the effect of video game live streaming on the popularity of broadcasted games. To this end, we collect novel high-frequency data from Twitch.tv, a major video game streaming platform, by monitoring live streams of 60,000 popular streamers every 10 minutes for eight months. To estimate the effect of live streaming, we leverage these high-frequency data and isolate plausibly exogenous within-day variation in the broadcast hours of top influencers. We find that the number of people watching a game in live streams increases the concurrent number of people playing it with an elasticity of 0.027, a moderate effect that dissipates within a few hours. Investigating the mechanisms behind live streaming effects, we find evidence that live streams make consumers aware of games by lesser-known publishers and reveal the quality and match value of games to consumers. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that, despite the general excitement about live stream promotions in this industry, only about one sixth of all games profit from sponsored live streams.