Information Sharing and User Behavior in Internet-enabled Peer-to-peer Lending Systems: An Empirical Study
本研究基于社会身份理论，分析了116,667条贷款记录和1000条手动编码记录，发现信息共享（尤其是社会数据而非财务数据）对借贷双方行为有重要影响，且结果与先前研究存在矛盾，表明需要更全面地理解这类系统。
Internet-based information systems (IS) have enabled various forms of collective intelligence, action, and resources (e.g. open source software, innovation marketplaces, crowdsourcing, and crowdfunding). Within the domain of crowdfunding, Internet-enabled Peer-to-Peer Lending Systems (IP2PLS) have emerged as a disruptive technology, with implications for the financial services sector, business capitalization strategies, and personal and community development. IS research investigating user behavior in IP2PLS has revealed the saliency of social identity and personal transparency (as expressed through information sharing) in such systems. Prior research has largely focused on a small number of IP2PLS providers, thus this study examines a very large but under-researched platform. The study tests a theoretical model based on Social Identity Theory and prior IP2PLS studies, through an analysis of 116,667 loan records, and a subsequent analysis of 1000 manually coded records, to investigate the impact of information sharing on user (lenders and borrowers) behavior. The study reveals the importance of social ( vs financial) data, and further reveals relationships that frequently contradict prior findings from other IP2PLS. The study thus implies the need for a more heterogeneous view of the IP2PLS domain, and the need to more fully understand as systems that support user behavior by enabling social information exchanges.