Assimilate or Differentiate? Contributors’ Choice of Subjects in User‐Generated Content
研究用户生成内容平台上，现有内容量和朋友贡献的内容如何影响贡献者选择主题，发现贡献者偏好内容较少或有朋友贡献的主题，且朋友效应随其他主题内容减少而减弱。
ABSTRACT A key to the content diversity on user‐generated content platforms is what subject users choose to contribute on. This research investigates how two factors can shape contributors’ subject choice decisions, namely, the amount of existing content and content contributed by online friends or “friend content.” Our experimental findings show that both the amount of existing content and friend content can shape a contributor's subject choice decisions: ceteris paribus, contributors prefer subjects with less existing content and ones with friend content when the amount of existing content is the same. In addition, contributors’ preference for subjects with friend content weakens as the amount of existing content on other subject's decreases. Our findings hold important implications for research and practice in user‐generated content platforms and beyond.