Monetary rewards or comment recognition? The difference between the two types of feedback in online Q&A community
基于在线金融问答社区面板数据，研究发现同行评论认可促进知识贡献，而提问者金钱奖励反而有负面影响，且后者短期效应更强但随时间衰减更快。
Purpose An in-depth exploration of difference in the motivational effects of various types of feedback can better address the challenges faced by knowledge contributions. Drawing upon the self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines the relative effects of asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition in the short term, the heterogeneous effects across different social status levels and their long-term impact over time. Design/methodology/approach Based on panel data from an online financial knowledge Q&A community, this study employs a fixed-effects Poisson regression for empirical analysis. In addition, it also conducts instrumental variable regression and a series of robustness tests. Findings The results indicate the following: (1) Peer comment recognition has a positive effect on knowledge contributions, whereas asker monetary rewards have a negative impact. (2) In the short-term, the relative effect of asker monetary rewards is stronger, but this effect changes as the social status of the user increases. (3) There is no evidence of an offsetting effect between asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition. (4) The impact of both asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition on continuous knowledge contributions decreases over time, but the influence of the latter lasts longer. Originality/value Previous studies on monetary rewards and peer recognition have focused primarily on their direct effects. This research explores the differences in external incentives by examining the sources, types and timing of feedback, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that drive continuous knowledge contribution. It also offers a more valuable insights for the management of knowledge Q&A communities.