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Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production

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  • Michael Restivo
  • Arnout van de Rijt

Abstract

We test the effects of informal rewards in online peer production. Using a randomized, experimental design, we assigned editing awards or “barnstars” to a subset of the 1% most productive Wikipedia contributors. Comparison with the control group shows that receiving a barnstar increases productivity by 60% and makes contributors six times more likely to receive additional barnstars from other community members, revealing that informal rewards significantly impact individual effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Restivo & Arnout van de Rijt, 2012. "Experimental Study of Informal Rewards in Peer Production," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-3, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0034358
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034358
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    Cited by:

    1. Boris van Leeuwen & Theo Offerman & Arthur Schram, 2013. "Superstars need Social Benefits: An Experiment on Network Formation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-112/I, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Boris van Leeuwen & Theo Offerman & Arthur Schram, 2020. "Competition for Status Creates Superstars: an Experiment on Public Good Provision and Network Formation," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(2), pages 666-707.
    3. Johannes Loh & Tobias Kretschmer, 2023. "Online communities on competing platforms: Evidence from game wikis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 441-476, February.
    4. Jana Gallus, 2016. "Fostering Voluntary Contributions to a Public Good: A Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment at Wikipedia," Natural Field Experiments 00552, The Field Experiments Website.
    5. Jana Gallus, 2017. "Fostering Public Good Contributions with Symbolic Awards: A Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment at Wikipedia," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(12), pages 3999-4015, December.
    6. Tristan L. Botelho & Marina Gertsberg, 2022. "The Disciplining Effect of Status: Evaluator Status Awards and Observed Gender Bias in Evaluations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(7), pages 5311-5329, July.
    7. Gordon Burtch & Qinglai He & Yili Hong & Dokyun Lee, 2022. "How Do Peer Awards Motivate Creative Content? Experimental Evidence from Reddit," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3488-3506, May.

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