本文精选了信息系统领域国际顶刊《Information Systems Research》近期发表的论文，提供信息系统领域最新的学术动态。

Fashionable Consumer Technology, IT Fashion, and Consumer Behavior

原刊和作者：

Information Systems Research Volume 36, Issue 3

Varun Grover （University of Arkansas）

Xinhui Zhan （University of Oklahoma）

Heshan Sun （University of Oklahoma）

Dan (Claire) Jiang （Independent Researcher）

Abstract

Traditionally thought of as “uncomfortable bedfellows,” consumer IT and fashion are becoming increasingly intertwined, which has given rise to a unique phenomenon termed “consumer IT fashion”—the collective enthusiasm in society for consumer technology. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain how IT fashion is perceived by individual consumers and subsequently influences consumer behavior. Our research aims to bridge this gap. By differentiating between societal-level and individual-level perceptions of IT fashion, the paper introduces novel constructs associated with IT fashion and fashionable consumer technology, particularly perceived societal-level IT fashion (PSITF, reflecting a person’s perception of society’s views on a technology) and perceived fashionableness of IT (PFIT, capturing a person’s perception of the technology’s fashionableness). Moreover, we identify drivers underlying PSITF and PFIT: collective adoption and social endorsement are the drivers of PSITF, whereas the novelty of IT and IT-identity congruity are the drivers of PFIT. A research model is developed to illustrate how IT fashion influences consumer behaviors, such as adoption and purchasing decisions. We conducted two empirical studies to assess our research model. In Study 1, we focused on consumers’ adoption decision of fashionable technology. The findings validate our conceptualization of IT fashion-related constructs and suggest that consumers are inclined to adopt fashionable IT when they believe it enhances their sense of belonging to a group (i.e., external symbolic value) and allows for self-expression (i.e., internal symbolic value). In Study 2, we explored consumers’ purchasing behavior, focusing on their willingness to pay (WTP) for a fashionable technology compared with the alternative IT product with identical functionalities. The results indicate that whereas consumers do acknowledge the symbolic values associated with using fashionable IT, these values do not necessarily translate into a greater WTP. Our research opens novel theoretical avenues for the exploration of IT fashion and lays the groundwork for future investigations in this domain.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2020.0084

Probing Digital Footprints and Reaching for Inherent Preferences: A Cause-Disentanglement Approach to Personalized Recommendations

原刊和作者：

Information Systems Research Volume 36, Issue 3

Cong Wang （Peking University）

Yansong Shi （Fudan University）

Xunhua Guo （Tsinghua University）

Guoqing Chen （Tsinghua University）

Abstract

The abundance of multiple types of consumer digital footprints recorded on e-commerce platforms has fueled the design of personalized recommender systems for decision support. However, capturing consumers’ inherent preferences for effective recommendations based on consumer digital footprints can be challenging because of the multitude of factors driving consumer behaviors. Model training and recommendation outcomes may become biased if other factors are inappropriately recognized as consumers’ inherent preferences in the learning process. Drawing on consumer behavior theories, we tease out various factors that drive consumers’ digital footprints at different consumption stages. We develop a novel recommendation approach, namely, DISC (Disentangling consumers’ Inherent preferences, item Salience effect, and Conformity effect), which leverages disentangled representation learning with a causal graph to derive the effect of each factor driving consumer behaviors. This approach provides personalized and interpretable recommendations based on the inference of consumers’ normative inherent preferences. The DISC model’s identifiability is demonstrated through theoretical analysis, enabling rigorous causal inference based on observational data. To evaluate DISC’s performance, extensive experiments are conducted on real-world data sets with a carefully designed protocol. The results reveal that DISC outperforms state-of-the-art baselines significantly and possesses good interpretability. Moreover, we illustrate the potential impact of different marketing strategies’ by intervening on the disentangled causes through follow-up counterfactual analyses based on the causal graph. Our study contributes to the literature and practice by causally unpacking the behavioral mechanism behind consumers’ digital footprints and designing an interpretable personalized recommendation approach anchored in their inherent preferences.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2023.0181

Win by Hook or Crook? Self-Injecting Favorable Online Reviews to Fight Adjacent Rivals

原刊和作者：

Information Systems Research Volume 36, Issue 3

Le Wang （University of Notre Dame）

Xin (Robert) Luo （University of New Mexico）

Liangfei Qiu （University of Florida）

Feng Xu （University of Michigan-Dearborn）

Xueying Cui （Xi’an Jiaotong University）

Abstract

The existing literature has long assumed that unethical behaviors are fueled by competition. Under this premise, rivalry and competition are often treated interchangeably. This study seeks to challenge this prevailing notion by introducing a conceptual distinction between rivalry and competition. Specifically, we explore the multifaceted relationship between rivalry and unethical behaviors in the context of online review self-injecting behaviors. Drawing on the collective regulatory focus framework and deterrence theory, we posit that rivalry-induced deterrence triggers a shift in mindset from promotion focus to prevention focus, which leads to the formation of mutual forbearance in self-injecting behaviors. Mutual forbearance collapses when one party unilaterally engages in self-injection, prompting the other party to retaliate by increasing their self-injecting activities. Additionally, we propose that firm reputation plays a crucial role in reinforcing the formation of mutual forbearance while mitigating its collapse. Employing an exhaustive data set from Ctrip.com and Qunar.com that comprises 85,939 observations from 3,996 hotels and spans 2018–2020, we found that the presence of an additional rival leads to a 3.2% decrease in self-injecting intensity. Furthermore, self-injecting intensity increases by 0.095% for every 1% rise in that of the rivals and increases by 0.041% for a 1% rise in that of the nonrival competitors. Crucially, our study identifies that firm reputation acts as a significant factor that strengthens the negative relationship between the number of rivals and self-injecting intensity and weakens the positive relationship between a hotel’s self-injecting and its rival’s self-injecting intensity. These empirical findings are supported by a myriad of robust examinations, including the use of a set of subsample analyses, alternative measures of independent variables, alternative instrumental variables, alternative observation time windows, and multiple endogeneity tests. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the pervasive and potent role of rivalry as an understudied inhibitor of self-injecting behaviors. Our empirical evidence offers critical managerial implications for platforms, sellers, and consumers.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2023.0179

Skill-Biased Technical Change, Again? Online Gig Platforms and Local Employment

原刊和作者：

Information Systems Research Volume 36, Issue 3

Xue Guo （Georgia State University）

Zhi (Aaron) Cheng （London School of Economics and Political Science）

Paul A. Pavlou （University of Miami）

Abstract

Online gig platforms have the potential to influence employment in existing industries. Popular press and academic research offer two competing predictions: First, online gig platforms may reduce the supply of incumbent workers by intensifying competition and obsoleting certain skills of workers; or, second, they may boost the supply of workers by increasing client-worker matching efficiency and creating new employment opportunities for workers. Yet, there has been limited understanding of the labor movements amid the rise of online gig platforms. Extending the skill-biased technical change literature, we study the impact of TaskRabbit—a location-based gig platform that matches freelance workers to local demand for domestic tasks (e.g., cleaning services)—on the local supply of incumbent, work-for-wages housekeeping workers. We also examine the heterogeneous effects across workers at different skill levels. Exploiting the staggered TaskRabbit expansion into U.S. cities, we identify a significant decrease in the number of incumbent housekeeping workers after TaskRabbit entry. Notably, this is mainly driven by a disproportionate decline in the number of middle-skilled workers (i.e., first-line managers, supervisors) whose tasks could easily be automated by TaskRabbit’s matching algorithms, but not low-skilled workers (i.e., janitors, cleaners) who typically perform manual tasks. Interestingly, TaskRabbit entry does not necessarily crowd out middle-skilled housekeeping workers, neither laying them off nor forcing them to other related occupations; rather, TaskRabbit entry supports self-employment within the housekeeping industry. These findings imply that online gig platforms may not naively be viewed as skill biased, especially for low-skilled workers; instead, they redistribute middle-skilled managerial workers whose cognitive tasks are automated by the sorting and matching algorithms to explore new self-employment opportunities for workers, stressing the need to reconsider online gig platforms as a means to reshape existing industries and stimulate entrepreneurial endeavors.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0307

An Experimental Evaluation of Gender Differences in Responses to Major-Donor Funding Schemes for Crowdfunded Social Ventures

Information Systems Research Volume 36, Issue 3

Sofia Bapna （University of Minnesota）

Gordon Burtch （Boston University）

Abstract

Social ventures fundraising through crowdfunding compete for contributions. Thus, they often involve major donors to influence the contributions of smaller donors. We examine what type of major-donor contribution scheme is most likely to attract smaller donors, considering whether and to what degree male and female donors differ in their response to alternative major-donor contribution schemes that are commonly used in practice. In a field experiment, donors were randomly assigned to receive one of three solicitation messages about projects seeking funds through crowdfunding. All donors received identical messages, with the exception that information on major-donor involvement was varied across conditions. The message to the control group made no mention of a major donor. The seed group was informed that a major donor had unconditionally funded the first 50% of the projects’ costs and that the projects were collecting the remaining 50% from other donors; we hypothesize that this scheme is likely to appeal to female donors, who tend to be more uncertainty and risk averse. Finally, the challenge-match group was informed that a major donor would provide the remaining 50% of the projects’ costs after the projects secure the first 50% from other donors; we hypothesize that this scheme is likely to appeal to male donors, who tend to respond more positively to challenges. The major donor in the field experiment—Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft—is an Austrian government agency that promotes and funds innovation. We find that females in the seed group are ∼50% and ∼35% more likely to exhibit an interest in contributing as compared with females in the control or challenge-match conditions, respectively. Among males, we do not observe significant differences in interest in contributing across the three groups. Survey results indicate that females are more responsive to the seed scheme because it yields a perception that the organization conducting the project is of high quality, is likely to reach its funding goal, and is likely to achieve its implementation goals. Our study suggests that social ventures will be more successful at attracting contributions from female donors if a major donor kicks off the campaign with an initial, unconditional contribution.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.0318