CHAPTER 12
User-Generated Content
and Social Media
Michael Luca
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, USA
Contents
12.1. Introduction 564
12.2. The Impact of User-Generated Content 568
12.2.1 Data and Identification Challenges 568
12.2.1.1 Cross-Platform Comparisons 570
12.2.1.2 Platform Quirks 570
12.2.1.3 Field Experiments 570
12.2.2 Impact of UGC on Demand: Data, Methods, and Results 571
12.2.3 Social Effects of Social Media 573
12.2.4 Other Findings and Open Questions 574
12.3. The Quality of User-Generated Content 575
12.3.1 Promotional Content 575
12.3.2 Self-Selection 579
12.3.3 Peer Effects and Social Influence 581
12.3.4 Other Issues 581
12.4. Incentive Design and Behavioral Foundations 582
12.5. Other Issues 584
12.5.1 Business Models 584
12.5.2 Competition ...