Fostering cooperation on the Internet: social exchange processes in ...

information on the Internet have profound motivational and behavioral effects. Low distributioncosts, and the fact, that a download from the Net does not diminish the value of a digital good,lowers the ‘costs’ of contribution. The Internet also facilitates exchange by efficiently andeffectively bringing together a huge number of contributors and beneficiaries. These areimportant preconditions which represent an economic argument for collaboration and exchangeprocesses on the Net.However, these arguments do not explain why creative consumers are investingconsiderable time and effort in the creation of digital goods, engage in collaboration with otherproducing consumers and publish their work on the Net instead of buying a ready made product.In view of consumers buying more and more time-saving ‘plug-and-play’ and ‘ready-to-eat’products this seems paradoxical. Possible explanations can be found in the above outline ofexchange models and gift-giving as well as in consumer behavior research and literature onvolunteering, helping behavior and charitable giving. Table 1 provides a comprehensive summaryto guide the reader through the following discussion.TABLE 1KEY ELEMENTS OF EXCHANGE AND EXCHANGE PROCESSESKey elements Related concepts & theories Basic assumptions/evidenceIntrinsic motivation Task-involvement Psychological pleasure derived from the activeinvolvement with a challenging task(Csikszentmihalyi, 1997)ControlPerceived ability to control the most importantconditions of one’s life (Thompson and Bono,1993; Anderson, 1999)Extrinsic rewards Personal use-value Perceived utility of objects of exchangeSocial approval: recognition andreputation(Bagozzi, 1975)Gaining peer reputation as central incentive tomake one’s work publicly available (Raymond,1999)Gaining knowledgeGaining knowledge by means of informationexchange and help provided by expert membersof the community (Kozinets, 1999)Meaning of exchange Expected reciprocity and equity Cognitive evaluation of the input/output ratio inGeneralized social exchangerelation to a referent other (Walster et al., 1978)Exchange takes place on the basis of utilitarian12