Promoting Platform Takeoff and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Field Experimental Evidence

Management Science ◽

10.1287/mnsc.2021.3999 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin J. Boudreau

Keyword(s):

Field Experiment ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Causal Role ◽

Subjective Expectations ◽

Theoretical Literature ◽

Early Adoption ◽

The Future ◽

Launch Strategy ◽

Market Expectations

A platform might have the potential to bring enormous value to its users. However, without a well-orchestrated launch strategy that coordinates a sufficient number of users onto the platform, this potential will not be realized. The theoretical literature predicts that one approach to coordinating platform take-off is to influence the market’s subjective focal expectations of the future installed base of users. This paper reports on a field experiment investigating the causal role of subjective expectations in the launch of a new platform venture, in which invitations to join a newly launched platform were sent to 16,349 individuals. The invitations included randomized statements regarding the size of the future expected installed base (along with disclosures of the current installed base). I find that simple, subjective, uncommitted, and relatively costless statements broadcasted by the platform with the goal of influencing market expectations were indeed able to influence platform takeoff and overcome an initial chicken-and-egg problem. These broadcasted subjective statements regarding future installed base had a larger influence on adoption rates than did disclosures of the true current installed base during early adoption. However, these subjective statements of expected future installed base ceased to have any effect once the true current installed base grew large. I discuss implication for the promotion, marketing, and evangelism of new platform ventures. This paper was accepted by Duncan Simester, marketing.

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Experimental evidence for the role of earthworms in compacted soil regeneration based on field observations and results from a semi-field experiment

Soil Biology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.01.006 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 711-717 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Yvan Capowiez ◽

Stéphane Cadoux ◽

Pierre Bouchand ◽

Jean Roger-Estrade ◽

Guy Richard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Field Experiment ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Field Observations ◽

Compacted Soil

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The Role of Mindset in Education : A Large-Scale Field Experiment in Disadvantaged Schools

10.31235/osf.io/zs9aq ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elise Huillery ◽

Adrien Bouguen ◽

Axelle Charpentier ◽

Yann Algan ◽

Coralie Chevallier

Keyword(s):

Field Experiment ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Growth Mindset ◽

Disadvantaged Schools ◽

Scale Field ◽

Large Scale Field ◽

The Impact

This article provides experimental evidence of the impact of a four-year inter-vention aimed at developing students’ growth mindset and internal locus ofcontrol in disadvantaged middle schools. We find a 0.07 standard deviationincrease in GPA, associated with a change in students’ mindset, improved be-havior as reported by teachers and school registers, and higher educational andprofessional aspirations. International empirical benchmarks reveal that theintervention is at least ten times more cost-effective than the typical educa-tional intervention. However, while reducing between-school inequality whentargeted to disadvantaged schools, the program benefits less to more fragilestudents, therefore increasing within-school inequality.

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Thinking about ethnic diversity: experimental evidence on the causal role of ethnic diversity in German neighborhoods and schools

Social Cohesion and Immigration in Europe and North America ◽

10.4324/9781315775975-19 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 187-206

Keyword(s):

Experimental Evidence ◽

Ethnic Diversity ◽

Causal Role

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Do Writing Directions Influence How People Map Space onto Time?

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000215 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 77 (4) ◽

pp. 173-184

Author(s):

Wenxing Yang ◽

Ying Sun

Keyword(s):

Mental Representations ◽

Space Time ◽

Horizontal Axis ◽

Causal Role ◽

Writing Systems ◽

Temporal Cognition ◽

Japanese Speakers ◽

Psychological Experiments ◽

Vertical Up

Abstract. The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers’ mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.

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Challenges of Fear Conditioning Research in the Age of RDoC

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000303 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 225 (3) ◽

pp. 189-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tina B. Lonsdorf ◽

Jan Richter

Keyword(s):

Fear Conditioning ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Research Domain Criteria ◽

Major Focus ◽

The Future ◽

Definition Of ◽

Methodological Considerations ◽

Research Domain

Abstract. As the criticism of the definition of the phenotype (i.e., clinical diagnosis) represents the major focus of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, it is somewhat surprising that discussions have not yet focused more on specific conceptual and procedural considerations of the suggested RDoC constructs, sub-constructs, and associated paradigms. We argue that we need more precise thinking as well as a conceptual and methodological discussion of RDoC domains and constructs, their interrelationships as well as their experimental operationalization and nomenclature. The present work is intended to start such a debate using fear conditioning as an example. Thereby, we aim to provide thought-provoking impulses on the role of fear conditioning in the age of RDoC as well as conceptual and methodological considerations and suggestions to guide RDoC-based fear conditioning research in the future.

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