EXPRESS: Effects of Payment on User Engagement in Online Courses

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to democratize education by improving access. Although retention and completion rates for non-paying users have not been promising, these statistics are much brighter for users who pay to receive a certificate upon completing the course. We investigate whether paying for the certificate option can increase engagement with course content. In particular, we consider two such effects: (a) the certificate effect, which is the boost in motivation to stay engaged in order to receive the certificate; and (b) the sunk-cost effect, which arises solely because the user paid for the course. We use data from over 70 courses offered on the Coursera platform and study the engagement of individual participants at different milestones within each course. The panel nature of the data enables us to include controls for intrinsic differences between non-paying and paying users in terms of their desire to stay engaged. We find evidence that the certificate and sunk-cost effects increase user engagement by approximately 8%-9%, and 17%-20%, respectively. However, whereas the sunk-cost effect is transient and lasts only for a few weeks after payment, the certificate effect lasts until the participant reaches the grade required to be eligible to receive the certificate. We discuss the implications of our findings for how platforms and content creators may want to design course milestones and schedule the payment of course fees. Given that greater engagement tends to improve learning outcomes, our study serves as an important first step in understanding the role of prices and payment in enabling MOOCs to realize their full potential.

Fee-Based Loyalty Programs: An Empirical Investigation of Benefit Redemption Behavior and Its Effects on Loyalty

Loyalty program (LP) membership gives customers access to benefits such as free, discounted, or upgraded products or services; however, firms are increasingly charging customers enrollment fees for access to benefits instead of allowing them to earn benefits through repeat patronage. We sketch the evolution and design of LPs over the past 200 years and distinguish between several types of programs (free rewards-based programs and paid membership programs) and the types of benefits they offer (discounts and giveaways). We propose a theoretical model that hypothesizes that members who pay directly for LPs will use different benefits than customer who receive LP membership as a bundled package. Furthermore, we hypothesis that different benefit use moderates loyalty behavior. We test the hypotheses using a database of restaurant LP customers and find partial support for our hypotheses; in response to the sunk-cost effect and expectancy-value theory, a paid LP enrollment brings with it a need to self-justify and find the easiest path to investment payoff. Bundled members are more inclined to use lesser-used benefits. Our results suggest that proliferation of benefits may not translate into improved service, loyalty, or satisfaction.

Being psychologically abused is not enough into ending a relationship

Our aim is to understand the role of the sunk cost effect in intimate abusive relationships. Results of a questionnaire, based on likely scenarios applied to 267 women, show that women in a relationship invest more time/days in a relationship than those who are not in a relationship. Also, an effect of scenario and of relationship status on sunk cost effect were found. Women spend more time in a non-violent scenario; also, they spend more time in a scenario of psychological violence than in one of sexual or physical violence. These results suggest that being in a relationship enhance the likelihood of committing sunk cost effect; prior investments in a relationship acquire more value for individuals in a current relationship where those efforts exist naturally.