The Punctual and Sustained Effect of Recognition-Based Rewards in Online Communities

Managed online communities frequently use recognition-based rewards such as badges to motivate members to actively contribute to the community. To members, rewards constitute both a goal to be achieved and a token of recognition for their contributions. However, whether such rewards also actually lead to a sustained increase in members’ contribution levels is unclear and a hitherto contested and untested issue. In this paper we argue that the effectiveness of rewards partially depends on the activity that is being incentivized, because individuals’ ex-ante motivations differ from one activity to another. Advancing this argument, we categorize between the inherently distinct core and supporting activities; core activities being more intrinsically rewarding and central to the community, and supporting activities being less glamorous and visible yet crucial to community functioning. Our empirical investigation of the StackExchange community allows us to demonstrate a goalpost effect consisting of exponential activity growth in the ramp-up towards the rewards across activity categories. The post-reward-attainment activity levels, on the other hand, remain sustainably higher for supporting activities while dropping to the baseline values for core activities, suggesting a lasting motivational effect induced by the recognition-based reward."