Discussion Paper No. 331
July 7, 2022
Charitable Giving by the Poor
A Field Experiment in Kyrgyzstan
Authors:
Adena, Maja (WZB Berlin)Hakimov, Rustamdjan (University of Lausanne and WZB Berlin)
Huck, Steffen (WZB Berlin and UCL)
Abstract:
Keywords:
charitable giving; field experiments; matching donationsJEL-Classification:
C93; D64; D12Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 328
May 12, 2022
A Field Experiment on Threshold Matching of Donations
Authors:
Adena, Maja (WZB Berlin)Huck, Steffen (WZB Berlin and UCL)
Abstract:
Keywords:
charitable giving; field experiments; matching donations; personalizationJEL-Classification:
C93; D64; D12Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 326
May 5, 2022
Voluntary ‘Donations’ versus Reward-Oriented ‘Contributions’: Two Experiments on Framing in Funding Mechanisms
Authors:
Adena, Maja (WZB Berlin)Huck, Steffen (WZB Berlin and UCL)
Abstract:
Keywords:
crowdfunding; field experiment; framingJEL-Classification:
C93; D64; D12Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 319
February 18, 2022
COVID-19 and Pro-Sociality: How Do Donors Respond to Local Pandemic Severity, Increased Salience, and Media Coverage?
Authors:
Adena, Maja (WZB Berlin)Harke, Julian (WZB Berlin)
Abstract:
Keywords:
COVID-19; charitable giving; online experiments; natural experimentsJEL-Classification:
C93; D64; D12Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 276
February 5, 2021
Do Robo-Advisors Make Us Better Investors?
Author:
Back, Camila (LMU Munich)
Morana, Stefan (Saarland University)
Spann, Martin (LMU Munich)
Abstract:
Investors increasingly can obtain assistance from “robo-advisors,” artificial intelligence–enabled digitalized service agents imbued with anthropomorphic design elements that can communicate using natural language. The present article considers the impact of anthropomorphized robo-advisors on investment decisions, with a focus on their ability to mitigate investors’ behavioral biases. We study the well-documented disposition effect, which reflects investors’ greater propensity to realize past gains than past losses. In two induced-value laboratory experiments, the availability of a robo-advisor reduces (i.e., mitigates) investors’ disposition effect. This relationship is mediated by two simultaneous (indirect) effects: the extent of requests for the robo-advisor’s investment advice and perceptions of its socialness. These findings resonate with cognitive dissonance theory, which predicts that assigning responsibility to the advisor helps investors resolve a sense of discomfort that may arise after a financial loss. Anthropomorphic design elements alone are not sufficient to reduce the disposition effect, but they decrease investors’ propensity to seek advice, which offsets the positive (indirect) effect of perceived socialness. These results have implications for the ongoing automation of advisory services, as well as for improving decision making, and suggest some further research directions.
Keywords:
robo-advisors; artificial intelligence; advice; anthropomorphism; disposition effect
JEL-Classification:
D91; D83; D84; G11; G41
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Discussion Paper No. 271
January 19, 2021
Paying for Open Access
Author:
Stich, Lucas (LMU Munich)
Spann, Martin (LMU Munich)
Schmidt, Klaus M. (LMU Munich)
Abstract:
Open access (OA) publishing upends the traditional business model in scientific publishing by requiring authors instead of readers to pay for the publishing-related costs. In this paper, we aim to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) of authors for open access publishing. We conduct two separate field studies with different methodological approaches in different scientific disciplines (economics and medicine). First, a choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis measures stated preferences of 243 economists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland regarding their valuations of open access publishing in the “Top 5” economics journals. Second, a field experiment at four different open access medical journals elicits authors’ self-determined (“Pay-What-You-Want”) payments for open access publications. The results provide a plausible range of authors’ valuations, given that the first study rather provides an upper bound and the second study a lower bound of authors’ willingness to pay for open access publishing.
Keywords:
open access; willingness to pay; choice-based conjoint analysis; pay-what-you-want; field experiment
JEL-Classification:
D12; M31; L11; L82
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Discussion Paper No. 248
June 21, 2020
Dynamic Pricing in a Digitized World
Author:
Spann, Martin (LMU Munich)
Skiera, Bernd (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Abstract:
Digital technologies favor the use of dynamic pricing, i.e., prices that vary unannounced for a product that basically remains unchanged. However, different forms of dynamic pricing are often mixed in the public discussion, which makes a meaningful analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic pricing difficult. The aim of this paper is to present the economic foundations of dynamic pricing as well as to discuss and to classify its design options. In addition, the paper assesses dynamic pricing from a buyer and seller perspective. Finally, the paper discusses implications for business research.
Keywords:
Dynamic pricing; price differentiation; price discrimination; digitization
JEL-Classification:
M30; D40; D10
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Discussion Paper No. 216
December 13, 2019
Intertemporal Preferences and the Adoption Decision for Bluetooth Speakers
Author:
Guhl, Daniel (HU Berlin)
Klapper, Daniel (HU Berlin)
Abstract:
The adoption decision for durable goods is intertemporal by definition. However, estimating utility and discount functions from revealed preference data using dynamic discrete choice models is difficult because of an inherent identification problem. To overcome this issue, we use stated preference data. Specifically, we employ the experimental design of Dubé, Hitsch, and Jindal (2014), where future prices are known and that elicits intertemporal adoption decisions for Bluetooth speakers in a discrete choice framework. We estimate several models of discounting (e.g., static, myopic, geometric, and quasi-hyperbolic) and find considerably lower discount factors than typical market interest rates would suggest. The values are also smaller compared to respondents’ matching-based discount factors, even though the correlation is positive and significant. Furthermore, there are substantial differences in discounting across respondents (i.e., heterogeneity in time-preferences) and lastly, there is no strong empirical evidence for quasi-hyperbolic discounting. Thus, the standard economic model seems to be appropriate for the data at hand.
Keywords:
intertemporal preferences; dynamic discrete choice models; durable goods adoption
JEL-Classification:
C35; D9; D12; M31
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Discussion Paper No. 193
October 23, 2019
The Existence and Persistence of the Pay-per-use Bias in Car Sharing Services
Author:
Dowling, Katharina (LMU Munich)
Manchanda, Puneet (University of Michigan)
Spann, Martin (LMU Munich)
Abstract:
A key benefit of using car sharing services (relative to car ownership) is that they are more cost effective. Car sharing firms offer a menu of pricing plans to make this happen. The two most common plans are flat-rate and pay-per-use pricing. However, little is known about how consumers choose among these pricing plans. In this study, we analyze consumers’ choices between pay-per-use and flat-rate pricing using data from a car sharing provider in a large European city. We show that over 40% of customers make nonoptimal pricing plan choices (i.e., they do not choose the cost minimizing plan). In contrast to previous research, we find a prevalent and time-persistent pay-per-use bias; i.e., we find little evidence that consumers “learn”. We propose three potential explanations for the existence and persistence of this bias. First, we suggest that customers underestimate their usage. Second, we propose that customers have a preference for flexibility, leading them to pay more. Finally, we show that the physical context, such as weather, increases the likelihood of a pay-per-use bias. We suggest that the pay-per-use bias may be the prevalent tariff choice bias in the Sharing Economy.
Keywords:
sharing economy; car sharing; pricing; pay-per-use bias; flat-rate bias
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Discussion Paper No. 154
May 2, 2019
An Experimental Analysis of Overconfidence in Tariff Choice
Authors:
Dowling, Katharina (LMU Munich)
Spann, Martin (LMU Munich)
Stich, Lucas (LMU Munich)
Abstract:
Digitalization has changed existing business models and enabled new ones. This development has been accompanied by the emergence of new pricing options and the possibility of applying established pricing models in new domains. Today, consumers can, for example, pay for accessing a product instead of buying it. Within such sharing services, consumers can usually choose between a flat-rate and a pay-per-use option. Prior work demonstrated that consumers' tariff choices are often systematically biased. Overconfidence was identified as one of the key drivers. Yet, prior research is non-experimental and focused on the so-called flat-rate bias. By contrast, we examine the effects of overconfidence on tariff choice experimentally. We show that overconfident consumers overestimate their ability to predict their future usage, which leads them to underestimate their actual usage, and eventually leads them to choose a pay-per-use (vs. a flat-rate) option more frequently. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications.
Keywords:
overconfidence; tariff choice; pay-per-use; flat-rate; experiment
JEL-Classification: