Supplying Web 2.0: An empirical investigation of the drivers of consumer transmutation of culture-oriented digital information goods

摘要

This paper describes an empirical study of behaviors associated with consumers’ creative modification of digital information goods found in Web 2.0 and elsewhere. They are products of culture such as digital images, music, video, news and computer games. We will refer to them as “digital culture products”. How do consumers who transmute such products differ from those who do not, and from each other? This study develops and tests a theory of consumer behavior in transmuting digital culture products, separating consumers into different groups based on how and why they transmute. With our theory, we posit these groups as having differences of motivation, as measured by product involvement and innovativeness, and of ability as measured by computer skills. A survey instrument to collect data from Internet-capable computer users on the relevant constructs, and on their transmutation activities, is developed and distributed using a web-based survey hosting service. The data are used to test hypotheses that consumers’ enduring involvement and innovativeness are positively related to transmutation behaviors, and that computer self-efficacy moderates those relationships. The empirical results support the hypotheses that enduring involvement and innovativeness do motivate transmutation behavior. The data analysis also supports the existence of a moderating relationship of computer self-efficacy with respect to enduring involvement, but not of computer self-efficacy with respect to innovativeness. The findings further indicate that transmutation activities should be expected to impact Web 2.0-oriented companies, both incumbents and start-ups, as they make decisions about how to incorporate consumers into their business models not only as recipients of content, but also as its producers.