On the Internet you can be anyone: An experiment on strategic avatar choice in online marketplaces

Arbeitspapier

In order to decrease social distance and increase trust on their platforms, many online marketplaces allow traders to be represented by profile pictures or avatars. In a laboratory experiment, we investigate whether the presence of seller avatars affects trading behavior in a market. We contrast markets without avatars with markets where avatars truthfully represent traders and markets where avatars can be freely changed at any time and may thus be chosen strategically. At the aggregate level, we find that the presence of truthful avatars increases the trustwothiness of sellers, but that this effect is undone when avatars can be chosen strategically. We do not detect aggregate effects on buyers' trusting choices. Female avatars are more trusted, and correspondignly in the treatment with free avatar choice men are more likely to represent themselves with a female avatar than vice versa.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: MUNI ECON Working Paper ; No. 2021-02

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Noncooperative Games ; Design of Experiments: General ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡
• Subject: online marketplaces ; market design ; trust and trustworthiness ; avatars ; strategic behavior

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Abraham, Diya ; Greiner, Ben ; Stephanides, Marianne
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration
• (where): Brno
• (when): 2021

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.5817/WP_MUNI_ECON_2021-02
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/237411
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET