Mechanisms to foster Self-Determination on Engagement Platforms - An Online Experiment

Abstract

Engagement platforms (EPs) are an essential technology to enable the sharing and exchanging of services and resources. As an increasing number of industries has been disrupted by EPs, both scholars and practitioners seek understanding on how to design and govern successful EPs. While the initial focus of platform operators was mainly on profit maximization, the interest in securing or increasing user well-being is constantly growing. Design mechanisms that positively influence the three constructs of Self-Determination Theory, autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and thus well-being, have already been identified. In this study we instantiate these mechanisms in a prototype and conduct a scenario-based online experiment with a between-group design to test four hypotheses (n=111). Our results show that autonomy as well as the intention to use increase significantly through mechanisms that foster Self-Determination.