Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/271773 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10129
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We conduct a field experiment on a movie-recommendation platform to identify if and how recommendations affect consumption. We use within-consumer randomization at the good level and elicit beliefs about unconsumed goods to disentangle exposure from informational effects. We find recommendations increase consumption beyond its role in exposing goods to consumers. We provide support for an informational mechanism: recommendations affect consumers' beliefs, which in turn explain consumption. Recommendations reduce uncertainty about goods consumers are most uncertain about and induce information acquisition. Our results highlight the importance of recommender systems' informational role when considering policies targeting these systems in online marketplaces.
Subjects: 
recommender systems
information acquisition
field experiment
JEL: 
D83
D47
D12
L15
M37
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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