Updating at the expense of demand? The case of platform apps

IF 4.1 4区管理学 Q3 BUSINESS

Information Systems and e-Business Management Pub Date : 2026-05-31 DOI:10.1007/s10257-026-00723-y

Wael Jabr, Dominik Gutt, Juergen Neumann, Dennis Kundisch

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

For short-lifecycle products, online reviews of earlier versions become less informative. In response, digital platforms hosting these products adopt governance mechanisms that keep reviews timely and aligned with the current versions. In the mobile app context, one such mechanism conceals prior reviews whenever an app is updated and excludes them when deriving review-based measures of reputation. The concern is that by increasing search frictions, the mechanism may depress demand for some apps but not others. In this paper, we investigate how this concealing governance mechanism influences app demand. Using an instrumental variable approach, our results reveal asymmetrical impacts. We find that top-ranked free “superstar apps” tend to benefit from updating. Paid “non-superstar apps” are negatively impacted and the effect is primarily driven by higher-priced apps, while free ones only suffer if their prior review-based reputation was high. Our findings highlight how a platform governance mechanism results in redistributing demand. They also offer platforms and developers guidance on the implications of review-concealing policies.

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以牺牲需求为代价进行更新？以平台应用为例

对于生命周期较短的产品，早期版本的在线评论信息较少。作为回应，托管这些产品的数字平台采用了及时审查并与当前版本保持一致的治理机制。在手机应用环境中，这种机制会在应用更新时隐藏之前的评论，并在获得基于评论的声誉度量时将其排除在外。令人担忧的是，通过增加搜索摩擦，该机制可能会抑制对某些应用的需求，而不是其他应用。本文研究了这种隐藏治理机制对应用需求的影响。使用工具变量方法，我们的结果揭示了不对称的影响。我们发现排名靠前的免费“超级明星应用”往往受益于更新。付费“非超级明星应用”会受到负面影响，这种影响主要是由价格较高的应用造成的，而免费应用只有在先前基于评论的声誉较高时才会受到影响。我们的发现强调了平台治理机制是如何导致需求再分配的。它们还为平台和开发人员提供了关于隐藏审查政策含义的指导。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Information Systems and e-Business Management Multiple-

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

11.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Nowadays, in the age of information technology and the internet, the creation and maintenance of business models has to consider the latest developments in information technology to ensure competitiveness and long-term success of the enterprise. The aim of Information Systems Management (ISM) is to integrate information technology into business models and business processes to explore its potential to meet the business goals. Many international journals in the field of information systems (IS) or information management (IM) focus primarily on the quantitative analysis of information systems phenomena, especially through the use of empirical studies. However, research on qualitative analysis, development, and deployment of information systems is not covered sufficiently by the existing international IS journals. Therefore, the journal Information Systems and e-Business Management (ISeB) focuses on the core tasks of Information Systems Management, the conceptual analysis, design, and deployment of information systems, as well as on all e-business related topics. 1. Editorial objective The central aim of the journal ISeB is to publish original, well-written, self-contained contributions that elucidate novel research and innovation in information systems management and e-business which advance the field fundamentally and significantly. Published quarterly, the journal will: - Provide a vibrant forum for both academicians and industry specialists to explore the information systems and e-business management field - Bring innovative research on all aspects of information systems management from analytical, behavioral and technological perspectives - Enable rapid dissemination of latest research and innovation, supported with a double-blind peer review process. 2. Nature of topics The function of information systems management is the use of information technology (IT) to meet the information requirements of a company. Core tasks of ISM are the generation of project ideas (e.g. identification of business opportunities enabled by new information technologies), conceptual analysis, design, and integration of information systems. Submissions to ISeB should have a clear business focus and use appropriate information systems methodologies. They should either be founded on theory or should have proven their value based on prototypes and their beneficial application in the field. The general applicability of the concepts presented is strictly required. Case studies are welcome, if the insights presented allow general applicability. Moreover, empirical studies are welcome if clear research questions with relevance to the field of information systems and e-business management are given and the studies are carried out correctly. ISeB topics focus on (but are not restricted to) the following areas: - Information Modeling: The central task of information systems modeling is the conceptual specification of information systems from the business point of view. Information modeling includes the development or the application of high-level modeling techniques used for conceptual modeling, e.g. event-driven process chain (EPC) for process modeling, entity-relationship model (ERM) for data modeling, and object-oriented methods like the unified modeling language (UML). - Domain-Specific Information Systems: Different industry domains (e.g. manufacturing, retailing, or finance) are characterized by different requirements to information systems that are reflected in different IS architectures for specific domains. The development and maintenance of information systems in an industry domain can be supported by these architectures. Either the development of generalizable domain-specific architectures or the employment of such architectures in practice can be discussed. - E-Business Management (intra-organization al and inter-organizational information systems): Possible sub-topics include the development and deployment of IS for electronic commerce and supply chain management, market places, new business scenarios enabled through new technologies. Based on a business strategy, submissions have to clearly state how the strategy can be operationalized using IS. - Information Systems Development: The development and deployment of large-scale IS (e.g. enterprise resource planning software) requires the use of appropriate software engineering methodologies, procedure models, and project management. Possible research areas are the development of software engineering methodologies, procedure models, and the design of project management methods. Empirical studies on IS development may focus on the application of well-founded methods in practice. - Information Technology Management: The function of information technology management is the provision and operation of the technical infrastructure and the planning of the technical orientation of information systems in an enterprise. An important aspect is the impact of changing information systems on organizational structures and processes – and vice versa. In this context, the use of information technology to realize a business strategy efficiently can be analyzed. - Latest Information Technology Developments: Latest developments in information technology have to be evaluated to explore potentials to generate new business strategies. Current topics and trends to be evaluated for business use are e.g. business intelligence systems, agent technology, and workflow management systems. Officially cited as: Inf Syst E-Bus Manage