Publications
Publications
- 2023
- HBS Working Paper Series
Learning to Use: Stack Overflow and Technology Adoption
By: Daniel Jay Brown and Maria P. Roche
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the potential impact of Q&A websites on the adoption of technologies.
Using data from Stack Overflow – one of the most popular Q&A websites worldwide
– and implementing an instrumental-variable approach, we find that users whose questions are
answered within 24 hours are significantly more likely to adopt the technologies that they ask
about in their next job than users whose questions are answered later or not at all. In analyzing
heterogeneous effects, we detect that this relationship is driven entirely by users located in or
in close proximity to technological hubs, is stronger for more established technologies, and for
users who have already asked more questions about a focal technology. Our findings suggest that
the feedback provided by virtual communities can assist with the adoption of new technologies
by supporting individuals that are learning to use a technology rather than in the discovery of
new ones. Critically, our results suggest that such online activity functions as a complement to
physical proximity, rather than as a substitute.
Keywords
Citation
Brown, Daniel Jay, and Maria P. Roche. "Learning to Use: Stack Overflow and Technology Adoption." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-001, July 2023.