2023
Working Paper
HBS Working Paper Series

Learning to Use: Stack Overflow and Technology Adoption

By: Daniel Jay Brown and Maria P. Roche

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:40

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

Technology Adoption; Knowledge Sharing

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.