Is Attention All You Need? Evidence from Differentiation Strategies of High-Status Complementors on Meta-Platforms
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Abstract
Hypercompetitive platform markets hampering the comparison between low and high-quality complements risk crowding out high-quality complements. We investigate how the conditional featuring of high-status complementors’ distinguishing quality attributes facilitates attention anchoring on high-quality offerings. We suggest a penalizing effect of high-price complements in grabbing user attention, an attention-grabbing effect for complements of high-status complementors, and an attention-shifting effect from price to quality for high-status complementors facilitating a price-quality comparison. Analyzing the fashion category of a leading meta-platform, we find empirical support for our theory. Our unique empirical setting allows us to quantify the attention-shifting effect with premium-featured complementors attenuating the negative baseline effect between complement price and complement attention while luxury-featured complementors amplify it. We contribute to platform research on complementor heterogeneities, governance, and coopetition.
Event Title
Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference
Event Location
San Francisco, USA
Event Date
11-14 October, 2025
Additional Information
Nominated for the "Best Paper Prize" at the SMS Annual Conference in San Francisco, USA
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