How Competition Affects Contributions to Open Source Platforms: Evidence from OpenStreetMap and Google Maps

Knowledge platforms differ in how they source their knowledge; they can be categorized as traditional (e.g., Encyclopedia Britannica, Guide Michelin) or crowdsourced (e.g., Wikipedia, Yelp). While research has compared and contrasted the two, we examine how they compete with one another; specifically, how the presence of traditional competitors affects contributions to crowdsourced knowledge platforms. We suggest a divergent effect across contributors, depending on whether they joined before the entry of a competitor or are newly recruited to the platform. Contributions from pre-entry contributors increase due to increased attachment to the platform, but contributions from newly recruited contributors decrease; such contributors are less likely to join as competition decreases their awareness of the platform. In order to test our theory, we examine how the phased entry of Google Maps in different countries over time affects contributions to OpenStreetMap, a crowdsourced mapping platform. We find the hypothesized divergent effect and explore the mechanisms of increased attachment among pre-entry contributors and decreased awareness among newly recruited contributors. Our study's main contribution is to research on crowdsourcing; we explore the intersection of competitive strategy and crowdsourcing and inform research on willingness to contribute. We also shed light on platform competition and on the effect of competition on organizations more broadly.

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