How Exposure of “Social Others” Influences Consumers’ Online Repayment Behavior: Evidence from a Chinese Online Lending Company
(A2019-9473)

AUTHORS

Zeng Wang , Peking University; Xiaodan Zhang, Peking University; Guoqun Fu, Peking University

KEYWORDS

social others; online borrowing; repayment behavior

ABSTRACT

This paper explores in what extent and how the exposure of different types of “social others” influences online borrower’s repayment behavior based on the data from a large Chinese online lending company. Specifically, we divide “social others” as three types: family members, close friends, and colleagues. Our prediction is that online borrowers are less likely to default when disclosing his/her colleagues’ information than disclosing only family members’ information or close friends’ information to the lender. The results support this prediction, and a possible explanation is offered and managerial and marketing implications are briefly discussed.