This study examines the predictive power of self-disclosed social media information on borrowers’ default in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and identifies social deterrence as a new underlying mechanism that explains the predictive power. Using a unique data set that combines loan data from a large P2P lending platform with social media presence data from a popular social media site, borrowers’ self-disclosure of their social media account and their social media activities are shown to predict borrowers’ default probability. Leveraging a social media marketing campaign that increases the credibility of the P2P platform and lenders disclosing loan default information on borrowers’ social media accounts as a natural experiment, a difference-in-differences analysis finds a significant decrease in loan default rate and increase in default repayment probability after the event, indicating that borrowers are deterred by potential social stigma. The results suggest that borrowers’ social information can be used not only for credit screening but also for default reduction and debt collection.

In peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, soft information, such as borrowers' facial features, textual descriptions of loan applications and so on, are regarded as potential signals to screen borrowers. In this study, we examine the signaling effect of a new category of soft information-social media information. Leveraging a unique dataset that combines loan data from a large P2P lending company with social media presence data from a popular social media site, and two natural experiments, we find two forms of social media information that act as signals of borrowers' creditworthiness. First, borrowers' choice to self-disclose their social media account is a predictor of their default probability. Second, borrowers' social media presence, such as their social network and social media engagement, are also predictors of default probability. This study proffers new insights for the screening process in P2P lending and novel usage of social media information.

With the rapid growth of social media platforms, short video advertisements (SVAs) have been a dominant channel for product sales. However, how to design SVAs that effectively drive product sales, especially in relation to previous SVAs and the related product information, remains underexplored. This study investigates how SVA title congruence influences sales performance through the mediating role of sociability. Specifically, we conceptualized video-video title congruence and video-product title congruence as two forms of content congruence and investigated their effects using data collected from Douyin, the leading short video platform. The empirical results with two-way fixed effects show that high video-video title congruence and low video-product title congruence are both associated with higher product sales. Sociability mediates the relationship between title congruence and sales performance. This study also finds that the creation frequency and product brand significantly moderate these relationships. Furthermore, this study develops several checks to ensure the robustness of the research model and findings, including the Heckman two-stage test. These findings provide theoretical insights into content creation strategies and offer practical implications for both creators and platform managers.