Firm-Scale Heterogeneity in Digital Platform Adoption
RCTReview
Small businesses face severe resource constraints and lack internal human resources screening infrastructure relative to larger enterprises [8, 11]. Consequently, generic digital market interventions produce asymmetric engagement based on baseline firm size [8].
Picture this
Imagine a large restaurant with a dedicated security guard and a small food cart run by a single owner. If a flood of new supplier flyers arrives, the large restaurant can assign its guard to check credentials and interview vendors. The small food cart owner has no spare hands to vet strangers, so they ignore all flyers unless a trusted third party hands them a pre-verified supplier list directly [8, 11].
What the evidence says
Large firms (more than ten employees) increased candidate engagement under both advertising alone and joint treatments [8]. In contrast, small firms (less than ten employees) increased engagement exclusively when assigned to the joint combination group [8].
- Who was studied
- Over 900 surveyed firms (from 1,576 total participating firms) in Bengaluru, India offering entry-level jobs with average monthly salaries of INR 12,847 (US$182.5) [4, 11].
- How
- Subgroup analysis comparing small firms (<10 employees) with larger firms (≥10 employees) across experimental arms in a randomized evaluation [8].
What to do
Target integrated verification and screening support specifically toward micro and small enterprises that lack internal recruiting resources.
From the source
"While large firms (more than ten employees) also increased engagement in the combination and advertising treatment groups, small firms (less than ten employees) increased engagement only for the combination group." [8]
Online Job Portals and Firm Hiring in India.pdf