If the organization is overwhelmed with low-value contributions, then raising the transaction cost of contribution through standardization, content filtering, and other forms of structure begins to make sense. Otherwise you start to escalate the transaction cost for the audience, and problems will begin to shift from contribution to attention. A very good treatment of these dynamics appeared recently in Across the Board magazine, April 1997. Inexpensive information drives out expensive information. Information delivered directly to the customer drives out information not directly delivered to the customer's location.
Customized information drives out uncustomized information.
Timely information drives out untimely information. Secure, stable information drives out less secure, stable information. The answer is yes. These examples illustrate the key benefits of a focus on transaction cost. It gives us a conceptual framework for viewing our current situation, and helps us to pinpoint weak areas with greater precision.