* Samer Faraj and Steven L. Johnson (Forthcoming). Network Exchange Patterns in Online Communities. Organization Science. Published online in Articles in Advance, December 29, 2010. DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1100.0600 Full paper (PDF).
Abstract: Large-scale online communities rely on computer-mediated communication between participants, enabling them to sustain interactions and exchange on a scale hitherto unknown. Yet, little research has focused on how these online communities sustain themselves and how their interactions are structured. In this paper, we theorize and empirically measure the network exchange patterns of long-duration sustainable online communities. We propose that participation dynamics follow specific forms of social exchange: direct reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, and preferential attachment. We integrate diverse findings about individual participation motivations by identifying how individual behavior manifests in network-level structures of online communities. We studied five online communities over 27 months and analyzed 38,483 interactions using exponential random graph (p*) models and mixed-effects ANCOVA analysis. In a test of competing models, we find that network exchange patterns in online community communication networks are characterized by direct reciprocity and indirect reciprocity patterns and, surprisingly, a tendency away from preferential attachment. Our findings undermine previous explanations that online exchange follows a power law distribution based on people wanting to connect to “popular” others in online communities. Our work contributes to theories of new organizational forms by identifying network exchange patterns that regulate participation and sustain online communities.
* Steven L. Johnson (2010). Should I Stay or Should I Go? Continued Participation Intentions in Online Communities in Leslie A. Toombs (Ed.), Proceedings of the Seventieth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (CD), ISSN 1543-8643. Full paper (PDF).
Abstract: Online communities formed by volunteer members are increasingly recognized as sources of innovative ideas, as producers of information goods, and as a critical component for successful product marketing. Understanding motivation for continued participation in online communities is an understudied area of research with practical relevance. We propose that continued participation in online communities is a multi-dimensional construct. To investigate individual-level and online community-level antecedents of two dimensions of continued participation, participation continuance intentions and participation intensity intentions, we analyze 534 survey responses and communication history of 135,477 messages from members of 33 different online communities. Our cross-level analysis furthers the understanding of the relationship between interaction with online community leadership, psychological safety, participation continuance intentions and participation intensity intentions. This study provides support for the proposition that participation intentions in online communities is a multi-dimensional construct. Further, we find evidence that online community psychological safety is both a contextual factor influenced by online community leadership as well as an influence on individual participation intentions. The findings demonstrate the importance of a multi-level approach to studying online community participation. We illustrate the use of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) as one technique for expanding multi-level research into the field of online community study. The improved understanding of continued participation in online communities provided by this study extends theories of online communities and expands practitioner knowledge of this important phenomenon.
* Steven L. Johnson (2008). Impact of leadership on continued participation in online groups. Unpublished dissertation. U. of Maryland, College Park.
Abstract: Online groups formed by volunteer members are increasingly recognized as sources of innovative ideas, as producers of information goods, and as a critical component for successful product marketing. Compared to formal organizations, online groups appear as anarchic collections of individuals largely devoid of formal authority. Yet online groups develop strong group norms, successfully generate information goods, and satisfy member needs–outcomes that seem impossible without some form of leadership by influential members. Research on open-membership voluntary online groups has consistently found that contribution to online groups is dominated by a small percentage of participants. The goal of this research is to better understand the role of leadership in online groups and to evaluate the impact of leadership in maintaining online groups by supporting continued participation intentions of existing members. I explored three related questions regarding leadership in online groups. First, does member interaction with group leaders contribute to continued participation intentions over and above a model based on past participation? Second, do shared context and direct communication with leaders impact continued participation intentions? And third, do group characteristics–group psychological safety, group size, and perceived number of leaders–moderate the relationship between group members and group leaders? I collected 535 survey responses from members of thirty-three different online groups (average of sixteen members per group) and also analyzed group communication history (a total of 135,477 messages). This cross-level analysis furthers our understanding of the relationship between interaction with group leadership, psychological safety, participation role intentions, and turnover intentions. I found that leadership in online groups is a determinant of online group outcomes. Online group leaders shape the group context, including psychological safety, which encourages or discourages participation. This study shows that leadership processes, group context, and differentiation among dimensions of participation intentions are all important considerations for further understanding of online groups.
* Samer Faraj, Molly McLure Wasko and Steven L. Johnson (2008). The structure and processes of electronic knowledge networks in I. Becerra-Fernandez and D. Leidner (eds.), Advances in Management Information Systems, Knowledge Management: An Evolutionary View of the Field. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Full paper (PDF).
Abstract: Advances in information and communication technologies have enabled the creation of “online communities,” where individuals congregate via a shared technology to engage in a variety of social interactions. In addition to purely social communities (such as Facebook or MySpace), some communities develop for the primary purpose of knowledge exchange, creating electronic communities of practice akin to an online help desk. We refer to these communities as electronic knowledge networks (EKNs). Given the success and proliferation of EKNs openly available on the Internet, organizations are investigating the creation and management of EKNs as a crucial knowledge management technology to support intra-organizational knowledge exchange. This chapter reviews the literature on two key issues that are essential for understanding knowledge exchange in EKNs: why people participate and how these networks are structured to ensure sustainability over time. Findings suggest that individuals participate in EKNs due to self-interest, such as gaining access to information and advice, and enhancing one’s reputation or influence. In addition to self-interest, research also indicates that participation in EKNs is also driven by high levels of social capital, such as feelings of trust and obligation, that stem from the social interactions in the network. In terms of network sustainability, research indicates the EKNs are predominately structured as scale-free networks, where the vast majority of effort is contributed by a small minority of individuals. Participation in these networks also exhibits certain underlying patterns of exchange, such as patterns of reciprocity, generalized exchange, and, finally, preferential attachment. This chapter ends by suggesting the implications of this research for organizations, and areas in need of future research.
* Adrian Yeow, Steven L. Johnson and Samer Faraj (2006), “Lurking: Legitimate or Illegitimate Peripheral Participation?,” International Conference of Information Systems, (ICIS 2006), December 2006, Milwaulkee, Wisconsin. [18% conf. paper acceptance rate.] Full paper (PDF).
Abstract: By sponsoring, promoting or simply monitoring virtual communities related to their products, work processes, and other topics of interest, organizations leverage the efforts, insights and abilities of individuals inside and outside their organization. Lurkers are participants who persistently demure from engaging in the core activities that sustain a virtual community. Because virtual communities are perpetuated through voluntary contributions, the persistent peripheral participation of lurkers is sometimes viewed negatively as social loafing or free-riding. Alternatively, an individual may engage in legitimate peripheral participation when their passive monitoring of group activities educates, socializes and otherwise prepares them for more effective contribution. We reconcile these conflicting views of lurking with individual- and community-level models of peripheral participation that include a parsimonious typology of virtual communities. Through empirical tests based on over 395,000 observations gathered over 5 months from 548 online discussion forums we demonstrate how lurking effects growth in site membership and participation. We conclude that lurking as legitimate or illegitimate peripheral participation is context-dependent and a more complex, nuanced activity than previously theorized and measured.
* Steven L. Johnson and Samer Faraj (2005), “Preferential Attachment and Mutuality in Electronic Knowledge Networks,” International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2005), December 2005, Las Vegas, NV. [13% conf. paper acceptance rate.] Full paper (PDF).
Abstract: The rapid adoption of Internet technology has accelerated the establishment of platforms for virtual interaction that overcome the inherent time and space limitations of face to face communication. The objective of this study is to investigate the individual and network level mechanisms that characterize interactions on these electronic knowledge networks (EKNs). Toward that goal, we develop a simulation model of a thread-based asynchronous EKN and provide results based on 330 runs of the model (simulating a total of 3,643,942 messages generated by 38,860 authors). This study contributes to our understanding of electronic knowledge networks by demonstrating the importance of structural characteristics in influencing participant behaviors. We focus specifically on the role of preferential attachment (the tendency to associate with the most popular participants) and mutuality (the tendency to maintain symmetry in relationships with others) in network formation. By using a simulation method and taking into account the nature of interpersonal ties, the study extends previous mathematical models of network formation to the specific setting of online knowledge exchange between individuals.
