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Research Note ---Continued Participation in Online Innovation Communities: Does Community Response Matter Equally for Everyone?

Author

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  • Chen Zhang

    (Fogelman College of Business and Economics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152)

  • Jungpil Hahn

    (School of Computing, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117417)

  • Prabuddha De

    (Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907)

Abstract

In this study, we focus on the factors that influence online innovation community members' continued participation in the context of open source software development (OSSD) communities. Prior research on continued participation in online communities has primarily focused on social interactions among members and benefits obtained from these interactions. However, members of these communities often play different roles, which have been examined extensively, albeit in a separate stream of research. This study attempts to bridge these two streams of research by investigating the joint influence of community response and members' roles on continued participation. We categorize OSSD community members into users and modifiers and empirically examine the differential effects of community response across these roles. By analyzing a longitudinal data set of activities in the discussion forums of more than 300 OSSD projects, we not only confirm the positive influence of community response on members' continued participation but also find that community response is more influential in driving the continuance behavior of users than that of modifiers. In addition, this research highlights the importance of modifiers, a key subgroup of OSSD participants that has been largely overlooked by prior research.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen Zhang & Jungpil Hahn & Prabuddha De, 2013. "Research Note ---Continued Participation in Online Innovation Communities: Does Community Response Matter Equally for Everyone?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 1112-1130, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:24:y:2013:i:4:p:1112-1130
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2013.0485
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Samer Faraj & Georg von Krogh & Eric Monteiro & Karim R. Lakhani, 2016. "Special Section Introduction—Online Community as Space for Knowledge Flows," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 668-684, December.
    3. Wonseok Oh & Jae Yun Moon & Jungpil Hahn & Taekyung Kim, 2016. "Research Note—Leader Influence on Sustained Participation in Online Collaborative Work Communities: A Simulation-Based Approach," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 383-402, June.
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