Understanding individual motivations among members of online communities

by Carpentier P. Les Cahiers du Numérique 2021,17(1-2):153-183. doi: doi.org/10.3166/lcn.2021.006

Summary: Websites and wiki-like sites have become the new libraries, active agoras for seeking and sharing information and knowledge. At the heart of this thriving knowledge commons are individuals who invest time and energy to create content and make it available online. A minority of the members create the vast majority of content, another small proportion edits and comments on existing content, while most members just read the available content. Understanding what motivates the minority of individuals who make a large contribution is crucial to the survival and growth of these communities. This study confirms that various actors in web-based knowledge communities have different motivations for knowledge-sharing and that individual identification with the community goal is the predominant motivator to active participation in online communities.

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