The Effects of Receiving Assistance on Participation in Online Knowledge-Sharing Communities

Abstract

Online knowledge-sharing communities have become increasingly important arenas for knowledge-sharing that benefit participants and firms alike: participants receive support and assistance, while firms benefit from reduced support costs and innovative insights. Scholars have begun investigating the motives that drive voluntary participation in online knowledge-sharing communities, but whether or not and how interactions between users shape future participation remains underexplored. This study examines whether receiving an answer to a question––and from whom the answer is received––affects a new participant’s likelihood of participating again. We consider this relationship based on fifteen years of data from Statalist, the online community that formed around the Stata statistical software package. The data show that receiving an answer from a “regular” community member is positively associated with asking future questions and negatively associated with answering others’ questions. However, receiving an answer from a Stata employee is positively associated with both future asking and answering. Our findings suggest firms can take simple steps to promote deeper involvement by new community participants.