User Roles and Contribution Patterns in Online Communities: A Managerial Perspective

Abstract

Online communities are one of the powerful digital sources for businesses to analyze online users’ behavioral data. In this sense, it is important for practitioners to know how to motivate community members, to keep them amused and regularly engaged in the community. But, practitioners should be aware that different user types exist in online communities, and they should understand these members’ diverse needs to manage these communities successfully and to give a better service to their members. Concordantly, this study focuses on the problem of the existence of different user types in online communities and development of different strategies for their motivation, involvement, and communication. Unlike previous studies, this study considers theories across managerial and social domains, conducts social network analysis, and considers users’ contribution patterns in an online community to identify particular user types in an online community. The study also presents motivational strategies for practitioners to keep each type of users frequently amused in online communities.