What facilitates and constrains value co-creation in online communities: A sociomateriality perspective

We investigated factors that facilitate and constrain value co-creation in organization-sponsored online communities. We drew on sociomateriality and analyzed 28,000 online posts and 26 interviews from two Indonesian online communities. Results revealed new facilitators and constraints, including transparency, participatory leadership, content quality, social hierarchy, sense of community, flexibility, and privacy. All facilitators and constraints were associated with four actors: individual participants, organization, technology, and sociality. Findings showed that any factor could act as a constraint or a facilitator depending on the community, individual perceptions, and other circumstances, and that a dynamic tension exists between facilitators and constraints in online communities.

Automated summary

The study investigated factors that facilitate and constrain value co-creation in organization-sponsored online communities, revealing that transparency, participatory leadership, content quality, social hierarchy, sense of community, flexibility, and privacy are key factors. These factors are associated with individual participants, organization, technology, and sociality, showing a dynamic tension between facilitators and constraints in online communities.