TY - CHAP

T1 - Entrepreneurial Members in Online Innovation Communities Blessing or Curse?

AU - Bierwald, Jan

AU - Herstatt, Cornelius

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved.

PY - 2015/2/11

Y1 - 2015/2/11

N2 - In this paper we develop initial inductive research propositions regarding the behavior of entrepreneurial members in online innovation communities (OIC). In these communities, up to thousands of volunteers collaboratively develop an innovative product. Based on a netnography analysis of 7,362 mails, we follow a micro-level-approach concentrating on individual behavior and conduct a content and co-citation analysis of community members. By explicitly distinguishing entrepreneurial from private community members, we are able to investigate differences in their contribution focus, degree of specialization and collaboration level. Entrepreneurs tend to contribute more to innovative, disruptive topics and show a lower degree of specialization compared to private members. Nevertheless, entrepreneurial members need intensive care by management as they tend to form separated cliques with their peers and thus limit collaboration within the community. Finally, we discuss implications for both research and management.

AB - In this paper we develop initial inductive research propositions regarding the behavior of entrepreneurial members in online innovation communities (OIC). In these communities, up to thousands of volunteers collaboratively develop an innovative product. Based on a netnography analysis of 7,362 mails, we follow a micro-level-approach concentrating on individual behavior and conduct a content and co-citation analysis of community members. By explicitly distinguishing entrepreneurial from private community members, we are able to investigate differences in their contribution focus, degree of specialization and collaboration level. Entrepreneurs tend to contribute more to innovative, disruptive topics and show a lower degree of specialization compared to private members. Nevertheless, entrepreneurial members need intensive care by management as they tend to form separated cliques with their peers and thus limit collaboration within the community. Finally, we discuss implications for both research and management.

KW - Entrepreneurial behavior

KW - Member specialization

KW - User entrepreuner

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959909389&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4324/9781315754482

DO - 10.4324/9781315754482

M3 - Chapter

AN - SCOPUS:84959909389

SN - 9781138802025

SP - 193

EP - 211

BT - Open Source Innovation

A2 - Herstatt, Cornelius

A2 - Ehls, Daniel

PB - Taylor and Francis Inc.

ER -