How do Online Product-Related Electronic Network of Interest Grow?: The Role of Content, Communication Activity, and Structure

Product-related electronic network of interest (eNoI) which allows access to external knowledge has become a great interest for both managers and scholar. In this study, we attempt to provide a more holistic theoretical foundation and empirically test the growth of the eNoI. First, we establish a theoretical background for the eNoI, by extending the research of a community of practice and community of network and illustrate how eNoI is different in terms of communication channel, network size, access, participation and activity. Second, based on a resource-based view of online social structures, we posit that the growth of eNoI is greatly influenced by the content, communication activity, and structure and aim to empirically capture the growth of eNoI. To test our hypotheses, we collect data regarding 975 different product-related eNoI from January 2008 to June 2009. The results indicate that while topic variation and responsiveness have positive impacts on the growth of product-related eNoI, the centralization of community communication is negatively associated with growth. By doing so, we offer managerial implications for firms to manage their eNoI and a tool to accurately examine their future potential.