Factors affecting active participation in B2B online communities: an empirical investigation

Abstract

There is a lack of understanding on the factors affecting active participation in Business-to-Business (B2B) Online Communities (OC). To address this gap, we developed a model based on two theories: Social Exchange Theory and the Information Systems Success Model. The model was validated by using survey data collected from 40 B2B discussion forums on LinkedIn (n = 521). Our work made a number of significant contributions including an integrated model of factors affecting active participation in B2B OCs and a new validated measure for active participation. Further, we proposed several guidelines which assist B2B OC providers in building and maintaining successful communitities.