Research Note‹Leader Influence on Sustained Participation in Online Collaborative Work Communities: A Simulation-Based Approach

Author List: Oh, Wonseok; Moon, Jae Yun; Hahn, Jungpil; Kim, Taekyung;
Information Systems Research, 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2, Page 383-402.
From the perspective of leader-member exchange theory, we investigate how two forms of leadership style (uniform leader-member exchange (ULMX) and differential leader-member exchange (DLMX)) impact member participation in online collaborative work communities (OCWC). Furthermore, based on computer simulations, we also examine the moderating impact of key contextual factors on the relationship between leadership style and member contributions. Efficacy of leadership style in OCWCs is greatly influenced by environmental conditions. DLMX is more effective in sustaining member commitment under high environmental uncertainty, regardless of network size and structure. ULMX is more effective in decentralized structures and during the early stage of community growth. The simulation-based insights suggest that supervisory behavior does matter to member retention and sustained participation in OCWCs, but its impact is significantly moderated by many contextual factors, such as community size, structure, maturity, and environmental uncertainty. In certain situations ULMX prevails, but in others DLMX is more effective. These two forms of governance in fact complement each other, rather than being mutually exclusive forms of leadership style. To attain a maximal outcome, leaders should flexibly adapt their governance styles between DLMX and ULMX over the life cycle of an OCWC to maximize member retention and performance benefits.
Keywords: online collaborative work communities (OCWC) ; leadership style ; uniform LMX ; differentiated LMX ; sustained participation ; network structure ; network size ; network maturity ; computer simulations
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#45 0.157 community communities online members participants wikipedia social member knowledge content discussion collaboration attachment communication law virtual membership structures forms activities
#2 0.130 leadership leaders effective leader roles authority assume slow responsibility structure recognize responsibilities look size inevitable attain trend held articulate dominate
#249 0.107 network networks social analysis ties structure p2p exchange externalities individual impact peer-to-peer structural growth centrality participants sharing economic ownership embeddedness
#269 0.104 participation activities different roles projects examined outcomes level benefits conditions key importance isd suggest situations contextual furthermore benefit levels focus
#205 0.094 cognitive style research rules styles human individual personality indicates stopping users composition analysis linguistic contextual certain differences preferred theoretical activity
#116 0.087 research study influence effects literature theoretical use understanding theory using impact behavior insights examine influences mechanisms specifically context perspective findings
#265 0.074 collaborative groups feedback group work collective individuals higher effects efficacy perceived tasks members environment writing experiment did task intelligence compared
#165 0.071 uncertainty contingency integration environmental theory data fit key using model flexibility perspective environment perspectives high conditions processing examine issue uncertain
#223 0.064 insurance companies growth portfolios intensity company life portfolio industry newly vulnerable terms composition operating implemented factors asset focus disaggregation choices