Firm-Sponsored Online Communities: Building Alignment Capabilities for Participatory Governance
Authors: Safadi, Hani; Skousen, Tanner; Karahanna, Elena
Journal: Information Systems Research (2025)
<jats:p> Practice- and Policy-Oriented Abstract </jats:p><jats:p> Many organizations recognize the capacity of online communities to generate knowledge and create value. However, firm-sponsored online communities are composed of both community and firm stakeholders, where the goals and desires of each side can differ. This dichotomy of goals can create challenges when determining how best to govern a firm-sponsored online community, such as how much control the firm should exert on community behavior. Our work shows that community governance need not stem solely from the firm or the community. Rather, a successful and vibrant community that achieves the goals of all its stakeholders is achieved through participatory governance, which adopts both firm- and community-based governance modes. Drawing from a case study from Mayo Clinic Connect, a successful firm-sponsored online community that employs a participatory governance model, we discovered governance alignment as a capability that improves participatory governance. Governance alignment is an adaptive process that effectively balances the sponsoring firm’s goals with the community members’ needs and participation. In this paper…