Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems (지능정보연구)

Korea Intelligent Information System Society (한국지능정보시스템학회)
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Membership Fluidity and Knowledge Collaboration in Virtual Communities: A Multilateral Approach to Membership Fluidity

가상 커뮤니티의 멤버 유동성과 지식 협업: 멤버 유동성에 대한 다각적 접근

  • Received : 2015.05.20
  • Accepted : 2015.06.12
  • Published : 2015.06.30
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Abstract

In this era of knowledge economy, a variety of virtual communities are proliferating for the purpose of knowledge creation and utilization. Since the voluntary contributions of members are the essential source of knowledge, member turnover can have significant implications on the survival and success of virtual communities. However, there is a dearth of research on the effect of membership turnover and even the method of measurement for membership turnover is left unclear in virtual communities. In a traditional context, membership turnover is calculated as the ratio of the number of departing members to the average number of members for a given time period. In virtual communities, while the influx of newcomers can be clearly measured, the magnitude of departure is elusive since explicit withdrawals are seldom executed. In addition, there doesn't exist a common way to determine the average number of community members who return and contribute intermittently at will. This study initially examines the limitations in applying the concept of traditional turnover to virtual communities, and proposes five membership fluidity measures based on a preliminary analysis of editing behaviors of 2,978 featured articles in English Wikipedia. Subsequently, this work investigates the relationships between three selected membership fluidity measures and group collaboration performance, reflecting a moderating effect dependent on work characteristic. We obtained the following results: First, membership turnover relates to collaboration efficiency in a right-shortened U-shaped manner, with a moderating effect from work characteristic; given the same turnover rate, the promotion likelihood for a more professional task is lower than that for a less professional task, and the likelihood difference diminishes as the turnover rate increases. Second, contribution period relates to collaboration efficiency in a left-shortened U-shaped manner, with a moderating effect from work characteristic; the marginal performance change per unit change of contribution period is greater for a less professional task. Third, the number of new participants per month relates to collaboration efficiency in a left-shortened reversed U-shaped manner, for which the moderating effect from work characteristic appears to be insignificant.

오늘날의 지식기반경제에서 핵심적인 역할을 수행하고 있는 가상 커뮤니티의 성공을 위해 턴오버(turnover)는 매우 중요한 의미를 가지고 있다. 그런데, 이에 대한 연구는 많이 부족한 실정이다. 우선, 턴오버를 측정하는 방법부터가 명확하지 않다. 가상 커뮤니티에서 새로운 구성원의 유입은 비교적 확실하게 인지할 수 있지만, 탈퇴는 명시적으로 탈퇴 처리를 하는 사람들이 드물고 재방문 가능성이 상존하기 때문에 구별하기가 쉽지 않다. 그리고, 특정기간 동안 임의의 구성원이 해당 커뮤니티를 위해 활동하고 있는 진정한 구성원인지를 판단하는 방식이 분명하지 않아 전통적인 조직의 턴오버 공식을 그대로 적용하기 힘든 면이 있다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 한계점과 가상 커뮤니티 구성원의 행위 패턴을 고려하여, 일차적으로 턴오버를 포함한 가상 커뮤니티 구성원의 유동성(fluidity) 관련 척도들을 도출하고, 이를 토대로 유동성과 가상 협업 성과의 관계를 작업의 전문적인 특성을 반영하여 분석하였다. 요컨대, 대표적인 지식 협업 커뮤니티인 영어 위키피디아의 2,978개 피쳐드 아티클(featured article)에 대한 지식 협업 행위로부터 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 첫째, 협업 효율성에 대한 턴오버의 관계는 오른쪽 부분이 짧은 U자 형태를 보이며, 똑같은 턴오버율에 대해 보다 학문적인 아티클을 완성하는 것이 더 오래 걸리고, 이 차이는 턴오버율이 증가함에 따라 감소한다. 둘째, 협업효율성에 대한 재방문기간의 관계는 왼쪽 부분이 짧은 U자 형태의 관계를 가지며, 전문적이지 않은 작업일수록 재방문기간의 일단위 변화에 대한 협업 효율성의 변화가 크다. 그리고, 똑같은 재방문기간에 대해 보다 학문적인 아티클을 완성하는 것이 더 오래 걸리며, 이 차이는 재방문기간이 평균이상으로 증가함에 따라 더욱 커진다. 셋째, 협업효율성에 대한 월(month)별 유입 신규 구성원 수의 관계는 왼쪽 부분이 짧은 역 U자 관계를 가지며, 이 관계에 대한 작업 특성의 영향은 유의하지 않은 것으로 보인다.

Keywords

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