Identification processes in distributed electronic groups: a study of voluntary technical support groups on the net
Lee S. Sproull, Jae Yun Moon · 2004
Prior to widespread access to the Net, people who needed help with their computing problems relied mostly on contract-based support from technology vendors or on intra-organizational end-user computing support. Today the Net affords an additional venue for support: technical support groups in which users voluntarily help one another solve technical problems. This dissertation draws on social identity theory and self-categorization theory to investigate how participants in a voluntary electronic group offering technical support develop identification with that group, and how these social identity processes can lead to high-quality technical support. It also examines how recognition mechanisms designed to motivate quality contributions affect these naturally-occurring social identity processes. Archival analyses of participant exchanges in four voluntary technical support groups discussing different technologies and implementing different recognition mechanisms characterize the dynamics of the processes as they unfold in the field. I hypothesized and found that the implementation of systematic recognition systems to bolster feedback providing within voluntary technical support groups resulted in on average greater participation duration of answer providers. Positive feedback reduced the risk of turnover in subsequent periods. As participant interaction with the group increased over time, their level of group identification increased.