Multiple interests or unified voice? Online communities as intermediary spaces for development

While the uptake of online communities toward development purposes continues to grow, many are characterized by an unresolved tension. On the one hand, they benefit from participation of heterogeneous stakeholders in their efforts to strengthen their expertise. On the other hand, these stakeholders...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of information technology 2016-12, Vol.31 (4), p.358-381
Main Authors: Ferguson, Julie E, Soekijad, Maura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and Management
Business Information Systems
Communications technology
Community development
Divergence
Information systems
Information Systems and Communication Service
Information technology
Innovation/Technology Management
Knowledge management
Management
R&D
Research & development
Research Article
Virtual communities
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Summary:While the uptake of online communities toward development purposes continues to grow, many are characterized by an unresolved tension. On the one hand, they benefit from participation of heterogeneous stakeholders in their efforts to strengthen their expertise. On the other hand, these stakeholders represent highly diverging interests, which makes collective strategic action very challenging. To understand how online communities cope with this tension, we conducted a longitudinal, mixed method case study of an online community focused on development transportation. We argue that online communities are uniquely equipped, through their fluidity and open-endedness, to enable knowledge creation and agenda-setting. In so doing, online communities afford an ‘intermediary space’ that simultaneously accommodates both convergence and divergence of interests. Our study strengthens the bridge between information systems research and development studies, by highlighting the potential of ICT uptake toward ‘remaking participation’ in development debate, while including the perspectives of heterogeneous interest groups.
ISSN:0268-3962
1466-4437
DOI:10.1057/jit.2015.25