Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.17559/TV-20190627120336

User Roles in Virtual Community of Crowdsourcing for Innovation: A Case Study of Xiaomi MIUI in China

Qingliang Meng orcid.org/0000-0002-4609-8651 ; School of Management & Economics, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, 301, Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
Yi Hang orcid.org/0000-0003-1247-5006 ; School of Management & Economics, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, 301, Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China
Xiaojun Chen ; School of Management & Economics, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, 301, Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China

Abstract

Crowdsourcing innovation, as a new innovation pattern, helps companies reduce the risks and costs of innovation, which has received widespread attention and practical application. What is critical for improving crowdsourcing innovation performance is to understand the heterogeneity of participating users deeply, guide and motivate users to participate actively. Based on the typical characteristics of crowdsourcing innovation communities, this paper proposes a model integrating social network analysis (SNA) & K-means clustering algorithm to identify participants’ roles and conducting empirical research with Xiaomi MIUI community. The result indicates that users can be divided into nine categories: active user, positive user, negative user, bystander, creative contributor, faithful supporter, tourist, and new participant. In order to provide decision support for enterprises to govern crowdsourcing innovation virtual community effectively and improve innovation performance, this paper analyses the behavioural characteristics of each user role from two dimensions: interaction behaviour and contribution behaviour.

Keywords

crowdsourcing innovation; identification; user roles; virtual community

Hrčak ID:

226036

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/226036

Publication date:

8.10.2019.

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