Paper on Research Communities accepted for MOA Yearbook 2011

Stephan Ludwig (PhD Student at the University Maastricht), Tom De Ruyck (Senior R&D Manager) and Dado Van Peteghem (Senior Knowledge Consultant) their paper on Research Communities was accepted for the MOA (Dutch Market Research Association) Yearbook 2011. The research paper which is based on qualitative as well as quantitative research conducted on the InSites Consulting research community TalkToChange outlines the reasons why people participate in research communities and what the potential pitfalls are, when facilitating such collectives.
Specifically, people are motivated by three key aspects:

  1. Relational aspects: The perceived relationship, members have with the community facilitator and other community members.
  2. Value aspects: The perceived benefits, such as informational gain and social relation.
  3. Personality aspects: Certain personality traits which are most common for people who are part of the research communities and are very different to social networking communities such as Facebook

The research further uncovers potential pitfalls:
When perceived costs, such as time and effort, reach a certain level, participation drops. Furthermore, the study shows that although social connections fuel participation at first, a stark interest in social matters can deplete members’ contributions to the research community in the long-run.
Results and implications offer useful guidelines for anyone interested in facilitating Research Communities.
Want to find out more about Research Communities? Contact Tom De Ruyck.

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