Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Organization Studies
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (6)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Peddibhotla, N. B.
Right arrow Articles by Subramani, M. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Contributing to Public Document Repositories: A Critical Mass Theory Perspective

Naren B. Peddibhotla

University of Minnesota, USA, npeddibhotla{at}csom.umn.edu

Mani R. Subramani

University of Minnesota, USA, msubramani{at}csom.umn.edu

Public document repositories (PDRs) are valuable resources available on the Internet and are a component of the broader information commons freely accessible to the public. Instances of PDRs include the repository of reviews at Amazon.com and the online encyclopedia at Wikipedia. These repositories are created and sustained by the voluntary contributions of individuals who are not compensated for their inputs. This paper draws on and extends critical mass theory in the context of PDRs. Using data on the reviews written by prolific reviewers at Amazon.com and the text of their personal profiles, we find the critical mass of contributors at the PDR not only to be prolific and contributing high-quality reviews, but also to be among the earliest contributors of reviews on products. Reviewer profiles revealed the presence of multiple self-oriented motives (self expression, personal development, utilitarian motives, and enjoyment) and other-oriented motives (social affiliation, altruism, and reciprocity) for contribution. We find that the quality and quantity of contributions are inversely related and the motives for quantity of contribution are different from those related to the quality of contribution. The study highlights that PDRs are viewed by contributors as social contexts even though making contributions is an individual act that does not involve social interaction.

Key Words: public document repository • critical mass theory • collective action • dynamics • information technology

Organization Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3, 327-346 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840607076002
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Organization StudiesHome page
L. Sproull, W. Dutton, and S. Kiesler
Introduction to the Special Issue: Online Communities
Organization Studies, March 1, 2007; 28(3): 277 - 281.
[Abstract] [PDF]