Chat more and contribute better: An empirical study of a knowledge-sharing community

Xiaomeng Chen, Christopher Forman and Michael E. Kummer

No 21-061, ZEW Discussion Papers from ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Abstract: We analyze whether an informal second channel for communication can improve the efficiency of knowledge transfer in an electronic network of practice. We explore this question by analyzing the effect of chat rooms in the well-known Q&A forum Stack Overflow. We identify the causal effect using a difference-in-differences approach, which exploits a feed functionality that non-selectively pushed all questions from the Q&A into the relevant chat rooms. We report two main findings: First, chat rooms reduced the time until a question in the main Q&A received a satisfactory answer. Second, chat rooms disproportionately benefited new users who asked low-quality questions. Our study has clear managerial implications: A second channel for communication can complement the main channel in online communities to enhance both efficiency and inclusion.

Keywords: Knowledge sharing; Online community; User contribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L17 O31 O36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-isf, nep-pay and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:zewdip:21061

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