Why different motives matter in sustaining online contributions

Organizations are using voluntary services of contributors on the Internet to increase the value they provide to customers. To sustain such sites, administrators need to encourage repeated contributions from individuals. This study draws upon the volunteer process model to develop a mid-range theory of sustained online contribution behavior at product review sites. I test this theory using a survey of 235 contributors, and their contribution and social network data at Amazon.com. The results support hypotheses on the positive influence of the understanding and social-adjustive motive toward specific others in sustaining two aspects of repeated contribution behavior: contribution frequency and contribution volume. The negative influence of the altruistic and social-adjustive motive toward general others on contribution volume suggests a theoretical extension. This study offers an approach to understanding the relative importance of motives in sustaining repeated contribution behavior in online contexts.

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