Emergent user roles and perceived requirements in a social‐oriented community

Purpose – To explore the relationship between emergent user roles and perceived importance of user requirements in a social‐oriented community.Design/methodology/approach – A field study was designed to uncover hidden online social networks, and to elicit and rate user requirements.Findings – User roles might have an impact on their perceptions of requirements. The study showed that significant differences of perceptual requirements on regulation and links exist across user roles.Research limitations/implications – Only a small‐sized online community (approximately 300 members) participated in this study. One‐quarter of the population filled out the online survey.Practical implications – Online community builders should invite a handful of different user roles to participate in the design and evolutionary processes of information systems.Originality/value – The paper challenges popular views about the design of online communities.

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