Online communities exist in many forms and sizes. Yet, there is limited insight into why some online communities are sustainable, while others disappear. We find that in order to maintain sustainability, online communities exhibit a typical hierarchical social circle structure that balances...

Online communities, which have become an integral part of the day-to-day life of people and organizations, exhibit much diversity in both size and activity level; some communities grow to a massive scale and thrive, whereas others remain small, and even wither. In spite of the important role of...

Online communities generate marketing value for both firms and consumers, and their sustainability relies on continuous user engagement. In an environment in which competition for engagement is fierce, digital platforms seemingly favor the use of negative emotion to engage users. Yet, the impact...

Integrating research from various disciplines, this article presents a systematic approach to online reputation management that consists of four steps: assessing the status quo; setting goals; evaluating possible interventions; implementing and monitoring the interventions. For each step,...