The Impact of Interaction Networks on Lurkers' Behavior in Online Community

Online product-review communities provide a wealth of information generated by users about various products. Community members interact with one another through replies to reviews and through "likes" to show their interest in product reviews. Individuals who do not interact or participate in product-review discussions are known as "lurkers." Lurkers are potential consumers of products under consideration and are influenced by product reviews. Collective action theory indicates that generating public goods may trigger the generation of more public goods or lead to collective action. We extend research on the interactive features of product-review networks by considering the out degree centralization, density, and microstructure of product-review networks. Our results offer insights into the application of collective action in an online community and may aid operators of online community platforms in designing mechanisms that encourage user interaction and increase lurkers' interest.