Roles and Knowledge Management in Online Technology Communities: An Ethnography Study

Technical communities are groups who share a common interest in a technology. The literature on technology communities lacks a conceptual understanding of the roles of various players in the online community. An understanding of the different roles the members of the community and the impact of the roles on knowledge management is crucial to manage and sustain such online technical communities. This study based on an ethnographic analysis of two technical communities identifies seven distinct roles. The impact of each of the role on knowledge management activities is discussed.