Finding Simplicity in Complexity - Towards an Integrative Understanding of Online Community Sustainability

Understanding how online communities sustain their activities is a pressing need in a time where new forms of organizing and knowledge work develop in and through technological platforms. While research on online communities is rich, it is surprisingly disjointed and unable to provide a comprehensive explanation of how an online community achieves sustainability. In this review, we first highlight sustainability as a capacity that is achieved by an online community through several mechanisms. Next, drawing upon Complex Adaptive Systems theory, we organize past literature into four themes, and relate them to define six mechanisms that are needed for the development of sustainability. We therefore add order to the diverse literature and clarify how they fit in the big picture with regards to online communities’ sustainability. This also helps in better situating future work. This review also presents an agenda for future research aiming to have a greater relevance on theory and practice