Generating social value through online communities: the case of MedicineAfrica

Online communities have seen exponential growth over the last few years, and have thus attracted cross- disciplinary scholarly and practitioner attention. We extend literature on online communities by presenting them as social value creation entities. We use the case of MedicineAfrica—an online healthcare initiative that promotes knowledge sharing and learning to poorly resourced countries. Our approach is qualitative and draws primarily on interviews with different projects and groups of participants involved in MedicineAfrica. So far, our preliminary analysis begins to explain what social value creation means for the different stakeholders involved in MedicineAfrica. Thus, understanding the motives of the voluntary members is important for the sustainability of these communities. We also find that social value is created through the emergence of human and social capital which substantially benefits both those in the remote and fragile areas, as well as those giving up their time to share their knowledge and expertise