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David against Goliath? Group size and bystander effects in virtual knowledge sharing

Business Administration at the Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, s.voelpel{at}jacobs-university.de

Robert A. Eckhoff

Jacobs Center for Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, r.eckhoff{at}jacobs-university.de

Jens Förster

Universiteit van Amsterdam, j.a.forster{at}uva.nl

Knowledge management has been identified as a key factor for sustaining a competitive advantage in today's corporate world. A fundamental aspect of knowledge management in a global economy is the sharing of information in online groups. Most researchers and practitioners have so far assumed that a large knowledge sharing group increases response rates, velocity of receiving a response and quality. However, psychological research under the umbrella of the so-called bystander effect suggests counter-intuitively that, with an increase in group size, the likelihood of helping decreases. This study provides empirical support for the fact that a) the bystander effect is also present in virtual (knowledge sharing) environments, b) that group size influences response quality and c) that the negative impact of social inhibition might decrease again in very large groups. The practical trade-offs that managers have to take into account when designing knowledge sharing forums are discussed.

Key Words: bystander effect • group size • knowledge management • knowledge sharing • online communities • quality

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