The dark and the bright side of co-creation: Triggers of member behavior in online innovation communities

Online innovation communities are often seen as a rich source of innovation that offers added value to its members. However, innovation in collaboration with communities may also create frustration and evoke angry reactions. This article with two combined studies investigates triggers of both positive and negative behavior of members of the ‘SPAR Bag Design Contest’ and helps to explain the bright and dark side of co-creation. It shows that dis-/satisfaction with the outcome, perceived fairness, and sense of community are beside co-creation experience major determinants for negative as well as positive reactions of innovation community members. The findings unfold that perceived unfairness and dis-/satisfaction with the outcome can cause negative reactions of participants like negative word-of-mouth. Perceived fairness and sense of community on the other hand are suggested as prerequisite for positive actions of members of co-creation communities. Thus, the results challenge the direct influence of co-creation experience on members' actions as e.g. sense of community fully mediates its influence on willingness to pay for and willingness to positively talk about the co-created outcome. The article further shows that dealing with such critical situations and managing conflicts in co-creation communities means an open dialog in the public sphere which requires co-negotiation and co-moderation.