How Does User Social Network Improve Innovation Outcomes on a Virtual Innovation Platform?

Abstract

Previous studies demonstrate that online interactive relations can help improve users' innovation outcomes, yet few studies have investigated how they influence user innovation. This paper builds a social network based on users' online interactive relations in one virtual innovation platform (LEGO Ideas). It characterizes the online social network relations from both quantity and quality dimensions and examines their influencing paths on users' innovation outcomes (i.e., emotional support and information flow). The empirical results show that both the quantity and quality of online relations impose positive effects on innovation, yet in different ways. The quantity of online relations could bring users more positive emotions, whereas the quality of online relations could bring them with more useful information and knowledge. By examining the influencing paths, this paper contributes to the literature on how online relations influence innovation outcomes as well as provides practical suggestions for innovation platforms.