Network Characteristics and the Value of Collaborative User-Generated Content

User-generated content is increasingly created through the collaborative efforts of multiple individuals. In this paper, we argue that the value of collaborative user-generated content is a function both of the direct efforts of its contributors and of its embeddedness in the content–contributor network that creates it. An analysis of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine reveals a curvilinear relationship between the number of distinct contributors to user-generated content and viewership. A two-mode social network analysis demonstrates that the embeddedness of the content in the content–contributor network is positively related to viewership. Specifically, locally central content — characterized by greater intensity of work by contributors to multiple content sources — is associated with increased viewership. Globally central content — characterized by shorter paths to the other collaborative content in the overall network — also generates greater viewership. However, within these overall effects, there is considerable heterogeneity in how network characteristics relate to viewership. In addition, network effects are stronger for newer collaborative user-generated content. These findings have implications for fostering collaborative user-generated content