The heterogeneity and diversity of users and external knowledge resources is a hallmark of open innovation communities (OICs). Although user segmentation in heterogeneous OICs is a prominent and recurring issue, it has received limited attention in open innovation research and practice. Most...

The emergence and solidification of network patterns is typically explained by the preferential attachment rule. The underlying logic is that a small number of actors which are characterized by an above average degree attract links at a higher rate than others. We raise the question as to what...