If you love something, set it free?
Different approaches to governing firm-hosted virtual peer-to-peer problem solving communities.

Virtual communities have evolved beyond the realm of social phenomena to become important media for peer-to-peer problem solving. The potential of these communities as a low-cost, high-quality service support channel has been recognized by an increasing number of companies that host communities for their customers. Peer-to-peer support given by customers to each other outweighs several times the effort spent by a firm on supporting its customers, while simultaneously achieving higher satisfaction rates.

But despite the obvious benefits of virtual peer-to-peer problem solving communities to both its members and the host firm, there are also challenges. One of the most fundamental problems is that of community governance. The success of a virtual peer-to-peer problem solving community entirely depends on the voluntary input and participation of its members. The host firm somehow has to find a way to minimize free-riding and maximize active contribution, and in general ensure appropriate conduct of the community members. After all, the community is an officially endorsed service channel that reflects on the host firm as a whole. But active policing of the community is not a viable option, since excessive control over the interactions between members could lead to alienation and eventually loss of participants. The host firm's involvement in its community's life is thus delicate - a level of autonomy and independence is necessary for the community to thrive.

Cass
Cass Business School (City University), is one of Europe's leading providers of business and management education, consultancy, and research. It is located on the doorstep of the City of London, one of the world's foremost business and financial centres, and benefits from excellent connections to leading corporations. Its top-rated programmes range from undergraduation to masters, MBA, PhD and executive education. Its reputation, location, and state-of-the-art facilities attract students and faculty from around the world.

Dr. Caroline Wiertz
Dr. Caroline Wiertz joined Cass Business School in September 2004 and is an Associate Professor of Marketing. She completed her PhD in Marketing at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. Caroline's research focuses on understanding online consumer behaviour in general, and specifically issues related to user-generation of content in peer-to-peer sharing networks, such as online communities for service support. Her research has been published in leading academic journals, such as Journal of Consumer Research, Organization Studies, and the Journal of Business Research. In addition, her research has been reported in the commercial press, such as The Economist, The Financial Times, and The Times. Currently, she teaches the core Priniples of Marketing course,the Marketing Strategy Simulation, as well as Services Marketing to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Her teaching efforts have been recognized in 2006 with the Cass Business School Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2007, she also received the school's "Rising Star" Award for Research Excellence.