Lead users: a source of novel product concepts
Management Science
Lead user analyses for the development of new industrial products
Management Science
Working for Free? Motivations for Participating in Open-Source Projects
International Journal of Electronic Commerce
International Journal of Electronic Commerce
An investigation of Big Five and narrow personality traits in relation to Internet usage
Computers in Human Behavior
Computers work for women: Gender differences in e-supported divorce mediation
Computers in Human Behavior
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Online services and applications extend the influencing opportunities of traditional word-of mouth (WOM). Unlike traditional word-of-mouth, the online environment allows for special features such as anonymity in user-generated content. Furthermore, the personality of online users affects their motivation when creating this content. The aim of this paper is to link specific online activities, i.e., the posting of product ratings and participation in discussions in online forums, with certain personality traits within an empirical study. The findings, based on an online survey with more than 16,900 completed questionnaires, indicate that opinion leaders in the online environment cannot be compared with traditional opinion leaders in terms of their articulation and personality structure. In regard to online activities with a high influencing potential, the results of moderated regression analyses show that persons with an introverted personality are more active as online opinion leaders due to the lack of social recognition they experience. The results have implications for how marketers should present incentive structures to address and integrate potential online opinion leaders, and how scholars should understand the role of opinion leaders in the online environment.