Knowledge order in an online knowledge community (OKC) refers to a consensual version of collective knowledge in the creation of shared knowledge representation. Much previous research has been conducted in the context of the ordered structure of objective knowledge systems, but this does little to explain the microlevel order of knowledge after users contribute knowledge and achieve consensus through online interactions in OKC. Based on interactive team cognition theory and the stigmergy coordination mechanism, our research aims to investigate how knowledge and experience heterogeneity affect knowledge order effectiveness and efficiency through collaborative and communicative interaction. To test our hypotheses, we randomly collected the records of 250 articles from the English version of Wikipedia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling indicated that OKC favoring online collective knowledge order by limiting communicative interaction, as collaborative interaction is very effective in achieving knowledge order and in achieving it in a fast way. From our findings, scholars and practitioners are advised to pay attention to online knowledge order in the management and design of OKC.

PurposeOnline knowledge integration has been an important concern of the online knowledge community as it can lead to various positive outcomes of online knowledge coproduction. This paper identifies online knowledge integration factors by considering group heterogeneity and group interaction process.Design/methodology/approachBased on the categorization-elaboration model (CEM) and interactive team cognition (ITC) theory, a research model that reflects the antecedent's factors and mediating factors of online knowledge integration was developed and empirically examined based on data collected from 2,339,836 data extracted from Wikipedia.FindingsGroup interaction process plays an essential mediator role in online knowledge integration. Group knowledge heterogeneity negatively influences online knowledge integration and group experience heterogeneity positively, and they both positively promote online knowledge integration through group interaction process with different paths.Research limitationsOur research concerns the OKC context in one setting (Wikipedia). We expect that the results will generalize to other OKC platforms.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study could assist the online knowledge community's organizers to understand the motivational mechanisms of online knowledge integration. Group interaction process could be regarded as the key role to promote group wisdom and maintain group independence.Social implicationsWe advance the understanding of the online knowledge integration and gain a richer understanding of the importance of group interaction independence for online knowledge integration based on the agreement of group wisdom. It suggested keeping group interaction independence is an important aspect for highly online knowledge integration among heterogeneity groups.Originality/valueThis study extends CEM and ITC theory to the domain of knowledge integration context and finds the mechanism between group heterogeneity and online knowledge integration by introducing the group interaction process.

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PurposeOnline collaboration in today's world is a topic of genuine interest to Internet researchers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of group knowledge heterogeneity (GKH) in open collaboration performance using the mediating mechanisms of group cognition (GC) and interaction to understand the determinants of the success of online open collaboration platforms.Design/methodology/approachStudy findings are based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the formal mediation test and moderating effect analysis from Wikipedia's 160 online open collaborative groups.FindingsFor online knowledge heterogeneous groups, open collaboration performance is mediated by both GC and collaborative interaction (COL). The mediating role of GC is weak, while the mediating role of COL is strengthened when knowledge complexity (KC) is higher. By dividing group interaction into COL and communicative interaction (COM), the authors also observed that COL is effective for online open collaboration, whereas COM is limited.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that for more heterogeneous large groups, group interaction would explain more variance in performance than GC, offering an in-depth understanding of the relationship between group heterogeneity and open collaboration performance, answering what determines the success of online open collaboration platforms as well as explaining the inconsistency in prior findings. In addition, this study expands the application of Interactive Team Cognition (ITC) theory to the online open collaboration context.