“…Shortcomings may lead to impeded ESN integration, or limited acceptance and usage (Iglesias-Pradas, Hernández-García, & Fernández-Cardador, 2017;Riemer, Stieglitz, & Meske, 2015). While ESNs have often been described as communication or collaboration infrastructures in work contexts (Kwahk & Park, 2016), an empirical investigation of infrastructure characteristics as antecedents of their usefulness is still missing. To fill this gap, we conceptualize ESNs as digital infrastructures and argue that certain infrastructure characteristics, which can also be found for physical infrastructures such as railways or roads, make ESNs useful for participants.…”