Value co-destruction in online collaborative networks

This paper explores the underlying reasons for and develops a richer understanding of how value may be codestructed within online collaborative networks (OCNs). Drawing on 36 semistructured interviews with members of two OCNs, Stack Overflow and GitHub, we outline 11 themes, categorized into three sets-pre-existing themes, themes that occur during the collaboration process, and postprocess themes-which lead to value codestruction (VCD). Our research contributes to the co-destruction literature and illustrates co-destruction perspectives on OCNs. Our findings provide practical implications through raising awareness of the negative facets of actors' collaboration and help to increase value formation by addressing sources of co-destruction.