1. Consensus Formation and Conflict Management in Self-Organized Online Communities

This paper investigates how a self-managed community of consumption, (outdoorseiten.net) manages conflict by means of a democratic decision-making process. We examine disputes that arise within the community and whether and how members with divergent opinions subordinate themselves to the common community goal. Heterogeneity is purportedly valued as source of innovation, but in this community, management of conflicts actually favors homogeneity by privileging member consensus over innovation, leadership, and efficiency. Our research confirms some dialectical tensions found in previous research on contested consumption (Lüdicke and Giesler, 2008), and explicates how decision and conflict management works within user-organized communities.

Citation:

Johann Fuller and Gregor Jawecki (2011) ,"1. Consensus Formation and Conflict Management in Self-Organized Online Communities", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 12_13.