Data points to cultural difference in community participation

The Boston-based agency recently analysed one of its multinational online communities and discovered that Japanese and Thai members were less likely to participate in discussion activities, but more likely to complete traditional survey tasks.

Analysis of other communities are now under way to see if this pattern is repeated. Results aren’t due back until September, but Communispace’s director of research Manila Austin told Research: “Having now looked at seven or eight more international communities and all the data collected so far, I think that when we get out next results we will find that south-east Asian cultures are under-represented [in discussions].”

Possible reasons for this are twofold, says Austin. Perhaps the simplest explanation is language differences. “An open-ended format where there’s a burden of being proficient in a second language [usually English] is perhaps one reason to think that some of these countries are under-represented,” she says.

But cultural differences may also come into play. As part of its research Communispace surveyed 1,300 of its community members from 37 different countries using a method developed by Maastricht University professor Geert Hofstede, which ascribes cultural values to several elements, including acceptance of power hierarchies, individualism versus collectivism, and willingness to accept uncertainty.

Hofstede found – as did Communispace – that Asian countries are in general more collective-minded. And according to senior vice president Julie Wittes Schlack, “those cultures that are at the individualist end of the spectrum are over-represented in discussions, whereas cultures at the collectivist end of the spectrum are over-represented in surveys”.

Why this should be is not clear. Wittes Schlack says: “Some cultures might see it as immodest to say, ‘Well, this is me, this is what I think, my opinion matters’”, preferring the anonymity afforded by surveys. But Austin suggests the problem may also lie in how people are invited to take part in discussions. Perhaps participation could be improved if invitations focused less on encouraging people to have their say and instead put more emphasis on helping achieve community goals.

“What we do know for sure,” says Austin, “is that it is important to provide people with multiple ways to participate so that we are ‘meeting people where they’re at’ regardless of culture.”

• You can read more thoughts on culture and its impact on multinational communities in the ‘Breakthroughs without Borders’ white paper, available online here.