Quality in Peer Production Systems – Impact of Assortativity of Communication Networks on Group Efficacy

Abstract

Many online peer production systems (e.g. Wikipedia or Open Source Software communities) strive to deliver high quality intellectual goods that could compare with commercial products. While quality is key to the communities’ success – widespread adoption of their products – it is not clear what makes some succeed, while others provide subpar outcomes or fail entirely. Quality of Wikipedia articles has been previously related to the number of editors writing them or to the diversity of editors’ competences. Here we tested the hypothesis that cohesiveness of private communication networks within collaborating groups increases the quality of their products. We analyzed communication within a sample of Wikiprojects on the English Wikipedia – groups of editors that coordinate their activities to improve articles related to a specific topic. We found that most Wikiprojects communicate in a highly hierarchical, disassortative way, but the successful ones break this trend and their communication networks are structured in a more egalitarian way.