An Exploration Study on the Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Online Q&A Communities

Shenwei Huang, Lei Wang

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:301603 • DOI: 10.4018/JGIM.301603

This work aims to document a two-sided impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online question and answer communities. It implements empirical analyses on subsidiary communities affiliating to the Stack Exchange network. Using a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of the pandemic on community volume (the counts of questions and answers) and responsiveness (the likelihood of questions to be answered), this work has the following discoveries. First, the community volume grows, both in questions and answers, driven by a prolonged time of staying at home during the pandemic. Second, the community responsiveness declines, driven by an influx of new community members during the pandemic, which is also a result of the prolonged time of staying at home. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Global Information Technology Computer Science and Information Technology IT Research and Theory