This study examines different types of interactions in online communities for e-commerce sellers. Drawing on social exchange theory and using machine learning techniques to differentiate individuals’ interactions in the online community, we examine the impact of exchanging two major types of resources—tangible assistance and knowledge—on e-commerce sellers’ online sales. The findings demonstrate that online sellers engaging in more interactions that involve receiving tangible assistance or knowledge tend to realize better online sales performance, while interactions involving providing tangible assistance or knowledge also may benefit sellers’ sales performance through increasing the receipt of resources. In addition, sellers more active in receiving knowledge tend to have higher sales in markets in which they face greater competition intensity. Our study contributes to both research and practice with a more nuanced understanding of interactions in online communities—that is, providing and receiving different types of resources—and their associated sales outcomes.

中文翻译：

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不同类型的在线社交交流：对在线卖家销售业绩的影响


本研究探讨了电子商务卖家在线社区中不同类型的互动。借鉴社会交换理论，并使用机器学习技术来区分在线社区中个人的互动，我们研究了交换两种主要类型的资源（有形帮助和知识）对电子商务卖家在线销售的影响。研究结果表明，参与更多涉及获得有形帮助或知识的互动的在线卖家往往会实现更好的在线销售绩效，而涉及提供有形帮助或知识的互动也可能通过增加资源接收而有利于卖家的销售绩效。此外，更积极地接受知识的卖家往往在竞争强度更大的市场中获得更高的销售额。我们的研究有助于研究和实践，对在线社区中的互动（即提供和接收不同类型的资源）及其相关的销售结果有更细致的了解。