Understanding lurkers in online communities: A literature review

• We discussed the standards used to identify lurkers based on previous studies.
• We built an integrated model of motivational factors of online behaviors.
• Based on the motivation model, we identified four categories reasons for lurking.
• We discussed people’s attitudes toward lurkers and provide several strategies that promote online participation.

In internet culture, lurkers are a special group of website users who regularly login to online communities but seldom post. This study aims to provide an overall understanding of lurkers by explaining the definition of lurkers, discussing the reasons for lurking and providing suggestions on de-lurking. To understand the reason for lurking, this study first explains why people participate in online communities by building an integrated model of motivational factors of online behaviors. This model classifies motivational factors into four categories: the nature of the online community, individual characteristics, the degree of commitment and quality requirement. Based on this model, four types of lurking reasons are identified: environmental influence, personal preference, individual-group relationship and security consideration. Finally, several strategies for motivating participation in online communities are provided, including external stimuli, improved user-friendliness, encouragement of participation and guidance for newcomers.