Reputation as a Motivating Force
Online communities not only influence Google, they also serve as guardians of one of the company's major assets: its reputation.
Everyone would agree that a company's reputation is important, but just how important was precisely measured only when eCommerce prompted economists and marketing analysts to take a closer look. In their study titled, "The Value of Reputation on eBay: A Controlled Experiment,"[102] these researchers tracked the sales of postcards, electric guitars, comics, and even Gmail invitations (when Google distributed its mail application by invitation only) on eBay. They then expanded their research to compare the performance of well-known sellers and newcomers. Their conclusions? A good reputation ...