Walk or Talk? Investigating the Transfer of Communityship Values in the German Game Influencer Industry

Abstract

This single case study investigates how employees (e.g., managers, producers, creatives, content creators, hereafter influencers) and stakeholders (e.g., followers of influencer channels) of a German-based game influencer management agency operate as polycentric communities in an offline (organizational; interaction between employees) as well as online (influencer channels, interaction between influencers and followers) context. Utilizing Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, more specifically knowledge commons, this study examines the transfer of organizational values between offline and online communities. This paper includes the first study of two studies that together address offline and online communicative community governance in the German game influencer industry. The impact of value-driven leadership on organizational communityship values among employees is delved into through in-depth interviews. For example, which rules, routines, roles, and mindsets are essential in developing a value-driven and responsible employee community and how are these elements introduced, practiced and/or evaluated through different actors? Additionally, this study investigates if and how these organizational communityship values and their organisational rules, routines, roles, and mindset are transferred by influencers through communicative practices in their online communities with their followers. Through comparative analysis, this study identifies how the game influencer management agency governs their offline and online communities as part of a dynamic and multi-layered process.