The hidden moderator – Exploring the roles of tuo’er in intra-firm R&D online communities

“Tuo’er” in a market place are those who are hired by a seller and attempt to push the sales by exaggerating the advantages of a product in a direct and persistent approach. More recently, it is to our observation that some large firms start deploying tuo’er on their intranet to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation within intra-firm online R&D communities. Just like those in a market place, tuo’er in online knowledge shari ng communities also have a mandate to mislead other regular community members by creating a bandwagon effect. However, their intention to facilitate online knowledge sharing an d innovation within a firm might serve a good purpose and their practice stands in a gray area of management ethics. This study explores the special roles of tuo’er as a hidden moderator between a company and its employees, investigates under which conditions they work, and the implications for the effective use of online knowledge sharing communiti es by firms. An in-depth case study with multiple data sources is conducted in China in a longitudinal fashion.