Skarzauskiene, Aelita, and Monika Mačiulienė. "How to build sustainable online communities: implications from Lithuania urban communities case study." Sustainability 13.16 (2021): 9192.

This study explores how online community projects foster collective behaviors and sustainability through digitally enhanced platforms, focusing on the impact of self-regulation and self-governance. Conducted in Lithuania, the research involved face-to-face interviews with participants and initiators of digital urban communities. It identified various motivational, socio-cultural, and organizational factors that contribute to the vitality of online community ecosystems. The findings suggest that for communities to thrive, organizers and IT developers should emphasize technologies that facilitate online collaboration and create social value, including collective decision-making tools, gamification, and virtual brainstorming.