Community-driven innovation: bridging collaborative knowledge with business success

Purpose Research has predominantly focused on the stages of community development into business-community aggregates. Existing literature provides limited insight into the dynamics through which these stages emerge and the processes by which knowledge-sharing communities gradually engage in business activities while maintaining their social orientation. This study aims to examine the internal processes through which a virtual community transitions from knowledge collaboration to business engagement over time. Design/methodology/approach This longitudinal qualitative case study followed an international virtual community over five years. Data were collected through 31 semi-structured interviews, participant observations and internal documents and were analysed using a process-oriented approach based on temporal bracketing. Findings We identify three interrelated mechanisms that shape the community-to-business transformation: competence development, legitimacy negotiation and the boundary management of community and commercial activities. Together, these mechanisms ensure that business engagement is possible, sustainable and compatible with the community’s social mission. Originality/value This study offers a processual refinement and revision of existing community development models, showing how business engagement can emerge as an optional and negotiated pathway in mission-driven community evolution. It adds a dynamic, process-oriented dimension to the otherwise discrete and static understanding of hybridity and value creation in knowledge-based communities.