Stronger Together: How Neighborhood Groups Build up a Virtual Network during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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During crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people spontaneously initiate support groups, while established organizations like soccer clubs set non-regular goals, both offering help. Interested in the coordination of such help and potential challenges of collaboration, we conducted a virtual ethnography of a multi-level network located in Germany. We focused on aims, activities, and technological mediation, with Activity Theory as theoretical framework. Our findings show that the organizational aim of coordinating help was successfully achieved by connecting heterogeneous actors through digitization and institutionalization. Enabled by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the network acted virtually, but was also able to integrate analog spaces of help. We identified six crucial implications regarding the use of technology and collaboration for building a successful volunteering network.