From virtual community members to C2C e-commerce buyers: Trust in virtual communities and its effect on consumers’ purchase intention

Technological innovations in computer-mediated communication have helped hate groups to transform themselves into virtual communities. Likeminded individuals are now able to unite from all parts of the globe to promote hatred against visible minorities and other out-groups. Through their online interactions, a sense of place is often created. In this chapter, we explore the content and function of online hate communities. Since bigotry tends to be the cornerstone of virtual hate communities, we highlight the legal debate surrounding the regulation of Internet hate speech; in particular, we address the question: Does the First Amendment protect virtual community members who use the Internet to advocate hate? Next, using data collected from the largest hate website, Stormfront.org, we also investigate how Stormfront members utilize interactive media features to foster a sense of community. Finally, we direct our attention to the future of online hate communities by outlining the issues that need to be further investigated.

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Online Communities and Community Building

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch462 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2893-2898

Author(s):

Martin C. Kindsmüller ◽

Sandro Leuchter ◽

Leon Urbas

Keyword(s):

Online Community ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Bulletin Boards ◽

Real Community ◽

Definition Of ◽

Tacit Assumptions

“Online community” is one of today’s buzzwords. Even though superficially it is not hard to understand, the term has become somewhat vague while being extensively used within the e-commerce business. Within this article, we refer to online community as being a voluntary group of users who partake actively in a certain computer-mediated service. The term “online community” is preferred over the term “virtual community,” as it denotes the character of the community more accurately: community members are interacting online as opposed to face to face. Furthermore, the term “virtual community” seems too unspecific, because it includes other communities that only exist virtually, whereas an online community in our definition is always a real community in the sense that community members know that they are part of the community. Nevertheless, there are other reasonable definitions of online community. An early and most influencing characterization (which unfortunately utilizes the term “virtual community”) was coined by Howard Rheingold (1994), who wrote: “…virtual communities are cultural aggregations that emerge when enough people bump into each other often enough in cyberspace. A virtual community is a group of people […] who exchanges words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks” (p. 57). A more elaborated and technical definition of online community was given by Jenny Preece (2000), which since then, has been a benchmark for developers. She stated that an online community consists of four basic constituents (Preece, 2000, p. 3): 1. Socially interacting people striving to satisfy their own needs. 2. A shared purpose, such as interest or need that provides a reason to cooperate. 3. Policies in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, or rules that guide the community members’ behavior. 4. A technical system that works as a carrier that mediates social interaction. Not explicitly mentioned in this characterization but nevertheless crucial for our aforementioned definition (and not in opposition to Preece’s position) is voluntary engagement.

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How Online Consumer Reviews Influence Purchase Intention in Virtual Communities?

International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy ◽

10.4018/ijide.2014070104 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 40-50

Author(s):

Yi-Fen Chen ◽

Chia-Wen Tsai ◽

Shih-Mei Hsu

Keyword(s):

Purchase Intention ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Future Research ◽

Product Reviews ◽

Product Price ◽

Web Based ◽

Consumer Purchase Intention ◽

Negative Messages

With the growing availability and popularity of Web-based opinion platforms, online product reviews are now an emerging market phenomenon that is playing an important role in consumer purchasing decisions. This study investigates the influence of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) on purchase intention in the virtual community. The authors conducted a 2x2x2x2 online experiment involving 261 subjects. The experiment results demonstrate that message number and positive messages in the virtual community can influence consumer purchase intention. Product price and the involvement moderate the effects of eWOM on purchase intention. However, negative messages are negatively related to purchase intentions. This finding offers potential for finding better ways for sellers or managers in a virtual community. Finally, the conclusion presents implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

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Effects of social capital on online knowledge sharing: positive and negative perspectives

Online Information Review ◽

10.1108/oir-12-2014-0314 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 466-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Chiu-Ping Hsu

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Conceptual Model ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Content Type ◽

Relationship Continuity ◽

Complementary Resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model of how both the benefits and risks of social capital influence online knowledge sharing among virtual community members towards enhancing members’ relationship continuity and virtual community reputations. In addition, this study addresses the effects of complementary resources on knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The structural equation modelling approach was applied to estimate the conceptual model by using survey data from virtual community members. A total of 626 valid questionnaires were collected. Findings – The empirical results showed that most of the research hypotheses were supported. The benefits of social capital and complementary resources have a positive effect on knowledge sharing, thereby strengthening relationship continuity and community reputation. Furthermore, the risk of social capital has a negative effect on knowledge sharing, as expected. Originality/value – A review of the literature reveals a lack of studies focusing on both the positive and negative influences of social capital on online knowledge sharing. This study therefore contributes to a comprehensive perspective for understanding online knowledge sharing in virtual communities.

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Understanding Knowledge-Sharing Motivation, Incentive Mechanisms, and Satisfaction in Virtual Communities

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2012.40.4.639 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 639-647 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Chia-Shen Chen ◽

Shih-Feng Chang ◽

Chih-Hsing Liu

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Survey Data ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Incentive Mechanism ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Incentive Mechanisms ◽

Knowledge Sharing Behavior ◽

The Incentive Mechanism ◽

Sharing Behavior

Virtual communities have gained popularity as a means for individuals to learn and share knowledge. However, knowledge-sharing motivation, incentive mechanisms, and satisfaction in these communities have not been examined in detail. Using survey data from 169 community members, we investigated the conditions under which motivation, incentive mechanisms, and satisfaction affect knowledge-sharing behavior. We found that the incentive mechanism is a significant predictor of a virtual community member's motivation to obtain knowledge, and that the incentive mechanism and motivation do not positively affect a member's satisfaction that causes him/her to engage willingly in knowledge sharing with others in virtual communities.

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Virtual Social Networks

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch116 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 213-225

Author(s):

Sunanda Sangwan ◽

Chong Guan ◽

Judy A. Siguaw

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Community Development ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Communication Theory ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Mutual Learning ◽

Share Information

Multi-user virtual communities have become an accepted fundamental component of communication whereby community members share information and knowledge for mutual learning or problem solving.Virtual communities in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) have evolved into active social networks, formulating an alternative social existence and this phenomenon warrants further investigations. In these virtual social networks (VSNs), member participation is essential for their success. Therefore, developing knowledge on how to manage and sustain participation of members in VSNs fills a gap in our academic understanding of the dynamics underpinning the processes of virtual community development. This article aims to address these issues by extending the theory of sense of community into a virtual context (SOVC) and by integrating it with other communication theory of U&G.

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Representing Virtual Communities for Advanced Services

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch077 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 402-404

Author(s):

Miguel-Angel Sicilia ◽

Elena Sanchez-Alonso

Keyword(s):

Semantic Web ◽

Natural Language ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Language Processing ◽

Intelligent Agents ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Semantic Web Technologies ◽

Tower Of Babel

The Semantic Web vision described by Berners-Lee, Hendler and Lassila (2001) represents an approach to enhancing the current World Wide Web with machine-understandable semantics. The essential idea is that Web resources identified by Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) can be described by metadata with the purpose of enabling automated processing. The precision of logics-based description would allow for the creation of tools that do not rely on natural language processing as current search tools, thus ideally removing the problems associated with ambiguity and implicitness in natural language. Metadata requires shared semantics in the context of an open Web, so that the proliferation of descriptions and vocabularies do not end up in a Tower of Babel. Ontologies provide the support for the shared representation of such semantics, and ontology mapping procedures could resolve the issues of semantic interoperability in case of disparate representations over the same domain. Ontologies act as descriptions of semantic domains used to express metadata records according to previously agreed definitions. Based on the infrastructure provided by ontologies and semantic metadata, the Semantic Web vision rests in the provision of distributed functionality built on intelligent agents and Web services. Since a virtual community is no other thing than a phenomenon that takes place on the Web, its elements are thus subject to being described by Semantic Web metadata, so that community-specific Semantic Web functionality could enhance the communicational elements that are part of communities. A typical scenario for such functionality is that of a filtering service that delivers recommended resources for community members according to the interests shared by members with similar interests. Other scenarios may result in the adaptation of the shared space inhabited by the community members; for example, member lists may be reordered according to the strength of social relationships, or messages could be circulated according to the network of social relationships (Sicilia & García, 2004). The Semantic Web opens many perspectives to create richer environments for virtual communities, and some specific technologies have already been created to deal with some of the definitional aspects of communities. Here we sketch the main elements that should be taken into account in developing experimental applications of Semantic Web technologies to the specifics of virtual communities.

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Virtual Communities as Contributors for Digital Objects Metadata Generation

Cyber Behavior ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-5942-1.ch061 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1182-1198

Author(s):

Joana Sócrates Dantas ◽

Regina Melo Silveira

Keyword(s):

Current Literature ◽

Resource Sharing ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Digital Content ◽

The Internet ◽

Community Members ◽

Content Description ◽

Digital Objects ◽

Metadata Generation

Description of online digital content is currently extremely necessary to facilitate a diverse amount of resource sharing over the internet. Many times, content is shared and reused within a virtual community. Virtual communities tend to have their own specific needs of resources, and tend to use a specific vocabulary to describe content. Members of virtual communities also tend to have specific motivations for participating and sharing information and knowledge with other members. In this chapter, the authors discuss the benefits of community members generating content description by analyzing the current literature on the matter. Then, the authors present two studies they have held where they assess the metadata generated by users of an IPTV system and by members of two different virtual communities.

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EDUCATION THROUGH ART IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITY: STRENGTHENING RELIGIOUS VALUES THROUGH ILLUSTRATION ARTWORKS

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews ◽

10.18510/hssr.2020.82e05 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 52-57

Author(s):

Rahina Nugrahani ◽

Triyanto ◽

Muhammad Ibnan Syarif ◽

Tjetjep Rohendi Rohidi

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Religious Education ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Aesthetic Experience ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Religious Values ◽

Educational Goals ◽

Community Members ◽

Virtual Ethnography ◽

Islamic Values

Purpose: The article analyzes the illustration artworks produced by Virtual Community Hijabographic as a media to disseminate religious values. Hijabographic as one of the Muslim women's communities in Indonesia is one of the pioneer virtual communities that creates various illustration artworks aimed to perform da’wah on social media Instagram, also as a media to ingrain Islamic values. Methodology: The primary method is virtual ethnography; we use it to uncover social interactions between members of the Hijabographic community that creates a natural response and a stimulus for community members to express it in the form of illustration artworks published through social media. Result: The results showed that the illustration artworks by Hijabographic are medium to achieve educational goals, in this case, is religious education. Illustration artwork is not merely created to fulfill the purpose of art, but also as a tool to find the self-fulfillment of illustrators in performing da’wah (proselytization), transmitting Islamic values and to foster awareness of other Muslim females to become pious individuals. Applications: This research can be used by virtual communities, scholars and visual arts learners. Novelty/Originality: Building on the insight that illustration artworks by virtual community Hijabographic become a new model to perform da’wah on social media. These illustration artworks influence a member's aesthetic experience and personal's understanding of strengthening Islamic values.

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Virtual Communities of Practices in Higher Education

Novel Developments in Web-Based Learning Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-938-0.ch001 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Gianluca Elia ◽

Giustina Secundo ◽

Cesare Taurino

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Knowledge Flows ◽

Point Of View ◽

Just In Time ◽

Community Members ◽

Knowledge Processes ◽

The People ◽

Main Components

This chapter hypothesizes that Virtual Community of Practices (VCoPs) are valuable to Business Schools and Universities because they support effectively the emerging paradigms of just-in-time, action based and collaborative learning. It presents a case study of a VCoPs called “Virtual eBMS” in Higher Education setting, described as a process-oriented model, composed by four main components: The People participating in the community, the Processes enabling the knowledge flows within the community, the Purpose of the community in terms of value created for the Business School, and the Technology facilitating the interactions between the community members. Indeed, from the technological point of view, the community is supported by an integrated Web Learning and Knowledge Management platform, whose functionalities support the corresponding knowledge processes and actions. Some preliminary results expressed in terms of Intellectual Capital will end the chapter, along with the value created for the community members.

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