Accumulating capital through social media: the transformative power of underrepresented fashion consumers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Cavusoglu ◽  
Deniz Atik
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Body Type ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fashion Studies

Purpose Previous research in sociology, psychology and fashion studies has investigated the concept of diversity in the fashion context, but the topic remains largely understudied within the realm of consumer research. This study aims to examine the reactions of underrepresented women to the fashion industry’s lack of diversity. Design/methodology/approach A total of 38 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among a sample of female consumers who were diverse with respect to racial and ethnic background, socioeconomic class, religion, sexual orientation, age, body type and physical appearance. Findings Using Bourdieu’s forms of capital – social, cultural, economic and symbolic – the findings shed light on the process of virtual community formation on social media in response to the lack of diversity in fashion; reveal fashion consumers’ power to enact institution-level change, compelling the industry to become more diverse and inclusive; demonstrate the outcomes of capital accumulation and illustrate how all forms of capital are produced by and reproduce each other. Originality/value This study proposes a new outcome of capital accumulation on virtual communities, termed “transformative value,” in addition to the social and information values identified in earlier scholarship.

The influence mechanism of rewards on knowledge sharing behaviors in virtual communities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Wang ◽  
Jielin Yin ◽  
Zhenzhong Ma ◽  
Maolin Liao
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrated Framework ◽  
Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational rewards on two forms of knowledge sharing – explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities, and further to explore the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation on the effect of virtual community rewards on implicit knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach Based on relevant knowledge sharing theories, this study develops an integrated framework to explore virtual community rewards and tacit and explicit knowledge sharing in a virtual context. This study then collected data from 429 virtual community users in four virtual communities via an online survey. Hierarchical regression analyzes were used to test the proposed research model. Findings The results of this study show that virtual rewards have a significantly positive linear relationship with explicit knowledge sharing but have an inverse U-shape relationship with tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities. In addition, intrinsic motivations including enjoyment and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between rewards and tacit knowledge sharing. Practical implications This study suggests more virtual community rewards may not always lead to more tacit knowledge sharing. Instead, too many rewards may weaken the motivation for tacit knowledge sharing. Knowledge management practitioners should make full use of the positive impact of self-efficacy and enjoyment to set up appropriate reward incentives to encourage knowledge-sharing, in particular, tacit knowledge sharing and to better manage virtual communities. Originality/value This study explores knowledge-sharing behavior in virtual communities, an important step toward more integrated knowledge-sharing theories. While online communities have become increasingly important for today’s knowledge economy, few studies have explored knowledge and knowledge sharing in a virtual context and this study helps to bridge the gap. In addition, this study develops an integrated framework to explore the mechanism through which virtual community rewards affect knowledge sharing with intrinsic motivation mediating this relationship in online communities, which further enriches the understanding on how to use virtual rewards to motivate knowledge sharing behaviors in the virtual context.

Eksistensi Media Sosial,Youtube, Instagram dan Whatsapp Ditengah Pandemi Covid-19 Dikalangan Masyarakat Virtual Indonesia

2020 ◽  
pp. 41-57
Author(s):  
Hendra Junawan ◽  
Nurdin Laugu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Collection Method ◽  
Data Collection Method ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The World

Introduction. This article discusses the existence of social media YouTube, Instagram and Watsapp in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic among virtual communities in Indonesia. The development of social media is increasing every year, especially in the conditions of the corona virus outbreak. The development of social media in Indonesia has experienced a very significant increase, it can be seen that Indonesia is in the 3rd position of social media users in the world. Data Collection Method. The method used in this article is by using the literature method by reading literature related to discussion and it can be analyzed that the existence of social media such as YouTube in the midst of the Covid pandemic has experienced a surge in users of around 88% and is then followed by Whatsapp social media with the number of accesses of 84% and Instagram with 79%. Results and Discussions. Based on the data above, we can see the development and level of existence of several social media which is frequently accessed by the world's population during the Covid 19 pandemic. This development has certainly experienced a very clear penetration of internet users among the Indonesian virtual community. Conclusions. the development of social media in Indonesia and globally has increased very significantly. The existence of social media which was popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, which placed YouTube as the first media that was very popular with the highest number of users in the world.

“We’ve got a better situation”: the life and afterlife of virtual communities in Google Lively

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-549
Author(s):  
Isto Huvila
Keyword(s):  
Information Sharing ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Platforms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Significant Factors ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of unsustainable community platforms from community and information sharing perspectives using Google Lively as an example. The aim is to analyse what happens when a community platform is not sustainable and explore the reasons why Lively failed or succeeded as an arena of participation and information sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on an ethnographically informed analysis of texts on Google Lively mined from the web and gathered using two small qualitative surveys. Findings – The findings show that Lively fostered the emergence of several virtual communities that outlived the platform. Shared experience, experience of crisis and a distinct identity appeared to be significant factors that seemed to contribute to the success of analysed Livelian communities. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on a convenience sample and an analysis of one virtual community platform. Practical implications – The results inform the development of community strategies for situations when a platform is closing and plans are being made for the sustained existence of the virtual community in new contexts. Originality/value – This is the first comprehensive study on Google Lively. The findings can be expected to have relevance also in the context of comparable virtual community platforms.

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

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-484 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Motivations for Virtual Community Participation in Social Commerce: Customers and Sellers in the Malay Lifestyle Blogging Community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Syahida Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Social Commerce ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
The Social

<p>Although the field of social commerce has gained a lot of attention recently, there are many areas that still remain unexplored. A new phenomenon emerging within virtual communities is a blurring between social and commercial activities. To date, scholars in the social commerce literature have either focused on customers in the community or on medium to large scale businesses. There has been little research on social commerce communities which include micro-businesses despite their rapid growth in South East Asian countries.  This study explores a social commerce community of Malay lifestyle bloggers, who are a subset of the Malaysian blogosphere community. Bloggers begin by using the personal genre, some then move on to set up online businesses using their personal blogs as a platform. The characteristic of blogging’s ease of use means there are low barriers to starting a small business, merging blogging and commerce. This changes the nature of the community by bringing in a new relationship, as well as relationships between bloggers and readers, there are now also relationships between sellers and customers.  This study aims to understand the motivations for both sellers and customers, and how their relationships as bloggers and readers influence their participation in social commerce within the same community. To address the research objective, 20 sellers and 21 customers who also play a role as bloggers or readers were interviewed. In-depth interviews using laddering and semi-structured interview techniques were carried out to explore social commerce behaviour, the perceived consequences, and goals or values of participation. In addition, observation was also conducted on the platform used by the sellers. Data was coded using NVivo whilst the themes arising from the coding process were transformed into an implication matrix and hierarchical value map using Ladderux software.  This study found that strong ties within the community, influenced by homophily and the sense of virtual community, motivated the customers to participate in commercial activities in order to obtain their goals which included a sense of obligation, loyalty, satisfaction and self-esteem. The relationships influenced customers to trust each other, provide social support and made purchasing products more convenient. Sellers were influenced by the convenience of using social media and the social support provided by the customers which helped them to achieve their goals which are profit and business sustainability.  This study contributes to social commerce theory by highlighting an underexplored type of social commerce setting and addressing how trust can be transferred from social to commercial activities. The findings provide a useful insight for businesses, regardless of their size, to build an understanding of the need to create a good relationship with their customers. For macro-businesses, this model can be used to identify what is lacking in their social media marketing strategy.</p>

The central roles of embeddedness and engagement in virtual communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Min Chiu ◽  
Chia-Yun Fu ◽  
Wei-Yu Lin ◽  
Chieh-Fan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Social Support ◽  
Community Embeddedness ◽  
Community Identification ◽  
Willingness To Help

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of how to promote members’ beneficial behaviors toward other members and toward the virtual community (VC). The authors extend Ray et al.’s (2014) framework by developing a more precise definition of community embeddedness, and determining how such embeddedness relates to social support and community engagement. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the proposed research model using data collected from 333 users of online social support communities/groups dedicated to sharing knowledge about pregnancy and child care. Partial least squares is used to analyze the measurement and structural models. Findings The study shows that embeddedness and engagement are significant determinants of willingness to help others and willingness to help the community. Embeddedness has a strong, positive effect on engagement. Social support positively affects community identification and embeddedness. However, community identification does not have a significant effect on engagement. Research limitations/implications Some of the findings, such as the relative importance of embeddedness in fostering willingness to help the community and the relative importance of engagement in fostering willingness to help others, might not be generalizable to VCs where members join for fun and sharing interests. Practical implications Although knowledge contributors could self-derive some drivers of embeddedness and engagement, managers or hosts of VCs should develop strategies and mechanisms to provide or enhance the value they add to knowledge sharing and other beneficial behaviors, even though such added value might be largely intangible. Social implications Social support plays an important role in shaping an individual’s embeddedness within a VC. Managers of VCs should develop strategies to stimulate exchanges of support among members. Originality/value The authors believe that community embeddedness plays a more important role than engagement in shaping the VC’s success and effectiveness. However, the extant VC literature has indicated a relatively weak understanding of the notion of community embeddedness. This study intends to fill that void.

Driving individuals’ citizenship behaviors in virtual communities through attachment

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 870-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Min Chiu ◽  
Hsin-Yi Huang ◽  
Hsiang-Lan Cheng ◽  
Jack Shih-Chieh Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Citizenship Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Common Bond ◽  
Common Identity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex relationships between common bond attachment, common identity attachment, self-esteem and virtual community citizenship behavior (VCCB). This study identifies two broad categories of VCCB: citizenship behaviors directed toward benefitting other individuals (VCCBI) and citizenship behaviors directed toward benefitting the virtual community (VCCBC). Design/methodology/approach The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses, using a sample of 388 valid responses. Findings The results indicate that common bond attachment and common identity attachment have a significant effect on self-esteem, which, in turn, has a significant effect on VCCBI and VCCBC. The results also indicate that common bond attachment has a significant effect on VCCBI, and that common identity attachment has a significant effect on VCCBC. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of VCCBs through common identity and common-bond theory, social identity theory and the stimulus-organism-response framework.

Developing Virtual Communities in Transition Economies

2008 ◽  
pp. 2159-2169
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Damaskopoulos ◽  
Rimantas Gatautis
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Ict Infrastructure

This article explores key sets of drivers of formation of virtual communities in transition economies with particular reference to recent developments in Lithuania. Information and communication technologies (ICT) centered on the Internet are today widely recognized as one of the driving forces in the transition toward a new economic system. This transition has been especially challenging for European transition economies that are in the midst of a historic restructuring in anticipation of entry into the European Union. These countries are confronting a historic challenge of converging to the economic, technological, and organizational practices and standards of their EU counterparts. ICT applications in the form of e-business provide a unique opportunity for companies in these economies to accelerate learning processes for the facilitation of the adoption and implementation of competitive and sustainable e-business strategies. A key challenge in this respect is how to construct sustainable virtual communities that bridge civil society and organizations of the public sector in ways that support the transition toward an ICT-enabled economic system. The central thesis of this article is that virtual communities are a central component of an emerging economic system that is powered by ICT, is knowledge driven, is organized around electronic and organizational networks that generate knowledge, which transform industries and markets, and is dependent on dynamic and flexible regulatory public institutions. For ICT to diffuse throughout the whole economy in a way that supports virtual community formation, business firms, market conditions, and the culture and institutions of society need to undergo substantial change in a coordinated manner. It is the dynamic interdependence of these conditions that is the source of innovation and value creation in the new knowledge-driven economy. The agenda of research on the dynamics of adoption of new economy practices, innovation, and economic growth, as a result, needs to be expanded beyond the level of the firm. It needs to be built around the dynamic interrelationships between technological transformations, firms’ organizational and knowledge-creating capabilities, emerging market and industry structures, and public institutions (Castells, 2000). The article situates drivers of virtual community formation and the necessity of coordinating their development on three levels: the level of ICT infrastructure, regulatory environment, and market or civic attitudes toward ICT-enabled market transactions. On each of these levels the observations made are conditioned by the definitional parameters of “virtual community.” For the purposes of this article, a virtual community is understood as a set of interwoven relationships built upon shared interests, which satisfies members’ needs otherwise unattainable individually (Rafi, Fisher, Jaworski, & Cahill, 2002). It must be stressed that a virtual community thus defined refers not only to consumers but also businesses and organizational entities of the public sector.

Customer experience with the branded content: a social media perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Waqas ◽  
Zalfa Laili Hamzah ◽  
Noor Akma Mohd Salleh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms

PurposeSocial media platforms are important channels to create a favourable customer experience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of experiences customers can have with the branded content on social media.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 20 participants using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.FindingsThe results identify seven types of branded content experience which are evoked when customers interact with branded content on social media. The results also suggest that branded content experience acts as a driver of consumer engagement with branded content which eventually leads to customers' sense of virtual community.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide theoretical implications for content creators. Further research should aim at comparing the branded content experience on different social media platforms and across different product categories.Originality/valueThis study contributes to customer engagement and experience literature in social media content by enhancing the understanding of branded content experience concept and its conceptual relationship with customer engagement in the social media context.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2019-0333

scholarly journals 3029 Willingness to Engage in a Statewide Virtual Community for Biomedical Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 100-101
Author(s):  
Christi Patten ◽  
Milton Eder ◽  
Tabetha A Brockman ◽  
Deborah Hendricks ◽  
Miguel Valdez Soto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Diverse Populations ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Group Methods ◽  
Study Population

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Virtual communities are an untested method to enhance community engagement in biomedical research. Our CTSA Hubs collaborated to assess receptivity to engage in a statewide Facebook (FB) group. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Cross-sectional online survey administered via iPads at the MN State Fair in 2018 to adults aged 18+ years residing in MN assessed demographics, social media use, interest in participating in a FB group for biomedical research; and open-ended questions on health topics of interest, and what would keep people engaged in this group. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Respondents (N=487) were 21% racial minorities and 65% female sex. Most (87%, n=422) had created a personal FB profile. Of these, the proportion who agreed/strongly agreed was: 57% that the FB group sounded interesting, 45% were interested in being part of it, 41% were willing to share it with others, 62% that it would allow the community’s thoughts/ideas to be heard and 59% wanted to learn about opportunities to participate in research on health topics they care about. Using content analysis, the top 3 health topics people wanted to learn about were chronic disease and prevention, wellness, and mental health. Top ways to keep people engaged were providing personable, relevant health information; and interactive bi-directional discussions. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Findings will inform development of a FB group to engage diverse populations in biomedical research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document