The Role of Trust, Satisfaction, and Communication in the Development of Participation in Virtual Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 188-202
Author(s):  
Luis V. Casaló
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Satisfaction ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Intentions To Participate

The rapid growth of virtual communities has created a new interest in researchers. Indeed, understanding these communities is especially relevant because it may allow for the obtaining of valuable information (e.g. needs of particular groups of people). In this respect, this work tries to explore which factors motivate individuals to take part of a virtual community since participation is one of the most important variables for the development and sustainability of virtual communities. More specifically, we analyze the effects of trust in a community, satisfaction with previous interactions and the communication level of the members’ intentions to participate in a given virtual community. The data (obtained through an online surveys made to members of several virtual communities) show that trust in a virtual community had a positive and significant effect on members’ participation in a virtual community. In addition, we found that satisfaction with previous interactions and the level of communication in a community significantly increased the level of trust in that virtual community.

The Role of Trust, Satisfaction, and Communication in the Development of Participation in Virtual Communities

2009 ◽  
pp. 23-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis V. Casaló
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Satisfaction ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Intentions To Participate

The rapid growth of virtual communities has created a new interest in researchers. Indeed, understanding these communities is especially relevant because it may allow for the obtaining of valuable information (e.g. needs of particular groups of people). In this respect, this work tries to explore which factors motivate individuals to take part of a virtual community since participation is one of the most important variables for the development and sustainability of virtual communities. More specifically, we analyze the effects of trust in a community, satisfaction with previous interactions and the communication level of the members’ intentions to participate in a given virtual community. The data (obtained through an online surveys made to members of several virtual communities) show that trust in a virtual community had a positive and significant effect on members’ participation in a virtual community. In addition, we found that satisfaction with previous interactions and the level of communication in a community significantly increased the level of trust in that virtual community.

Increasing Research Students' Engagement through Virtual Communities

2015 ◽  
pp. 50-75
Author(s):  
Maria Limniou ◽  
Clare Holdcroft ◽  
Paul S. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Geographical Space

This chapter describes important issues regarding research students' participation in a virtual community. Within a virtual community, university staff can communicate with research students without geographical/space constraints, and research students can exchange views, materials, and experience with their peers and/or academics in a flexible learning environment. Students' participation in virtual communities is mainly based on socio-emotional and informational motivations. Initially, this chapter describes the conditions of research in a traditional environment and the role of students and academics in it, along with the role of pedagogical and psychological aspects in virtual communities. Examples from a university virtual community developed in a Virtual Learning Environment and a Facebook™ closed group are presented. Apart from discussion forums, blended learning activities also increase students' engagement in virtual communities. Technical issues and difficulties based on different learning environments and university members' experience and familiarity with technology are highlighted and discussed.

Exploring Active Participation in Virtual Communities and the Role of Community Benefits: An Empirical Study of University Students in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-528
Author(s):  
Anupama Vohra ◽  
Neha Bhardwaj
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Bootstrap Analysis ◽  
Community Benefits ◽  
Hedonic Benefits

User-generated content (UGC) forms an indispensable part of virtual community (VC) based on marketing. It not only makes the community information-rich, but is also instrumental in generating more interactions on the community platform, involving more number of members, both actively and passively. With this backdrop, the present study aims to explore active participation (AP) of members in a VC, which leads to the creation of UGC for the community. Social media (SM) use being context dependent, the main objective of this article is to study the role of VC benefits in inducing AP among users in the Indian context. The mediating role of member’s satisfaction with the community in the above relationship is also explored. The proposed model is tested on a convenience sample of 170 SM users using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that of the three benefit categories, selected, social and hedonic benefits, play an important role in inducing AP among community members. A bootstrap analysis is performed to check for mediation, wherein satisfaction is found to partially mediate the relationship between social benefits and AP, and indirect mediation is established between hedonic benefits and AP. The study offers useful insights to community managers, so as to strategically design their community content creating satisfied users and inducing AP.

Building Virtual Communities Through a De-Marginalized View of Knowledge Networking

2006 ◽  
pp. 278-299
Author(s):  
Kam H. Vat
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Learning And Change

The chapter investigates an actionable context of knowledge networking, from the perspective of sustainable development which should accommodate the building of communities in cyberspace so much exemplified in today’s Internet and World Wide Web. The premise of this exploration is that members, or participants, in any community are engaged in learning that is critical to the survival and reproduction of that community. Through community participation, learners find and acquire models and have the opportunity themselves to become models and apprentices of others. This investigation provides a basis for thinking about the possibilities of a virtual community and the dynamics of its construction across a variety of computer-based contexts. The design and refinement of technology as the conduit for extending and enhancing the possibilities of virtual community building is an essential issue, but the role of the individuals as participants in such a community is as important. The idea of sustainable knowledge networking is to bring about continual learning and change for the community in need. The emergent challenge of such a mission is to de-marginalize many of the non-technical issues of building virtual communities for knowledge transfer and learning. The chapter concludes by reiterating the challenge of expositing what it means to create an appropriate context of knowledge networking through which purposeful actions can be supported with the elaboration of suitable information technologies.

scholarly journals Influential Factors and the Realization Mechanism of Sustainable Information-Sharing in Virtual Communities from a Knowledge Fermenting Perspective

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402097400
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Minghe Sun ◽  
Datian Bi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
The Other ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Communication Environment ◽  
Catalytic Role

Little is known about sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities, although it is increasingly recognized as a useful information-sharing tool. The aim of this study is to explore the influential factors and the realization mechanism of sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities. Starting from the similarity between biological fermentation and the information-sharing process in virtual communities, the present study creatively introduces the knowledge fermenting theory used in the analysis. Six factors influencing sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities are first identified based on this theory, which include sharing bodies, interactive topics, communication mechanism, supporting technology, communication environment, and platform scale. The relations among these six factors are then analyzed using the Decision-Making and Trial Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The results indicate that the factor of sharing bodies has the strongest influence on other factors and the factor of interactive topics receives the most influences from the other factors. On this basis, the realization mechanism of sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities is elaborated from the following four aspects: the four stages of the information-sharing realization, the guide role of “strain,” the catalytic role of “enzyme,” and the effect of environment. The results indicate that sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities is a process of spiral evolution. Finally, recommendations are given to virtual community managers, users, and business firms.

The Role of Virtual Communities in the Customization of e-Services

2011 ◽  
pp. 655-670
Author(s):  
Bill Karakostas ◽  
Dimitris Kardaras ◽  
Adéla Zichová
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Service Customization

Virtual communities are groups of people with similar interests who meet online and together act as a learning environment, place for social support, or as bodies for influencing public opinion. In this paper, the authors identify characteristics of a virtual community that influence its members to customize e- services provided to or received by the virtual community. The authors propose a theoretical framework of factors influencing service customization in a virtual community that has been validated with two case studies conducted in health-focused virtual communities. The findings confirm that the quality of the learning environment, social support, and the virtual community’s ability to influence public opinion, positively contribute to the perceived usefulness and active participation in the community by its members. In turn, these factors were found to have a positive influence on customization of e-services by the members, based on the community’s suggestion. The research also suggests several areas of focus to enhance e-service customization through virtual communities.

Building Virtual Communities Through a De-Marginalized View of Knowledge Networking

2008 ◽  
pp. 488-502
Author(s):  
Kam Hou Vat
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Learning And Change

The chapter investigates an actionable context of knowledge networking, from the perspective of sustainable development which should accommodate the building of communities in cyberspace so much exemplified in today’s Internet and World Wide Web. The premise of this exploration is that members, or participants, in any community are engaged in learning that is critical to the survival and reproduction of that community. Through community participation, learners find and acquire models and have the opportunity themselves to become models and apprentices of others. This investigation provides a basis for thinking about the possibilities of a virtual community and the dynamics of its construction across a variety of computer-based contexts. The design and refinement of technology as the conduit for extending and enhancing the possibilities of virtual community building is an essential issue, but the role of the individuals as participants in such a community is as important. The idea of sustainable knowledge networking is to bring about continual learning and change for the community in need. The emergent challenge of such a mission is to de-marginalize many of the non-technical issues of building virtual communities for knowledge transfer and learning. The chapter concludes by reiterating the challenge of expositing what it means to create an appropriate context of knowledge networking through which purposeful actions can be supported with the elaboration of suitable information technologies.

Motivational Antecedents, Constituents, and Consequents of Virtual Community Identity

2011 ◽  
pp. 253-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utpal M. Dholakia ◽  
Richard P. Bagozzi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Community Identity ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Community Organizers

In understanding the influence of virtual communities on its members, examined in this chapter is the role of identity — the member’s conscious knowledge of belonging and the emotional and evaluative significance attached to the membership. Drawing from research and analyses across different disciplines, we present an integrative framework considering and elaborating on the motivational antecedents, constituents, and consequents of virtual community identity. We also discuss its implications for virtual community organizers and highlight promising research opportunities in this area.

Increasing Research Students' Engagement through Virtual Communities

2016 ◽  
pp. 1173-1198
Author(s):  
Maria Limniou ◽  
Clare Holdcroft ◽  
Paul S. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Geographical Space

This chapter describes important issues regarding research students' participation in a virtual community. Within a virtual community, university staff can communicate with research students without geographical/space constraints, and research students can exchange views, materials, and experience with their peers and/or academics in a flexible learning environment. Students' participation in virtual communities is mainly based on socio-emotional and informational motivations. Initially, this chapter describes the conditions of research in a traditional environment and the role of students and academics in it, along with the role of pedagogical and psychological aspects in virtual communities. Examples from a university virtual community developed in a Virtual Learning Environment and a Facebook™ closed group are presented. Apart from discussion forums, blended learning activities also increase students' engagement in virtual communities. Technical issues and difficulties based on different learning environments and university members' experience and familiarity with technology are highlighted and discussed.

scholarly journals Exploring Relationship among Factors of Virtual Communities, Trust and Buying in Pakistan

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 115-122
Author(s):  
Muhammad Nouman Shafique ◽  
Naveed Ahmad ◽  
Iqbal Kiani ◽  
Muhammad Ibrar
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Impulse Buying ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Buying In

Currently the world is experiencing a tremendous growth in the use of social networking sites (SNS). Virtual communities is Increasing day by day, there is still a lack of studies analyze on role of virtual community in impulse buying on the base of trust. Dramatic change in the technology it play role for the virtual communities. Virtual community is a group of people who share common interest and practices, who tend to communicate to each other on the regular base over internet via a common mechanism or location (e.g. social networking websites). Generally, virtual communities serve discussion forums where people communicate with each other and sharing common interest via an electronic media. Virtual communities play role both the retailer and consumer to communicate and discuss information regarding various product of interest.

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