Abstract
This research explores the creation of relational worth in an online social community through the lens of social capital theory. Virtual structural embeddedness and relational embeddedness as dimensions of social capital are assessed through the concepts of media dependency and parasocial interaction. Both constructs are regarded as antecedents of relational worth in online social communities, which develops through their users’ self-connection to the community. To test the proposed conceptual model an analysis was undertaken of data from 370 personal interviews with online social community users. The results showed that structural and relational embeddedness are both associated with the development of online social community self-connection; and that in turn, community self-connection helps create relational worth, which is comprised of community openness and advocacy. The research contributes to the improved understanding of the formation of social capital in an online social community and addresses the under-researched role of members’ self-connection in generating relational worth in a virtual context.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
