Comparative Analysis of Trust in Online Communities

Abstract

The utilization of established virtual communities as a source of profit has become crucial for virtual community service providers. Thus, the service providers should try to determine what types of users are present in their communities, that is, whether the use of the community is utilitarian or hedonic. They would then be able to ascertain what type of trust is to be facilitated. When the service providers understand the kind of trust they need to develop to induce members to use the site more often, they can manage their respective virtual communities more efficiently. In this context, this paper studies two types of trust in virtual communities to differentiate their acceptance processes for usage based on the Technology Acceptance Model. The different effects of trust and other variables are investigated based on customer type. The relationships among these factors are hypothesized. A structural equation model tests the hypothesized relationships. Our study provides an understanding of the kind of trust that virtual community managers need to develop to induce members to use their sites more so they can manage the communities more efficiently.