Abstract
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.
Highlights
Virtual communities, as new and popular social media, play important roles in information-sharing
Focusing on sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities, this study fills these research gaps by exploring the influential factors and the realization mechanism of sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities from a biological perspective based on the knowledge fermenting theory and the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (SECI) model
In the third step, combined with the SECI model, the realization mechanism of sustainable information-sharing in virtual communities is elaborated from the four aspects, that is, the four stages of the sustainable information-sharing realization, the guide role of “strain,” the catalytic role of “enzyme,” and the effect of the environment
Summary
As new and popular social media, play important roles in information-sharing. A virtual community can be described as an affiliative group of individuals with common interests connected through the internet on a specific social medium without the limits of geographical and demographic boundaries, which is informal and where any one can join and leave whenever and wherever possible. These virtual communities gradually take shape when there are people wanting to participate in public discussions and when members possess sufficient emotion to build networks of personal relationship through the internet
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