On virtual communities: individual motivations, reciprocity and we-rationality

Abstract

Within knowledge-based economies, one of the major forms of organisational change concerns the impact of the introduction and dissemination of information and communication technologies on markets, consumers and firms. The existence of virtual or ‘electronic’ communities is one of the main consequences of this impact. In this context, the main purpose of this article is to answer the following questions: Why do firms and consumers take part in these communities? Are they driven by the usual or by more specific motivations based on reciprocity or we-rationality? Do these potentially new types of organisation and interaction, and new motivations change the working and the dynamics of our economic systems?