Behavior In Virtual Communities Research Articles

Ownership leads to conflicts: the double-edged impact of psychological ownership on communication satisfaction in virtual communities

PurposePsychological ownership has been a topic of intense debate for several decades, especially in the digital era. In addition, as part of the digital public domain, virtual communities shape our digital lives. Unfortunately, few studies have examined the communication process in virtual communities from the perspective of psychological ownership. Moreover, information and organization are key aspects of virtual communities. This research aimed to explore the impact of psychological ownership on communication satisfaction from these two perspectives.Design/methodology/approachI collected 471 responses using a questionnaire. In terms of empirical methods, I developed a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the relationship between psychological ownership and communication satisfaction as well as the mechanism underlying this relationship – namely, information behavior. Specifically, I first examined the relationship between psychological ownership and information behavior. I then developed a comprehensive framework for the double-edged impact of psychological ownership in virtual communities on communication satisfaction.FindingsI found that psychological ownership has a double-edged effect on communication satisfaction based on two types of information behavior in virtual communities. Specifically, organization-based psychological ownership (OPO) positively influences communication satisfaction through information exchange. In contrast, information-based psychological ownership (IPO) negatively impacts communication satisfaction through information-hiding.Originality/valueThe findings of this research demonstrate that psychological ownership has a double-edged effect on communication satisfaction. First, the findings of this study reveal the downsides of psychological ownership, which are not consistent with its beneficial role. Second, the negative effect of psychological ownership with regard to communication in virtual communities also helps explain communication failure in virtual communities. Finally, despite the downsides of psychological ownership in the context of a virtual community revealed by this study, this factor has an overall beneficial effect.

Online Herd Behavior in Virtual Communities

Previous studies on WOM have stressed the importance of peer consumer reviews in making purchase decision. When people follow the others purchase decision on the Internet, online herd behavior occurs. This paper presents three experiments that examine herd behavior in virtual communities: In experiment 1, a 2 (Volume: sales/recommendation) online experiment was conducted. Experiment 2 investigated herd effects using a 2 (Number of volume: relative/absolute) × 2 (Number of scale: large/small) online experiment. Online experiment 3 examined herd effects using a 2 (Number of experience-sharing messages: more/fewer) × 2 (Number of recommendations: more/fewer) online experiment. These experiments involved 484 people in a Taiwanese virtual community. Results demonstrated that consumer recommendation volume causes significantly more frequent online herd behavior compared with sales volume. This study advances the literature on online herd behavior in virtual communities.

Towards an Insight Into Customer Behavior in Virtual Brand Communities

This study aims at exploring the effects of customer’s personal factors and characteristics of brand community on customers’ behaviors in virtual brand community. The data were collected from customers of virtual brand communities in Vietnamese context via a survey. The data show that among the customer’s personal factors, customer ability has the largest impact on customer active behaviors in virtual brand community while customer motivation and opportunity have smaller significant influences on customer behaviors. Regarding the characteristics of virtual brand community, information quality posted in virtual community has the most dramatic effect on customer involvement in active behaviors. System quality is also relevant to customer behaviors, yet virtual interactivity and rewards are unrelated to customer activity involvement. With the findings, research shows useful suggestions for businesses in Vietnam in their efforts to understand the impact of customer behavior in the virtual community.

MATCHING PRIVATE ACCOMMODATIONS WITH UNFAMILIAR TOURISTS: THE PERSPECTIVE FROM ALTRUISM AND SOCIAL IDENTITY

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine how online travel communities and host benevolence influence Couchsurfer behavior. We formulated a model of Couchsurfers’ behavioral intentions from the perspectives of trust, social identity theory, and altruism. Design/methodology/approach - Empirical data were collected from members of online travel communities. Participants were required to complete an online survey program developed using the SURVEYCAKE website (https://www.surveycake.com/), via invitation message. The invitation information stated the purpose of the study and provided a hyperlink to the digital survey form. We sent out the invitations, and 423 were returned completed. Findings - Community engagement is an enzyme catalyst between Couchsurfers and online travel communities. Online travel communities that provide an enjoyable experience could increase the satisfaction of Couchsurfers, who tend to spend more time browsing and interacting with interesting online travel communities. Research limitations/implications - Research will discuss the travel purpose of Couchsurfers and may better understand the considerations of hosts willing to provide lodging in future research. Practical implications - The operator of online travel communities should collect tacit knowledge and transform it into useful tourism information that can benefit both online travel communities and Couchsurfers. Originality/value - The results of this study provide additional evidence of altruism in the study of tourism behavior and offer new perspectives on behavior in virtual communities

The influence mechanism of rewards on knowledge sharing behaviors in virtual communities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational rewards on two forms of knowledge sharing – explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities, and further to explore the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation on the effect of virtual community rewards on implicit knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approachBased on relevant knowledge sharing theories, this study develops an integrated framework to explore virtual community rewards and tacit and explicit knowledge sharing in a virtual context. This study then collected data from 429 virtual community users in four virtual communities via an online survey. Hierarchical regression analyzes were used to test the proposed research model.FindingsThe results of this study show that virtual rewards have a significantly positive linear relationship with explicit knowledge sharing but have an inverse U-shape relationship with tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities. In addition, intrinsic motivations including enjoyment and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between rewards and tacit knowledge sharing.Practical implicationsThis study suggests more virtual community rewards may not always lead to more tacit knowledge sharing. Instead, too many rewards may weaken the motivation for tacit knowledge sharing. Knowledge management practitioners should make full use of the positive impact of self-efficacy and enjoyment to set up appropriate reward incentives to encourage knowledge-sharing, in particular, tacit knowledge sharing and to better manage virtual communities.Originality/valueThis study explores knowledge-sharing behavior in virtual communities, an important step toward more integrated knowledge-sharing theories. While online communities have become increasingly important for today’s knowledge economy, few studies have explored knowledge and knowledge sharing in a virtual context and this study helps to bridge the gap. In addition, this study develops an integrated framework to explore the mechanism through which virtual community rewards affect knowledge sharing with intrinsic motivation mediating this relationship in online communities, which further enriches the understanding on how to use virtual rewards to motivate knowledge sharing behaviors in the virtual context.

Key factors in Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Virtual Communities of Practice: A Systematic Review

Virtual Communities of Practice (VCOP) are environments widely recognized as knowledge management instruments, and their sociocultural contributions are being incipiently valued. However, VCOPs are complex participation contexts due to their sociotechnical and sociocultural nature. Participation mechanisms, particularly Knowledge Sharing Behavior (KSB), have been studied from heterogeneous theoretical foundations and practical research methods. Therefore, a wide dispersion of factors and dimensions has been identified. This paper aims to present an overview that summarizes and systematizes the key drivers of KSB in VCOPs. This paper presents a systematic review of KSB in VCOPs, based on 42 studies retrieved from WOS, SCOPUS and Science Direct. The review was conducted using the PRISMA model. The selection and qualitative synthesis of articles was enriched using Nvivo for coding and analysis of the full text documents. The results suggest that KSB in VCOPs have a multidimensional and multifactorial character that includes personal, interpersonal, contextual, and technological factors. The typology of factors presented could serve in academic settings to conduct new theoretical or empirical research, or in practitioner settings to implement VCOPs in institutions across diverse sectors. New assessment instruments of KSB in VCOPs could be based on this typology.

Continuous content contribution in virtual community: The role of status-standing on motivational mechanisms

A central concern for the long-term vibrancy of virtual communities is how to effectively motivate continuous contributions from community members. To address this challenge, a series of motivation factors that range from self-interest driven to prosocial-oriented motives have been identified by scholars. As members participate in continuous contributions and community activities alike, their status or positions within the virtual communities would change, which may influence their cognition and behavior. While status-seeking can lead to greater contributions and a better performance, research has yet to study in a comprehensive manner how an individual's status-standing shape one's recognition and behavior in a systematic way. To fill this research gap, a comprehensive theoretical model based on the status theory of collective action is proposed to explain how status standing moderates the impact of different types of motivations (self-interest vs. prosocial) on continuous contributions in virtual communities. Our findings suggest that improved status-standing can enhance the motivational incentives of virtual rewards and peer recognition, while boosting the prosocial motivation of opinion leadership to contribute content in virtual communities. Overall, this study not only suggests a comprehensive view of our current understandings regarding contribution behavior in virtual communities, but also yields deep insights into how motivational mechanism of virtual communities can be reasonably designed and properly used to promote continuous contributions.

虚拟社区顾客契合的影响因素及其对顾客购买行为的影响—自我决定论视角

虚拟社区顾客契合的影响因素及其对顾客购买行为的影响—自我决定论视角

O Uso do Método Netnográfico na Pós-Graduação em Administração no Brasil

A dinâmica da Internet e de suas mídias sociais exige uma constante revisão das metodologias de pesquisa da área. A netnografia é a metodologia aplicada para investigar e interpretar o comportamento do consumidor nas comunidades virtuais. Este artigo apresenta a abordagem netnográfica como ferramenta de análise de informações online em estudos desenvolvidos na Pós-Graduação em Administração no Brasil. Realizou-se um resgate teórico da netnografia e um levantamento bibliográfico de teses e dissertações que utilizaram o método. Os resultados demonstraram que os estudos netnográficos no campo iniciaram-se em 2006, mas foi apenas em 2012 que o método passou a ser amplamente utilizado. Como limitações ao uso do método destacam-se a ausência de dados confiáveis e as interpretações superficiais. Mesmo assim, a netnografia apresenta-se como uma ferramenta para analisar grupos virtuais, proporcionando flexibilidade temporal e espacial e, possibilitando o surgimento de insights, que se transformam em avanço teóricos na pesquisa em Administração.

Understanding Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities: A Network Perspective

As more and more people are beginning to take virtual communities as effective communication channels and the main places to get information and knowledge, understanding the factors that can support or hinder one's knowledge sharing seems important. This paper adopts a network perspective to construct a research model for investigating people's knowledge sharing intention and behavior in virtual communities. The basic point made is that knowledge sharing can be seen as a channel to attain status and centrality in a community. Thus, people who are in periphery positions are more likely to transfer their community attachment into knowledge sharing intention. However, this moderation effect can also be contingent on the external environment. When the virtual community is not stable and has a lot of fluctuations in the number of members, central players are also in the need of using knowledge sharing as a way to maintain their central positions. Analyses using samples of seven virtual communities in China c...

Why do newcomers participate in virtual communities? An integration of self-determination and relationship management theories

This study proposes and tests a model that outlines the antecedents of newcomers' participation behavior in virtual communities and incorporates both mediating and moderating effects. According to self-reported data from two periods and objective behavioral data, the combined fulfillment of needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence determines newcomers' cognitive social identity, which then influences participation behavior through affective commitment and collective self-esteem. Of the three needs, autonomy exerts the strongest effect on cognitive social identity. Moreover, relationship satisfaction moderates the relationship between awareness of group membership and affective commitment, which helps explain why newcomers with high awareness of their group membership might not cohere with a particular social group. Overall , by combining self-determination theory with relationship management theories, this study establishes an explanatory platform for newcomers' participation behavior. The authors conclude with a discussion of the managerial and research implications of these findings.

The Factors Affecting Individuals' Flaming Behavior in Virtual Communities: Theoretical Exploration and Empirical Analysis

The Factors Affecting Individuals' Flaming Behavior in Virtual Communities: Theoretical Exploration and Empirical Analysis

Understanding Knowledge Sourcing Behavior in Virtual Communities

Understanding Knowledge Sourcing Behavior in Virtual Communities

Empirical analysis of interpersonal interacting behavior in virtual community

Internet forum is the place where online mass incidents usually happen, and is very important in information diffusion and opinion spreading. We empirically analyze the interacting behavior of internet forum users, construct the virtual community network based on implicit interaction behavior. Through inspecting the statistical properties, we find that this virtual community network is directional, asymmetric and disassortative scale free network, and it has hierarchy and community structure.Moreover, user page view is positively correlated with his in-degree, so both can describe the influence power and popularity. From quantitative view, the results show that the effects of influential user with 'contribute-driven' property on information spreading can not be ignored; the success of internet forum needs to increase the activity of the most inert users; if user wants to be authoritative in virtual community networks, he needs to propose interesting message or has a personal brand.

Exploring the role of psychological safety in promoting the intention to continue sharing knowledge in virtual communities

Virtual communities play an important role in business, society, and education. At present, one of the great challenges faced by virtual communities is the availability of knowledge, which is mainly created through knowledge-sharing behavior. Although prior studies have extensively studied knowledge-sharing behavior in virtual communities from various perspectives, they largely ignored the important role of psychological safety in this process. We propose to address this gap by examining psychological safety and its effect on individuals’ intention to continue sharing knowledge. We also identify trust in the virtual community and self-consciousness as antecedents of psychological safety. The research model is empirically tested through a survey across two virtual communities in a major university. The results show that the condition of psychological safety has a positive influence on the intention to continue sharing knowledge. The level of trust has a positive impact on the intention to continue sharing knowledge not only directly, as documented in the literature, but also indirectly, through the mediating role of psychological safety. Finally, we find that self-consciousness exerts a negative influence on feelings of psychological safety. The implications of our findings and the need for future research are also discussed.

Impact of Chinese Culture Values on Knowledge Sharing Through Online Communities of Practice

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how national (Chinese) cultural factors influence knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities of practice at a large U.S.-based multinational organization. The data in this study come from interviews with the company’s employees in China, and managers who are involved in managing knowledge-sharing initiatives. The study results suggest that overall the influence of the national culture could be less pronounced in online knowledge sharing than what the literature has suggested. Although Chinese employees’ tendency to draw sharp distinctions between in-groups and out-groups, as well as the modesty requirements were barriers to knowledge sharing online, the issue of saving face was less important than expected, and attention paid to power and hierarchy seemed to be less critical than what the literature indicated. A surprising finding was that in the initially assumed collectivistic Chinese culture, the high degree of competitiveness among employees and job security concerns seem to override the collectivistic tendencies and are the main reasons for knowledge hoarding. The reasons for unexpected findings could be associated with differences between face-to-face and online knowledge sharing environments, the influence of the company’s organizational culture, and the recent rapid changes of the overall Chinese cultural patterns.

Knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations

There has been a growing interest in examining the factors that support or hinder one's knowledge sharing behavior in the virtual communities. However, still very few studies examined them from both personal and environmental perspectives. In order to explore the knowledge sharing behaviors within the virtual communities of professional societies, this study proposed a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based model that includes knowledge sharing self-efficacy and outcome expectations for personal influences, and multi-dimensional trusts for environmental influences. The proposed research model was then evaluated with structural equation modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis was also applied to test if the empirical data conform to the proposed model.

Sharing Tips with Strangers: Exploiting Gift Culture in Computer Gaming

The aim of this study was to look at motivations behind altruistic behavior in virtual communities by studying the sharing of game tips by experienced gamers. We examine several possible motivations (pure altruism, generalized reciprocity, and reputation) and qualitatively analyze tip types in terms of usefulness, visibility, and skill level. We found that in games that do not support a "performance stage" for skill demonstration, players often share game tips as a strategy to attract attention. To a certain degree, reciprocity can be used to explain small favor exchanges, but earning social reputation is often a much stronger motivating factor.

Small worlds: Normative behavior in virtual communities and feminist bookselling

Small worlds: Normative behavior in virtual communities and feminist bookselling