(The) customer behavior in virtual communities

Abstract

Understanding the usage intention of virtual communities on the Internet has become increasingly important as virtual communities have grown at an exponential rate in recent years. Moreover, the utilization of established virtual communities as a source of profit has also become crucial for the virtual community service providers. This paper studies the two types of trust in virtual communities to clarify the diffeitnce between acceptance processes for usage and for purchases based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Also, the different effect of trust and other variable according to customer types are investigated. The antecedents of customer perceptions are examined to measure the effect of individual difference, organizational and social influence. The relationships among these factors are hypothesized. A structural equation model tests the hypothesized relationships.