Sense of virtual community and virtual community dynamics : linking commuinty characteristic, community activity, and community outcome

Abstract

Thanks to readily available Internet access in Korea, virtual communities are multiplying at an unprecedented rate. In-depth understanding of virtual community dynamics is needed to address critical organization and information system issues, such as virtual collaboration, virtual organizations and communities-of-practice (CoPs). This dissertation addresses the behavior and psychological states of individual virtual community members, and explores virtual community dynamics at the community level. First of all, we discuss the concept of a virtual community. Despite subtle differences in varying definitions, researchers generally agree that "cyberspace" is the essential space for the identification of virtual communities. There are, however, few individuals (if any) that interact in cyberspace alone, and so for the purposes of this study, a virtual community is defined as "a group of people with common interests or goals, interacting predominantly in cyberspace." As such, we can conceptualize and operationalize three principle constructs in virtual community research: "sense of virtual community"(SOVC), which is based on "sense of community"(SOC) and "sense of place"(SOP). Further discussion relates to the commercial value of virtual community stimulation in regards to e-business environments. Based on current research and in-depth interviews with practitioners, we developed an overall theoretical framework for virtual community dynamics, and as a preliminary study analyzed the case of an interest-based virtual community that hosted the interaction of thousands of members in the space of one year. With the theoretical framework somewhat modified by the results of this preliminary study, we developed two research models. In the first study (Study I), we examined the structure of the sense of virtual community at the individual level, and investigated the factors that affected this sense of virtual community. The base of research was a survey of 172 members from 4...