How can virtual communities create value for business?

Virtual communities include everything from discussion boards to massive multiplayer online role-playing games and virtual realities such as Second Life. The business world has assumed that virtual communities can be leveraged to provide access to consumers and consumer data. The benefits of this as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inElectronic commerce research and applications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 38 - 49
Main Author Spaulding, Trent J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 2010
Elsevier BV
Subjects
Business value
Consumer behavior
Electronic commerce
Information technology
Online community
Social contracts
Social networks
Studies
Trust theory
Value chain
Virtual communities
Virtual community
Online community
Social contracts
Business value
Information technology
Virtual community
Trust theory
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Summary:Virtual communities include everything from discussion boards to massive multiplayer online role-playing games and virtual realities such as Second Life. The business world has assumed that virtual communities can be leveraged to provide access to consumers and consumer data. The benefits of this assumption have not always been realized. The purpose of this article is to understand why some business ventures into virtual communities fail and others succeed. Why do virtual communities support certain types of business activities and not others? Which firm activities are the best candidates to benefit from being positioned in virtual communities? The theories of social contracts and trust explain how firms can successfully participate in virtual communities. The theories have implications in the context of transaction-oriented, interest-oriented, relationship-oriented, and fantasy-oriented communities. The value chain provides an instructive background to understand which firm activities are candidates for being included in virtual communities. Success in virtual communities depends on an attitude of contribution, dedication of resources, building a critical mass, and matching community and business needs. Because many social technologies are in the disillusionment stage of the hype cycle, further research in the business use of virtual communities is needed to guide business practices as we move to full adoption.
ISSN:1567-4223
1873-7846
DOI:10.1016/j.elerap.2009.07.004