6533b861fe1ef96bd12c45b6
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Understanding the sense of community and continuance intention in virtual communities: The role of commitment and type of community
Baltasar González-antaVicente PeñarrojaVicente Martínez-turVirginia OrengoAna Zornozasubject
sense of virtual communitycomunidades virtuales de aprendizajevirtual community participationSense of communityvirtual learning communitiesLibrary and Information SciencesRedes sociales en líneacompromisoparticipació comunitària virtualintenció de continuarcomunidades virtuales de prácticaXarxes socials en línia0502 economics and businessvirtual communities of practiceSociologysentit de comunitat virtualOnline social networksintención de continuarFocus (computing)comunitats virtuals d'aprenentatgecomunitats d'interèsbusiness.industrycommunities of interest05 social sciencescommitmentsentido de comunidad virtualGeneral Social Sciencesintention to continuecomunidades de interésparticipación comunitaria virtualPublic relationsComputer Science ApplicationscompromísSustainability050211 marketingContinuancebusinesscomunitats virtuals de pràcticaLaw050203 business & managementdescription
Virtual communities (VCs) have become essential in current organizations and society, and so their sustainability is a topic of interest for researchers and practitioners. We focus on the sense of virtual community (SoVC) and commitment as relevant antecedents in achieving the success and maintenance of different types of VCs (communities of interest, virtual learning communities, and virtual communities of practice). Specifically, this study examines a moderated mediation model in which the type of virtual community moderates the indirect effect of a SoVC on the intention to continue through the perceived commitment of the users of the VC. The sample consists of 299 members of Virtual communities. The results showed that SoVC influenced intention to continue via commitment to VCs. Additionally, the relationship between SoVC and commitment was higher for communities of interest and virtual learning communities than for virtual communities of practice. This article contributes to previous literature by identifying the importance of participants' engagement and the contingent effect of the type of community. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-07-08 |