ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We thank the senior editor on the manuscript, V. Sambamurthy, and the anonymous associate editor and reviewers for their many insightful suggestions on earlier

The literature is packed with “one-size-fits-all” advice on how to develop intentionally formed virtual communities of practice (VCoPs). However, a closer look at the literature shows that VCoPs often have unique “personalities. ” Based on an extensive review of the literature and a study of 18 VCoPs, we built a typology containing 21 structuring characteristics. We then used this typology and three of the studied VCoPs to show how different their basic natures are. Researchers and practitioners alike must not only recognize the diversity of VCoPs, but also identify challenges, strategies and practices that are contingent upon their specific characteristics.

Three of the most important uses of the Internet today are as an economic marketplace, as a forum for social interaction, and as a source of information. In this paper, we explore how these three activities come together, in the form of emergent social communities built around information exchanges within IT-enabled electronic marketplaces. Drawing on social identity theory, we suggest that the relationship between online consumer reviews and internet product sales is partially explained by social identity processes. Using a unique dataset based on both chronologically compiled ratings as well as reviewer characteristics for a given set of products and geographical location-based purchasing behavior from Amazon, we provide evidence at the community level linking the prevalence of identity claiming behavior in an online community with subsequent product sales. In addition, we show that when reviewers claim to be from a particular geographic location, subsequent product sales are higher in that region. At the review level of analysis, we show that subsequent reviews conform to identity-claiming norms set in previous reviews, and that identity claiming that conforms to community norms elicits identity granting. Furthermore, our results suggest that the prevalence of identity granting has implications for economic exchange in the form of product sales. Implications for research on word-of-mouth and electronic communities are discussed.

Abstract. Virtual Community (VC) is a comprehensive phenomenon with relevance to social as well as economic transactions. Also Human Resource Management (HRM) includes both relationship- and value added-oriented processes. HRM-actors, in particular HR-managers and employees, increasingly try to balance their personal and job-related needs. Thus, given increasingly spatially dispersed workplaces, the usage of VC may generate benefits or risks for HRM-relevant processes. Further, applicants utilize VC to enhance their chances in the recruitment process. Yet, although there is practical evidence of HRM-relevant VC (VCHR), respective research literature seems to be scarce. To explore this, the paper aims at assembling and evaluating relevant academic literature to give an impulse for systematic VCHR-research which might abet to the development of a respective research area in the context of e-HRM.

The emergence of new lightweight web technologies and the development of mobile devices leads to a situation, where the users can consume the same web services regardless of the place, time and device. Mobile devices are equipped with networking capabilities and sensors that provide versatile context and user-community information. This information enhances the user experience as it can be used to compensate the limited means of input. We present a context-aware mobile Web 2.0 service architecture that connects user context and community information with the web services. This convergence enables the development of device-independent services that are enriched and personalized with user context and community information. Mobile middleware may be needed for efficient delivery of this information from the mobile device to the web services. Four novel communication models for the delivery are introduced, namely centralized control, centralized services, peerto-peer services, and pure peer-to-peer. The purpose of the models is to offer a secure and reliable platform for creating new services. Finally, we study virtual communities and market structures of the proposed models from a multidisciplinary point of view. We claim that the selected technical model determines the prospective market structure. 1.

To support social interactions characterizing most activities in virtual communities, system design needs to go beyond functional and user-friendliness requirements to incorporate the demands for supporting social environments and activities. Social presence, as a subjective nature of communication media, reflects the perception of social actors as well as social settings and has been regarded as one of the major design principles for virtual communities. Our study explores its potential in facilitating the social identification process and promoting community participation. Drawing upon the social identity theory, we develop a model explaining the effects of social presence on social identification and community participation. An empirical study involving 430 members from four different virtual communities of interest provide strong support for our model. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Online communities have become a major medium for social interaction amongst Internet users. However, communities addressing similar topics often have a considerable overlap in resources, which makes them at least partial substitutes for each other. Given the ease with which these resources can be accessed, why would individuals choose to return repeatedly to one community, and indeed go on to invest additional time and energy in doing the voluntary work necessary to keep that community going? We draw on organizational commitment theory to propose an integrated framework for understanding why community members perform three essential kinds of voluntary behaviors – community citizenship behaviors, content provision, and audience engagement. Commitment theory argues that three kinds of bonds (affect-based, norm-based, and cost-based) may form between individuals and organizations, and we adapt this theory to an online community context. Our results indicate that each form of commitment has a contrasting influence on members ’ performance of voluntary behaviors in the community. Community citizenship behaviors are driven by affective and normative commitment, content provision by affective and continuance commitment, and audience engagement by continuance commitment

Virtual communities provide an important venue for knowledge sharing. Prior research has demonstrated that both system design factors, e.g., social presence, and social aspects of VC, e.g., social identity, are critical for encouraging knowledge contribution. However, we still lack a good understanding of how the system design and the social aspects of VC jointly influence members ’ knowledge contribution. Also the uni-dimensional conceptualization of social presence in most prior research may not be sufficient to capture the complexity in VC interaction. To address these theoretical voids, a research model is developed to explain the effect of social presence on knowledge contribution as mediated through social identity. More particularly, drawing upon environmental psychology literature and prior research on social presence, we propose a three-dimensional conceptualization, consisting of sensory, affective, and cognitive components, and discuss their distinct roles in developing social identification and promoting knowledge contribution. The research model was empirically tested with a survey involving 430 registered members. The results provided a strong support for the validity and usability of the multi-dimensional conceptualization of social presence.

Multi-user virtual communities have become an accepted fundamental component of communication whereby community members share information and knowledge for mutual learning or problem solving. Virtual communities in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) have evolved into active social networks, formulating an alternative social existence and this phenomenon warrants further investigations. In these virtual social networks (VSNs), member participation is essential for their success. Therefore, developing knowledge on how to manage and sustain participation of members in VSNs fills a gap in our academic understanding of the dynamics underpinning the processes of virtual community development. This article aims to address these issues by extending the theory of sense of community into a virtual context (SOVC) and by integrating it with other communication theory of U&G. Keywords: research agenda; sense of virtual community; user participation; virtual community; virtual social networks

To better understand the sustainability of a virtual professional community, the authors develop and test a research model of user intention to recommend the community to others. Specifically, intention to spread positive word of mouth is proposed to be determined by satisfaction, commitment, and group norm, with satisfaction and group norm positively impacting commitment. Using data obtained from users of a virtual professional community (an educational portal), the results supported nearly all hypothesized relationships. Only the relationship between satisfaction and commitment was not found to be significant. The authors conclude with a discussion of the findings and implications for both theory and practice.