Virtual Community Participation and Motivation: Cross‐disciplinary Theories

Citation

Stuart, E. (2013), "Virtual Community Participation and Motivation: Cross‐disciplinary Theories", Online Information Review, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 154-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521311311748

There are virtual communities attached to most websites and online tools in one form or another to satisfy individual, organisational or societal needs, whether it be Facebook networks, Flickr groups, BBC discussion forums, intranets, listservs or online support groups. Such communities consist of people brought together by a common theme irrespective of geographical separateness. But what motivates people to join and take part in online communities where the members are often unknown to each other in the “real world”? This book aims to shed some light on this question by looking at cross‐disciplinary theories of participation and motivation in virtual communities. The book is a collection of 19 academic papers from fields such as information systems and computer science, sociology, psychology and philosophy, and the book's overall aim is to define and establish why people participate in and contribute to virtual communities.

The book is divided into two main sections. The first consists of eight papers that attempt to define virtual communities and give an overview of virtual community participation from different theoretical angles. The second section contains 11 papers that attempt to investigate theories and motivations behind virtual community participation.

The papers are written by an international mix of academics and utilise a wide range of virtual communities to illustrate their points, including the TV show Gossip Girl, educational learning environments, social network sites such as Facebook, Chinese web surfers, photography communities, and virtual worlds such as Second Life. As with any real‐world community, there are also abusive members and members on the periphery who do not fully participate in group interactions. Online communities are no exception, and there are also papers that cover the issues of trolling (unconstructive behaviour) and lurking (non‐participation). However, the book's biggest value lies in the different theoretical perspectives of participation that are discussed and the various different approaches in analysis (e.g., ethnography, socio‐semiotics, narrative network analysis, surveys and observations).

Whilst the book's main target audience is those interested in academic research and development, Li explains that understanding virtual community participation can also help to direct practitioners in designing, managing and operating virtual communities. However, Li also stresses that virtual communities are still in development and that participation evolves alongside the development of virtual communication technology. As new technology emerges and a particular website or tool becomes “the next big thing”, the virtual community that is attached to it will be slightly different from all that have gone before, and so too will the set of motivations that underpin why people participate in it.