The advance of the Internet facilitates consumers to share and exchange consumption-related advice through online consumer reviews. This relatively new form of word-of-mouth communication, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication, has only recently received significant managerial and academic attention. Many academic studies have looked at the effectiveness of positive eWOM communication, examining the process by which eWOM influences consumer purchasing decisions. eWOM behavior is primarily explained from the individual rational perspective that emphasizes a cost and benefit analysis. However, we felt there was a need for an extensive study that examines consumers' motives for eWOM. In this paper, we focus on the factors that drive consumers to spread positive eWOM in online consumer-opinion platforms. Building on the social psychology literature, we identified a number of key motives of consumers' eWOM intention and developed an associated model. We empirically tested the research model with a sample of 203 members of a consumer review community, OpenRice.com. The model explains 69% of the variance, with reputation, sense of belonging and enjoyment of helping other consumers significantly related to consumers' eWOM intention. The results of this study provide important implications for research and practice. Highlights? In this study, we developed a model examining motives of consumers' eWOM intention. ? We tested the model with a sample of 203 members of a consumer review community. ? The model explains 69 percent of the variance. ? Reputation, sense of belonging, and enjoyment of helping are significant factors.

What drives consumers to spread electronic word of mouth in online consumer-opinion platforms

This research uses theories of flow, telepresence, positive emotions, and brand equity to examine the effect of using two-dimensional versus three-dimensional virtual world environments on telepresence, enjoyment, brand equity, and behavioral intention. The findings suggest that the 3D virtual world environment produces both positive and negative effects on brand equity when compared to the 2D environment. The positive effect of the 3D virtual world environment on brand equity occurs through telepresence, a specific aspect of flow, as well as enjoyment. The negative effect on brand equity can be explained using distraction-conflict theory in which attentional conflicts faced by users of a highly interactive and rich medium resulted in distractions from attending to the brand. Brand equity, in turn, has a positive effect on behavioral intention. The results suggest that although the 3D virtual world environment has the potential to increase brand equity by offering an immersive and enjoyable virtual product experience, the rich environment can also be a distraction. Therefore, developers of virtual world branding sites need to take into account limitations in the information processing capacity and attention span of users when designing their sites in order to avoid cognitive overload, which can lead to users being distracted from branding information. This paper not only provides a theoretical foundation for explaining users' experience with 2D versus 3D virtual world branding sites, but also provides insights to practitioners for designing 3D virtual world sites to enhance brand equity and intentions through user engagement.

Enhancing%' or paper_id like 'brand equity through flow and telepresence: a comparison of 2D and 3D virtual worlds

In recent years we have witnessed a significant growth of social-computing communities—online services in which users share information in various forms. As content contributions from participants are critical to the viability of these communities, it is important to understand what drives users to participate and share information with others in such settings. We extend previous literature on user contribution by studying the factors that are associated with various forms of participation in a large online photo-sharing community. Using survey and system data, we examine four different forms of participation and consider the differences between these forms. We build on theories of motivation to examine the relationship between users' participation and their motivations with respect to their tenure in the community. Amongst our findings, we identify individual motivations (both extrinsic and intrinsic) that underpin user participation, and their effects on different forms of information sharing; we show that tenure in the community does affect participation, but that this effect depends on the type of participation activity. Finally, we demonstrate that tenure in the community has a weak moderating effect on a number of motivations with regard to their effect on participation. Directions for future research, as well as implications for theory and practice, are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Analysis of participation in an online photo-sharing community: A multidimensional perspective

This study aims to address two research gaps in prior studies on knowledge sharing in virtual communities (VCs). First, prior studies have focused on knowledge sharing VCs with no explicit reward system, but VCs sharing knowledge based on a competition-based reward system (e.g., transactional VCs) have not been explored. Second, prior related studies have concentrated on the determinants of initial participation in sharing knowledge rather than sustained participation despite there being important distinctions between these two stages of participation behavior. In this study, we focus on understanding sustained participation in knowledge sharing in transactional VCs by drawing on expectancy-value theory and a social learning process. Considering that a social learning process is involved in maintaining sustained participation, we propose that task complexity and self-efficacy - two social learning factors - moderate the relationship between motivation and sustained participation. A field survey with 205 subjects in a transactional virtual community was conducted to test the research model. According to the findings, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations significantly influence sustained participation intention. A negative interaction effect between extrinsic motivation and task complexity, as well as positive interaction effect between intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, was also observed. A non-linear interaction effect between intrinsic motivation and task complexity was also found. Study implications and future research directions are also discussed. Highlights? Extrinsic motivation plays an important role in the TVC context. ? Task complexity weakens the effect of extrinsic motivation on intention. ? Self efficacy enhances the effect of intrinsic motivation on intention. ? The effect of intrinsic motivation is low under high level of task complexity.

https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&context=icis2010_submissions

Understanding sustained participation in transactional virtual communities

Understanding Sustained Participation in Transactional Virtual Communities.

The recent years have seen the emergence of a number of virtual worlds with various designs and purposes. Some have become very popular and have developed growing in-world economies. Real-world businesses are increasingly experimenting with doing virtual business there as well. In this paper, we present Avatar Business Value Analysis, a novel theoretical framework and a computational method and decision tool to help evaluate and strategically manage business value creation inside synthetic environments, and show how it can be applied to cost-benefit analysis in practical settings. The decision-tree-based method includes traffic metrics that may be used to empirically estimate the business value of virtual commerce ventures. We also investigate some intangible factors that are impacting these metrics in the context of the particular case of the virtual world Second Life and discuss their implications. We conclude by outlining strategies that could be considered by the operators of virtual worlds and the real corporations in order to promote sustainable virtual business in synthetic environments.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm?abstractid=1146769

Avatar Business Value Analysis: A Method for the Evaluation of Business Value Creation in Virtual Commerce

/pdf/avatar-business-value-analysis-a-method-for-the-evaluation-4zgixzhbg8.pdf

Avatar business value analysis: a method for the evaluation of business value creation in virtual commerce

Our study examines whether users' contributions of public resources to social bookmarking sites are circumstantial (a side effect of bookmarking for oneself), or motivational (intentional bookmarking for others). We develop a research model based on these two explanations and test it using survey data from users of two bookmarking sites. Our results suggest that public contributions are mainly driven by intentional bookmarking of resources for other users. In addition, we found that users deliberately bookmark resources for others when they believe that their bookmarks are valuable to other users and when they perceive that other users are contributing as well.

Exploring contributions of public resources in social bookmarking systems

Applying economic analysis, we explore the potential benefits and risks associated with firm-based and social production models and derive conditions that determine when open or closed innovation models are more appropriate. We contrast the newly emerging "user-generated approach" to innovation in virtual worlds with the traditional "producer-controlled approach". Taking the cases of World of Warcraft and Second Life, we show how the two virtual world providers use very different strategies to organize the creation of game content. We conclude with presenting a roadmap that businesses can use to conceive effective innovation and development strategies for designing virtual world offerings.

The virtual cathedral and the virtual bazaar

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1028945_code682870.pdf?abstractid=1028945&mirid=3

Reina Y. Arakji

Papers

Avatar Business Value Analysis: A Method for the Evaluation of Business Value Creation in Virtual Commerce

Avatar business value analysis: a method for the evaluation of business value creation in virtual commerce

Exploring contributions of public resources in social bookmarking systems

The virtual cathedral and the virtual bazaar

The Virtual Cathedral and the Virtual Bazaar