Paper Type
Completed Research Paper
Abstract
Online Communities of Practice offer their members the ability to communicate about a topic of interest in a way that transcends the limitations of geography. However, many communities of practice fail due to a lack of community commitment. This research examines the types of commitments that group members make to a community and what factors influence members to make a commitment to the community. A community commitment survey was distributed to online communities of practice. The results suggest that members make continuance (need-based), affective (emotion-based) and normative (obligation-based) commitments to the online communities of practice. Usefulness and system reliability lead members to make a continuance commitment. Social interaction and identification encourage members to make an affective commitment. Positive social influence and altruism influence members to make a normative commitment. The implications of this research for practitioners are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Greer, Gregg and Deokar, Amit V., "The Antecedents of Community Commitment in Online Communities of Practice" (2013). AMCIS 2013 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2013/VirtualCommunities/GeneralPresentations/2
The Antecedents of Community Commitment in Online Communities of Practice
Online Communities of Practice offer their members the ability to communicate about a topic of interest in a way that transcends the limitations of geography. However, many communities of practice fail due to a lack of community commitment. This research examines the types of commitments that group members make to a community and what factors influence members to make a commitment to the community. A community commitment survey was distributed to online communities of practice. The results suggest that members make continuance (need-based), affective (emotion-based) and normative (obligation-based) commitments to the online communities of practice. Usefulness and system reliability lead members to make a continuance commitment. Social interaction and identification encourage members to make an affective commitment. Positive social influence and altruism influence members to make a normative commitment. The implications of this research for practitioners are discussed.