Paper ID

3404

Paper Type

short

Description

While the concept of online social support, and its sources and outcomes, have been studied extensively in the IS literature, there is some conceptual ambiguity about the two aspects of social support – social support that is actually received from partners (received support) and the psychological belief of the availability of supportive others (perceived support). Additionally, the literature on online social support has largely neglected the effects of observing other people’s social support exchange (support observation) on the attitude and behavior of the self. Drawing on social support research and social exchange theory, this study proposes a model that integrates these related social support concepts – perceived support, received support, support observation, and social support provision, and examines their inter-relationships to clarify these ambiguities. Through analyzing the structural model and social support exchange networks, our goal is to expand the IS literature on, and improve our understanding about, online social support.

Share

COinS
 

Received Support, Perceived Support, and Social Support Observation and Provision in Virtual Communities

While the concept of online social support, and its sources and outcomes, have been studied extensively in the IS literature, there is some conceptual ambiguity about the two aspects of social support – social support that is actually received from partners (received support) and the psychological belief of the availability of supportive others (perceived support). Additionally, the literature on online social support has largely neglected the effects of observing other people’s social support exchange (support observation) on the attitude and behavior of the self. Drawing on social support research and social exchange theory, this study proposes a model that integrates these related social support concepts – perceived support, received support, support observation, and social support provision, and examines their inter-relationships to clarify these ambiguities. Through analyzing the structural model and social support exchange networks, our goal is to expand the IS literature on, and improve our understanding about, online social support.