| Chapter : | Introduction |
|
|
Virtual Communities and Communication Dilemma
Virtual communities or online feedback systems, which are already ubiquitous on the Internet, are the eminent examples of the environment facilitating many-to-many information exchange online (Hagel & Armstrong, 1997; Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001; Rheingold, 1993). A common characteristic of such virtual social gatherings is that each individual’s voluntary communication activity is essential for creating and maintaining the collective entities (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2002). Unlike the traditional local communities that are geographically defined (e.g., neighborhood) or formed based on preexisting social relationships (e.g., friendship, kinship), virtual communities are sustained only by individuals’ volitional communication behaviors. Typically, a virtual community is operated based on a shared communication channel, such as an electronic bulletin board or a group mailing list. Thus, an individual’s presence and participation in an online community can become visible only by the messages posted by the person. Since no one can force others to be more cooperative, this communication environment is often characterized as decentralized (Rheingold, 1993).
In this decentralized environment where autonomous individuals interact with one another, a dilemmatic situation may occur. In a typical virtual community setting, which is based on an electronic bulletin board, individuals may think it unnecessary to make their own contributions because there are already many others who have made and will continue to make contributions to the community. Even if they do not make their own contributions, individuals can benefit from the contributions made by others.