1) The document explores the informational and social values of online communities from the perspective of individual customers. It aims to develop a model examining how customer-to-customer interactions impact customer behavior in online brand communities. 2) People participate in online communities for information or social needs. Communities provide functional value through information, social value through friendship and status, and entertainment value. Prior research supports that communities provide functional and social benefits. 3) The proposed model examines how a customer's motivation, opportunity, and ability to engage in knowledge exchanges with other customers affects their loyalty and participation intentions in an online brand community.

1. EXPLORING THE INFORMATIONAL AND SOCIAL VALUES
OF
ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Michael Ling
PhD Candidate at UNSW
8 June 2010
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2. WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTION?
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3. Motivation
• Frenzy in social media and an escalating interest in creating
brand communities around websites.
• We know little how customers behave in those communities.
• Research in online brand communities has been scarce and
under-developed (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002).
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6. Brand Communities
• "Brand communities are social entities that reflect the situated
embeddedness of brands in the day-to-day lives of consumers and
the ways in which brands connect consumer to brand, and
consumer to consumer.” (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001)
 From a „customer-brand‟ dyad
Brand Firm into a „customer-customer-
brand‟ triad (Muniz & O’Guinn,
Focal 2001).
Customer
 From a „customer-customer-
brand‟ into a „customer-centric’
Customer Product
view (McAlexander et al, 2002).
Customer-centric Model of Brand Community (McAlexander et al., 2002)
• “the existence and meaningfulness of the community inhere in
customer experience rather than in the brand around which that
experience revolves.” (McAlexander et al, 2002).
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7. Research Objectives
• The phenomenon under study is the increasing importance
of „customer-to-customer‟ interactions on an individual
customer‟s intentions to participate in an online brand
community.
• The unit of analysis is an individual customer who is a
participant of an online brand community.
• To develop a „customer-to-customer‟ interactions model that
examines its impact on an individual customer‟s behavior in
an online brand community.
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8. Overview
• People participate in online communities because the online
communities provide them with either information or social
needs (Fischer, Bristor and Gainer, 1996; McLure Wasko and Faraj,
2000).
• Consumers perceive online communities can offer: (i)
functional value such as information and advice; (ii) social
value such as self-esteem, friendship and social status; and
(iii) entertainment value (Sicilia and Palazon, 2008).
• Apart from entertainment value, the view that online
communities provide functional and social benefits is widely
supported (Burnett, 2000; Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001).
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9. C2C Know-how Exchange Model (Gruen et al., 2005)
 Gruen et al.‟s model is based on the MOA
model developed by MacInnis and Jaworski
(1989).
Ability H1c
 Explore factors that affect “the degree to which
H2a,b C-to-C Loyalty
H1a Know-how H4 Intentions customers enter into and engage in know-how
Motivation
H2a,b
Exchange
exchanges with other customers.”
H1b
Opportunity
H3a
 The MOA variables will operate in an additive
or a compensatory manner only if each variable
has achieved its minimum threshold and certain
H3b
Overall
Value of H5
conditions are met.
the Firm‟s
Offering
 Motivation is the primary factor; Opportunity and
Ability will influence the effect of motivation.
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10. Motivation, Opportunity & Ability Constructs - Gruen et al. (2005)
• Motivation Readiness, willingness, interest, and desire to engage
in information processing (Gruen et al., 2005).

Direct individuals to engage in goal-oriented behaviors
and make decisions (Hoyer and MacInnis, 1997; MacInnis
and Jaworski, 1989).
• Opportunity Either a positive view of availability, or a negative view
of impediments (MacInnis et al. 1991).
May be more a function of the restrictions an individual

faces (e.g. time, connection availability) participating in
the community (Gruen et al. 2005)
• Ability The resources of a customer that influence the outcome
of an event (Hoyer and MacInnis, 1997).
The skills or proficiencies in interpreting brand
information in an advertisement (MacInnis et al. 1991).

Competency in the process driving know-how
exchanges, as opposed to competency in the content of
the know-how that is being exchanged (MacInnis et al.
1991).
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11. Motivation
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13. Informational and Social Benefits
• To access information Furlong, 1981; Wellman et al., 1996; Hagel &
Armstrong, 1997.
• Member generated Hagel & Armstrong, 1997.
content
Information
Benefits • Knowledge & Hiltz & Wellman, 1997; Rheingold, 1993; Sproull
information are a & Faraj, 1997.
valuable resource
• Use of “weak ties” Constant, Sproull & Kiesler, 1996.
to information
• Social Support Thoits, 1982
• Sense of belonging Watson & Johnson, 1972.
& affiliation
• Self-identity Hogg, 1996,
Social
Benefits • Emotional Support, Furlong, 1989; Hiltz, 1984; Hiltz & Wellman, 1997;
sense of belonging, Korenman & Whatt, 1996; Wellman, 1996; Wellman
encouragement, & Gulia, 1999.
companionship,
reciprocity
• Enjoyment & Holbrook, 2006; Sicilia & Palazon, 2008
entertaining
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14. Value Model
Service Quality
Value Behavior
Intentions
Sacrifices
Value is considered as a tradeoff in consumer‟s decision making between the
relevant „gives‟ and „gets‟ (Bolton and Drew, 1988; Heskett et al, 1990; Zeithaml, 1988).
Sacrifice is a broader construct that includes “non-pecuniary costs such as the
time, effort, and risk assumption associated with a particular purchase” (Cronin et
al., 1997).
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15. Overall Value
 Emotional Support
Overall Benefits
 Social Support
 Sense of Belonging
 Encouragement
 Information
Sacrifices
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16. THE END.
THANK YOU
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