Management of E-Commerce

Online Communities

Also known as a virtual community , an online community is a group of people that communicate or interact through the Internet . These people may or may not use the Internet as their primary or initial communication channel . Rather , an online community may have been created by a group of people who already known each other (Kollock 1999 . An international organization , as an example , may create such a virtual community . In this community , members of the global organization may communicate with each other via chat channels and forums on the

Internet , built by the organization as reliable means of communication . Using its online community to share ideas and impart invaluable information , the organization may help itself develop and evolve in an unusual albeit very fruitful manner

According to Peter Kollock , who researched motivations for contributing to online communities , people participate in these communities because they expect to gain useful information as well as help regarding their specific interests from other members of the group Secondly , members of virtual communities seek recognition through their contributions . By posting their pros on the Internet in addition to their written , visual , or audio contributions that may be of interest to countless people within and outside the virtual community , members of a community seek good online reputations . Thirdly , members of virtual communities have a sense of efficacy by contributing valuable information on the Internet . They feel that they have an effect on the environment thus . Finally , people participate in online communities to have a sense of community . This sense of community has been described by Abraham Maslow as the sense of belonging

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It is this sense of belonging that acts as one of the most motivating factors in any situation , both within and outside an online community

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References

1 . Kollock , Peter (1999 "The Economies of Online Cooperation : Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace " in Communities in Cyberspace . Marc Smith and Peter Kollock (editors . London : Routledge...