Abstract From a social capital perspective, this study investigates the factors that influence the sense of virtual community (SOVC) of the users' of virtual community (VC). We propose a research model in which SOVC, which is composed of membership, influence and immersion, is positively influenced by the degree of involvement in the VC, the familiarity with other members in the VC, the perceived similarity with other community members and trust in other members. We also propose that membership status moderates the effects of familiarity on influence and immersion. We collect data from Taobao Virtual Community and empirically test the research model. The results support most of these hypotheses proposed and the applications of this models are discussed.
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