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Abstract This study aims to shed light on knowledge creation in a virtual community context. Based on social capital theory, hypotheses were proposed that trust, shared language, and network density influence empathy between members, which affects externalization and combination of knowledge creation. Data were collected from eight existing virtual communities (n=255). Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized model. The results find that network density impacts empathy, which exerts significant effects on both externalization and combination and trust and shared language influence empathy via the mediation effect of network density.
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Received: 06 June 2013
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2014, Vol. 11 
