Motivations of market mavens for participating in online communities

Online communities provide a virtual space for consumers to communicate and interact with an unlimited number of people allowing for faster rates of information sharing in unprecedented ways. Market mavens are word-of-mouth agents who are influential in providing general shopping and marketplace information. This study examines how market mavenism may influence consumer motivations to participate in online communities. In addition, this study examines how market mavenism in conjunction with online participation motivations directly influences participation in consumer-based online communities. Data were collected from a convenience sample using an electronic survey in South Korea. Items measuring market mavenism, participation motivation, participation frequency, and participation quality were used. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used to study the research questions. Results indicate a positive relationship between market mavenism and online participation motivations leading to the conclusion that consumers with market mavenism tendencies are also highly motivated to participate online. Results also confirm that market mavenism positively affects the frequency and quality of participation in consumer-based online communities. These results provide better understanding of why consumers with higher market mavenism tendencies may participate in online communities.