IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joinma/v26y2012i4p209-222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

We Create, We Connect, We Respect, Therefore We Are: Intellectual, Social, and Cultural Value in Online Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Seraj, Mina

Abstract

The web has become an irreplaceable source for knowledge creation and consumption and online communities have turned out to be the new form of socialization platforms for fulfilling certain needs such as providing or acquiring information, sharing experiences, playing games, etc. The aim of this paper is to explore the main characteristics of an online community that can deliver value to its consumers and instigate engagement. For this purpose, Airliners.net, an online community on aviation with high traffic and committed participants who are willing to pay membership fees to become active participants, is explored through netnography (Kozinets 2010). Netnography along with online and offline in-depth interviews revealed three specific online community characteristics that create value for the members of Airliners.net: goal driven and quality content (intellectual value), interactive environment for building relationships (social value), and self-governed community culture consistent with its principles (cultural value). Along with the results of netnography, the study discusses co-creation (Kozinets, Hemetsberger, and Schau 2008; Toffler 1980), interactivity and ritual chains (Collins 2004, Gordon 2010), and community culture (Cova 1997; Muñiz and O'Guinn 2001; Muñiz and Schau 2005) literature to show how these concepts converge to create value and therefore engagement, loyalty, and sustainability for online community members. These findings have theoretical implications for social media and online interaction related literature as well as critical business implications for sponsors or creators of online communities to differentiate themselves within the inflating number of online platforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Seraj, Mina, 2012. "We Create, We Connect, We Respect, Therefore We Are: Intellectual, Social, and Cultural Value in Online Communities," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 209-222.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joinma:v:26:y:2012:i:4:p:209-222
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2012.03.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094996812000187
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intmar.2012.03.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rama K. Jayanti & Jagdip Singh, 2010. "Pragmatic Learning Theory: An Inquiry-Action Framework for Distributed Consumer Learning in Online Communities," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(6), pages 1058-1081, April.
    2. Deighton, John & Kornfeld, Leora, 2009. "Interactivity's Unanticipated Consequences for Marketers and Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 4-10.
    3. Kristine de Valck & Gerrit H. van Bruggen & Berendt Wierenga, 2009. "Virtual communities: A marketing perspective," Post-Print hal-00458421, HAL.
    4. Kozinets, Robert V, 2002. "Can Consumers Escape the Market? Emancipatory Illuminations from Burning Man," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(1), pages 20-38, June.
    5. Brown, Jacqueline Johnson & Reingen, Peter H, 1987. "Social Ties and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(3), pages 350-362, December.
    6. Kozinets, Robert V., 1999. "E-tribalized marketing?: the strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 252-264, June.
    7. Joonas Rokka & Johanna Moisander, 2009. "Environmental dialogue in online communities : negotiating ecological citizenship among global travellers," Post-Print hal-02313350, HAL.
    8. Muniz, Albert M, Jr & O'Guinn, Thomas C, 2001. "Brand Community," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 27(4), pages 412-432, March.
    9. Albert M. Muiz Jr. & Hope Jensen Schau, 2005. "Religiosity in the Abandoned Apple Newton Brand Community," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 737-747, March.
    10. Bernard Cova & Veronique Cova, 2002. "Tribal marketing: The tribalisation of society and its impact on the conduct of marketing," Post-Print hal-01822665, HAL.
    11. Firat, A Fuat & Venkatesh, Alladi, 1995. "Liberatory Postmodernism and the Reenchantment of Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(3), pages 239-267, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Labrecque, Lauren I. & vor dem Esche, Jonas & Mathwick, Charla & Novak, Thomas P. & Hofacker, Charles F., 2013. "Consumer Power: Evolution in the Digital Age," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 257-269.
    2. Brodie, Roderick J. & Ilic, Ana & Juric, Biljana & Hollebeek, Linda, 2013. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-114.
    3. Boyaval, Marine & Herbert, Maud, 2018. "One for all and all for one? The bliss and torment in communal entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 412-422.
    4. Kuchmaner, Christina A. & Wiggins, Jennifer & Grimm, Pamela E., 2019. "The Role of Network Embeddedness and Psychological Ownership in Consumer Responses to Brand Transgressions," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 129-143.
    5. Nicoletta Buratti & Francesco Derchi & Giorgia Profumo, 2015. "The blurred boundary between empowered and working consumers: insights from the winner taco case," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(4), pages 133-156.
    6. Valentina Daniela N. CONSTANTIN & Roxana-Denisa G. STOENESCU, 2014. "The Impact Of Origin On Creating A Cult Brand: The Case Of Apple," SEA - Practical Application of Science, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 3, pages 123-134, April.
    7. Ana Babić Rosario & Kristine Valck & Francesca Sotgiu, 2020. "Conceptualizing the electronic word-of-mouth process: What we know and need to know about eWOM creation, exposure, and evaluation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 422-448, May.
    8. Biraghi, Silvia & Gambetti, Rossella & Pace, Stefano, 2018. "Between tribes and markets: The emergence of a liquid consumer-entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 392-402.
    9. Bradford, Tonya Williams & Grier, Sonya A. & Henderson, Geraldine Rosa, 2017. "Weight Loss Through Virtual Support Communities: A Role for Identity-based Motivation in Public Commitment," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 9-23.
    10. Weijo, Henri & Bean, Jonathan & Rintamäki, Jukka, 2019. "Brand community coping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 128-136.
    11. Zaglia, Melanie E., 2013. "Brand communities embedded in social networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 216-223.
    12. Margurite Hook & Stacey Baxter & Alicia Kulczynski, 2018. "Antecedents and consequences of participation in brand communities: a literature review," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(4), pages 277-292, July.
    13. Healy, Jason C. & McDonagh, Pierre, 2013. "Consumer roles in brand culture and value co-creation in virtual communities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1528-1540.
    14. Veloutsou, Cleopatra & Moutinho, Luiz, 2009. "Brand relationships through brand reputation and brand tribalism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 314-322, March.
    15. Mardon, Rebecca & Molesworth, Mike & Grigore, Georgiana, 2018. "YouTube Beauty Gurus and the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 443-454.
    16. Lim, Heejin & Kumar, Archana, 2019. "Variations in consumers’ use of brand online social networking: A uses and gratifications approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 450-457.
    17. Elia, Gianluca & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Urbinati, Andrea, 2020. "Implementing open innovation through virtual brand communities: A case study analysis in the semiconductor industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    18. Syrjälä, Henna, 2016. "Turning point of transformation: Consumer communities, identity projects and becoming a serious dog hobbyist," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 177-190.
    19. King, Robert Allen & Racherla, Pradeep & Bush, Victoria D., 2014. "What We Know and Don't Know About Online Word-of-Mouth: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 167-183.
    20. Andreini, Daniela & Pedeliento, Giuseppe & Zarantonello, Lia & Solerio, Chiara, 2018. "A renaissance of brand experience: Advancing the concept through a multi-perspective analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 123-133.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joinma:v:26:y:2012:i:4:p:209-222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-interactive-marketing/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.