Title:
The Role of Trust In The Development of Participative Virtual Communities
Abstract: The importance of virtual communities is growing
every year since consumers are increasingly using online tools to share ideas
and contact fellow consumers. For this reason, this work tries to analyze
what factors determine the consumer’s desire to participate in a virtual
community. The data, obtained through a web survey using Spanish-speaking
members of several virtual communities, show that trust placed in a virtual
community has a positive and significant effect on consumer’s intentions
to participate in that virtual community. Additionally, a general propensity
to trust, a greater familiarity with the community and a higher quality communication
in the community may increase the level of trust placed in a virtual community.
Authors: Luis V.Casaló,
Carlos Flavián, and Miguel Guinalíu