Determinants of success for online communities: an empirical study

Although online communities can significantly facilitate collaboration among Internet users, the determinants of success of online communities have seldom been studied empirically. Using the updated DeLone and McLean information systems success model as a theoretical framework, this study proposes a research model to examine the determinants for successful use of online communities. Based on a survey of 165 community members, this study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the research model. The analytical results strongly support the appropriateness of the research model in identifying the determinants of success of online communities. The analytical results also showed that system quality, information quality and service quality had a significant effect on member loyalty through user satisfaction and behavioural intention to use the online community. Finally, this study discusses the implications of these findings and offer directions for future research.     

Determinants of successful virtual communities: Contributions from system characteristics and social factors

Although there is growing interest in virtual communities, few studies have examined them from an integrated viewpoint including technical and social perspectives. By expanding on DeLone and McLean’s IS success model, the author constructed a model of the impact of system characteristics (e.g., information and system quality) and social factors (e.g., trust and social usefulness) in implementing successful virtual communities. Data collected from 198 community members provided support for the model. Results showed that both member satisfaction and a sense of belonging were determinants of member loyalty in the community. Additionally, information and system quality were found to affect member satisfaction, while trust influenced the members’ sense of belonging to the community. Finally, the findings provided understanding of the factors that measured virtual community success. Implications of my study are discussed.     

User perceptions of e-quality of and affinity with virtual communities: The effect of individual differences

Following the information systems (IS) success model, this study explores the effect of individual differences on users’ perceptions of virtual communities in terms of e-quality (namely, information quality, system quality and service quality) of and affinity with virtual communities given individual differences are crucial in determining how individuals think and respond to the environment. This study examines the effect of individual differences on virtual community success dimensions from both physical and psychological perspectives, which we think presents a new view for virtual community research and practice alike. Data collected from users of virtual communities were used for data analysis. First, the cluster analysis was applied and five personality trait clusters were identified in terms of extraversion, agreeableness, openness to new experience, conscientiousness and neuroticism. Then, the independent sample t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed. The effect of individual differences in terms of gender, age, position, experience with virtual communities as well as the five personality trait clusters on users’ perceptions of e-quality of and affinity with virtual communities was explored and discussed.     

Gamification: A key determinant of massive open online course (MOOC) success

Massive open online courses (MOOCs), contribute significantly to individual empowerment because they can help people learn about a wide range of topics. To realize the full potential of MOOCs, we need to understand their factors of success, here defined as the use, user satisfaction, along the individual and organizational performance resulting from the user involvement. We propose a theoretical framework to identify the determinants of successful MOOCs, and empirically measure these factors in a real MOOC context. We put forward the role of gamification and suggest that, together with information system (IS) theory, gamification proved to play a crucial role in the success of MOOCs.     

Modeling the continuance usage intention of online learning environments

This study focused on the continuance usage intention toward online learning environments and also proposed and empirically tested an integrated model to better understand the determinants of students’ continuance intention to use these environments. For this purpose, variables which may have an effect on the continuance usage intention were examined and an “online continuance usage intention model” was revealed. When the variables of the hypothetical model were determined, Technology Continuance Theory, Information Systems Success Model, Cognitive Model and Information Systems Expectation Confirmation Model have been practiced on. Empirical data from 467 public university students who had used an online learning environment for the first time were tested against the proposed research model by using path analysis. The results indicated that, confirmation of the usage of online learning environments could be explained by information quality, system quality and service quality variables. 63% of the variance of the satisfaction variable was explained by information quality, system quality, service quality, confirmation, utilitarian value, outcome expectations and perceived value. Research results confirmed the propounded constructs of Information Systems Success Model and Information Systems Expectation Confirmation Model. In line with the obtained findings and results, some of the various suggestions were provided for the next studies and implementations.     

A descriptive model of success for computer-based information systems

This article presents a model of the success of computer-based information systems. We hypothesize that the following variables influence the success of the system: involvement of managers in computerization projects: higher-level managerial support; the technical quality of the system; personal factors; the attitude of managers towards EDP personnel and the attitude of managers towards the computerized system. The research finds that the manager's attitudes to computerization are related to all but the last two.Certain classes of variables are difficult to relate to the success of the system (for example, personal factors). If the evidence for the model is considered strong enough to warrant action, the organization should concentrate on several key variables: high quality of the system; good management support, and good training and management involvement.The results of our research should provide better understanding of the variables associated with the success of a computer-based system.     

Guidelines for facilitating the development of learning communities in online courses

Online learning has grown exponentially in recent years; however, dropout problem remains challenging for some online programmes. The dropout problem can be attributed to a number of reasons, with a lack of interaction between learners and the instructor constituting one of the main reasons. The lack of interaction also leads to learners' feeling of isolation. Learning communities can provide learners with an environment conducive to increased interactions and alleviate their feeling of isolation. Unfortunately, there are no clear rules that instructors can follow to help learners create learning communities. In this paper, we propose guidelines for online instructors to facilitate the development of learning communities in online courses. We first review the definition of a learning community, importance of a learning community and factors affecting the development of a learning community. Afterwards, based on a review of the existing guidelines and other relevant literature, we propose guidelines for facilitating the development of learning communities in online courses.     

Building professional holding environments for crowd work job crafting through online communities

Work is increasingly being organised via online platforms outside guiding organisational structures. Instead of having colleagues at work, crowd workers connect in online communities. We investigate how crowd workers build professional holding environments in online communities to compensate for the lack of organisational structures and we consider how they craft their crowd work activities to enhance their work experience and reduce its long-term precarity. Following a qualitative research design, this paper uses 675 forum interactions collected across six online communities. Based on our findings, we propose the concept of professional holding environments and provide a model for building such holding environments and job crafting in online communities. We thereby expand previous research on holding environments comprised of family members and friends by revealing the impact of professional online communities and their role in professionalisation and crafting supportive social structures in online crowd work.     

Determinants of perceived usefulness of e-learning systems

E-learning systems are increasingly essential in universities, schools, government departments and other organizations that provide an education or training service. The objective for adopting e-learning systems is to provide students with educational services via electronic channels. The focus of this study is on the impact of IT infrastructure services and IT quality on perceptions of usefulness of e-learning systems. A model is proposed which includes five constructs: IT infrastructure services, system quality, information quality, service delivery quality, and perceived usefulness. A quantitative study was conducted at an Australian university with 720 survey responses from students who were enrolled in online courses. The results suggest that IT infrastructure services play a critical role in generating information with high quality, enhancing the aspects of e-learning system quality, and improving service delivery quality. The impact of IT infrastructure services, system quality, and information quality on perceived usefulness is fully mediated by service delivery quality. Universities need to be aware of the critical impact of IT infrastructure services and consider how investment in these services could improve system and information quality, service delivery quality, and the usefulness and success of e-learning systems.     

Predicting continuance in online communities: model development and empirical test

Popular interest in online communities has grown rapidly in recent years as a result of the widespread diffusion of Web 2.0 applications. However, the full values and potential of online communities cannot be realised without users' ongoing participation. Thus, this study aims at developing and empirically testing a research model to examine users' continuance intention to participate in an online community based on an extended information systems (IS) continuance model. Specifically, entertainment value and affective commitment are included in the IS continuance model and empirically examined in the context of online communities. A total of 240 returns collected from an online survey, which was conducted among users of a website bulletin board-based community in China, were analysed using partial least squares. The results reveal that users' continuance intention to participate in an online community is determined by both satisfaction and affective commitment. Satisfaction and affective commitment are, in turn, influenced by positive disconfirmations of purposive and entertainment values. The findings of this study contribute not only to theory building in online community continuance but also inform online community moderators in their effort to develop strategies for retaining their users.     

Perspectives on the evolution of online communities

The rapid growth of social networks opens interesting research opportunities to make use of the massive information exchanged in day-to-day communication. One of the active research issues related to this aspect is the study of online community formation and evolution in dynamic social networks. As community structure is usually ambiguous, then defining how it evolves over time becomes a challenge in terms of tracking mechanism and evaluation method. In this study, we review the online communities and their evolution tracking mechanisms and discuss the main categories of approaches for tracking community evolution and how they work. We analyse the different solutions proposed under each community evolution tracking category and provide an assessment of their projected performance. Finally, a discussion of analysis insights concerning community evolution and its influence is introduced.     

Design and evaluation of an adaptive incentive mechanism for sustained educational online communities

Most online communities, such as discussion forums, file-sharing communities, e-learning communities, and others, suffer from insufficient user participation in their initial phase of development. Therefore, it is important to provide incentives to encourage participation, until the community reaches a critical mass and “takes off”. However, too much participation, especially of low-quality can also be detrimental for the community, since it leads to information overload, which makes users leave the community. Therefore, to regulate the quality and the quantity of user contributions and ensure a sustainable level of user participation in the online community, it is important to adapt the rewards for particular forms of participation for individual users depending on their reputation and the current needs of the community. An incentive mechanism with these properties is proposed. The main idea is to measure and reward the desirable user activities and compute a user participation measure, then cluster the users based on their participation measure into different classes, which have different status in the community and enjoy special privileges. For each user, the reward for each type of activity is computed dynamically based on a model of community needs and an individual user model. The model of the community needs predicts what types of contributions (e.g. more new papers or more ratings) are most valuable at the current moment for the community. The individual model predicts the style of contributions of the user based on her past performance (whether the user tends to make high-quality contributions or not, whether she fairly rates the contributions of others). The adaptive rewards are displayed to the user at the beginning of each session and the user can decide what form of contribution to make considering the rewards that she will earn. The mechanism was evaluated in an online class resource-sharing system, Comtella. The results indicate that the mechanism successfully encourages stable and active user participation; it lowers the level of information overload and therefore enhances the sustainability of the community.     

Dual effects of social support seeking in patient-centric online healthcare communities: A longitudinal study

This study investigates exploratory and purposeful social support-seeking behaviors in the patient-centric online healthcare community (POHC). The antecedents and varying effects of the two behaviors on uncertainties in diagnosis and treatment are examined. Two rounds of field surveys are conducted among users in three POHCs. Findings indicate that exploratory and purposeful social support-seeking behaviors exert varying effects on the change in uncertainty in illness and are influenced differently by the perceived information credibility of users, their identification with a community, and the perceived severity of their illness.     

Determinants of online safety behaviour: towards an intervention strategy for college students

How can young adults be motivated to enact security precautions? Communication about the risks of Internet use or online safety communication is a context in which personal responsibility is especially salient. The present research builds on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to examine the role of a previously unexplored variable, personal responsibility, in the protective behaviour of college students. Two studies are reported here. In the first (N?=?565), the relationship of personal responsibility to safe (i.e. protective) online behaviour is tested in relationship to standard PMT variables. A multiple regression analysis of survey data shows that personal responsibility explained additional variance in protective behaviour after accounting for the effects of traditional threat and coping appraisal variables. Building on this, the second study (N?=?206) examines the possibility of influencing personal responsibility through an intervention and experimental manipulation among college students. The experimental manipulation of personal responsibility found evidence of a causal relationship between personal responsibility and protective behaviour in the college student sample. Interactions with pre-existing levels of safety involvement and self-efficacy were uncovered. Based on the results, strategies for targeted online safety interventions are suggested.     

Engagement in online health communities: Channel expansion and social exchanges

This paper contributes to the discussion on patient engagement in online health communities (OHCs) by integrating channel expansion and social exchange theories. Using survey data from 348 users of OHC, we examine the impacts of perceived channel richness, social support, and willingness to exchange information on OHC engagement. Results show that the perceived channel richness positively influences OHC engagement. The effect of patients’ willingness to share and seek information on engagement is moderated by health status. Finally, engagement in OHCs enhances self-care efficacy and perceived health outcomes. We propose several theoretical implications for researchers and practical contributions for OHC administrators.     

Determinants of knowledge seeking in professional virtual communities

As knowledge management systems within organisations, professional virtual communities (PVCs) are popular knowledge-seeking tools, which bring together geographically dispersed members from outside of the organisations. An increasing number of employees use PVCs for knowledge seeking, knowledge exchange and problem solving at work. Why do members choose to receive knowledge from other community members in PVCs needs to be understood. This paper extends Ajzen's [1991. The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (2), 179–211] theory of planned behaviour to elicit external beliefs in terms of personal motivation, as well as technological and social factors, and to examine the relative importance of these factors. According to this study's online survey of 323 members in three PVCs, the results show that the significance of beliefs, such as system quality, compatibility, trust, knowledge growth and knowledge quality, in creating positive attitudes towards knowledge seeking. Community identification is shown as a salient belief for the subjective norms of knowledge seeking. System quality and resource availability are revealed as important determinants for perceived behavioural control of knowledge seeking. Knowledge-seeking intention is based on the attitude towards knowledge seeking and the subjective norm of knowledge seeking, whereas knowledge-seeking behaviour is solely determined by knowledge-seeking intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Unpacking the systems development process: an empirical application of the CSF concept in a research context

This paper unpacks the black box of the IS development process and, thereby, helps business and IT managers understand better its complexity. The Critical Success Factors (CSF) concept was employed for this purpose in an in-depth study of four diverse systems development projects in a large telecommunications company. Unlike previous applications of the CSF method, the approach adopted in this study facilitated the identification of both ‘generic’ and ‘collective’ CSFs in order to map the network of interrelationships between them. Thus the findings shed new light on the process by which information systems are developed by illustrating empirically its complex multidimensional nature and by providing fresh insights into the challenges facing both developers and users in their task of developing organisational IS.     

Impact of design methods on decision support systems success: An empirical assessment

Many of the Decision Support Systems (DSS) developed and implemented in the last decade or so, have not been used or are only used for mundane report generation rather than for direct support of strategic planning. These failures can be attributed to the fact that existing DSS design methods (representation-based, evolutive, and adaptive) have never been evaluated with respect to their success. Thus, the designer had no way of knowing what design method to employ in developing an effective DSS.This paper investigated the relationship between the selection of a DSS design method and its ultimate success. DSS success was measured through DSS usage, user satisfaction, and user attitudes and perceptions criteria. The data utilized was collected from individuals responsible for designing and evaluating DSS, specifically the managers, intermediaries, and designers. In terms of the DSS usage and user satisfaction criteria, all three groups rated the evolutive design method superior, followed by the representation-based and adaptive methods. Using the DSS attitudes and perceptions criteria, the designer group rated the evolutive method best, followed by the representation-based, and adaptive methods. The ratings by the managers and intermediaries were rather mixed. Each design method did better in some success criteria than in others.     

Empirical study of open source software selection for adoption,based on software quality characteristics

Currently, open source software (OSS) products have started to become popular in the market as an alternative to traditional proprietary or closed source software. Governments and organizations are beginning to adopt OSS on a large scale and several governmental initiatives have encouraged the use of OSS in the private sector. One major issue for the government and private sector is the selection of appropriate OSS. This paper uses new internal quality characteristics for selecting OSS that can be added to the dimensions of DeLone and McLean information systems’ model. Through this study, the quality characteristics are organized in a two level hierarchy, which list characteristics and sub-characteristics that are interconnected with three main dimensions: system quality, information quality and service quality. These characteristic dimensions are tailored to the criteria having been built from literature study and standard for software quality and guidelines. This paper presents case study results of applying the proposed quality characteristic on eight different open source software that are divided between open source network tools and learning management systems.     

Fostering the determinants of knowledge sharing in professional virtual communities

Professional virtual communities (PVCs), which are formed on the Internet, are expected to serve the needs of members for communication, information, and knowledge sharing. The executives of organizations should consider PVCs as a new innovation or knowledge pool since members share knowledge. However, many PVCs have failed due to members’ low willingness to share knowledge with other members. Thus, there is a need to understand and foster the determinants of members’ knowledge sharing behavior in PVCs. This study develops an integrated model designed to investigate and explain the relationships between contextual factors, personal perceptions of knowledge sharing, knowledge sharing behavior, and community loyalty. Empirical data was collected from three PVCs and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) to verify the fit of the hypothetical model. The results show that trust significantly influences knowledge sharing self-efficacy, perceived relative advantage and perceived compatibility, which in turn positively affect knowledge sharing behavior. Furthermore, the study finds that the norm of reciprocity does not significantly affect knowledge sharing behavior. The results of the study can be used to identify the motivation underlying individuals’ knowledge sharing behavior in PVCs. By investigating the impacts of contextual factors and personal perceptions on knowledge sharing behavior, the integrated model better explains behavior than other proposed models. This study might help executives of virtual communities and organizations to manage and promote these determinants of knowledge sharing to stimulate members’ willingness to share knowledge and enhance their virtual community loyalty. As only little empirical research has been conducted on the impact of knowledge sharing self-efficacy, perceived relative advantage, and perceived compatibility on the individual’s knowledge sharing behavior in PVCs, the empirical evidence reported here makes a valuable contribution in this highly important area.