The effect of social capital on community loyalty in a virtual community: Test of a tripartite‐process model

The effect of social capital on community loyalty in a virtual community: Test of a tripartite‐process model

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Article ID: iaor20127392
Volume: 54
Issue: 1
Start Page Number: 750
End Page Number: 757
Publication Date: Dec 2012
Journal: Decision Support Systems
Authors: ,
Keywords: simulation: applications
Abstract:

Drawing upon social capital theory and social exchange theory, this study attempts to elaborate the effect of social capital on community loyalty in a virtual community by proposing and assessing a tripartite‐process model. Online gaming communities were selected as the research context for testing the model. After collecting 347 usable responses from a globally leading Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG), this study confirms that a player's social capital in an online gaming community affects his or her community loyalty through normative, relational, and utilitarian processes. The results also show that resource accessibility has a positive impact on perceived game utility, which in turn affects community loyalty. Finally, we conclude with research limitations and theoretical and managerial implications.

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