• Membership Behaviors in Virtual Communities: An Investigation of Moderating and Mediating Effects

Abstract

Relatively little research has examined moderating and mediating effects involved in the member participation process. This study thus proposes and tests a model in which prestige, perceived leader involvement, and entertainment affect member participation and loyalty through both community identification and satisfaction. Using multiple measurement sources, this study shows that three proposed antecedents can trigger member participation through community identification. In addition, satisfaction influences participation behavior through community identification. The results also show that perceived role importance positively moderates the relationships between mediators (i.e., identification and satisfaction) and participation behavior. The authors conclude with a consideration of the key managerial and research implications of these findings.

Keywords: Satisfaction, Social Identification, Virtual Communities