Sense of Virtual Community: Antecedents and Consequences

虛擬社群意識形成因素及影響性之研究

虛擬社群意識（SOVC）是人們在虛擬社群中與他人溝通時的一種歸屬和依戀的感覺。虛擬社群意識就是這樣的一個核心概念，不僅加強化了成員間的社群歸屬感，同時也增加了成員對與社群忠誠度的影響。本研究之樣本對象鎖定為虛擬社群成員，所探討的是虛擬社群意識的組成構面，以及其形成因素與影響性。透過網路問卷的方式回收1200份有效問卷，並以線性結構方程式進行資料分析。結果顯示虛擬社群意識包含三個有效的組成構面：成員歸屬感、影響力與沉迷，並受到三種虛擬社群特性所影響：領導者熱忱、娛樂性知覺與實用性知覺，且最終影響虛擬社群的會員忠誠。

Sense of virtual community (SOVC) is a feeling of belongingness and attachment to a certain virtual community when people communicate to each others online. SOVC is such a core concept that it not only strengthens the members' belongingness to the community, but also increases their loyalty that ultimately enhances the impact of the virtual community. Although several literatures have thoroughly discussed SOVC, however, the dimensions of SOVC and its consequences and antecedents have not yet been addressed properly. This study attempts to investigate the key dimensions of SOVC, explore the antecedents of SOVC, and then examine its consequences. Online Survey had been adopted in which 1,200 qualified sample participants of certain virtual communities were collected. The results of the empirical study point to the following findings. First, SOVC contains three key dimensions, belongingness of membership, influence, and immersion. Second, the results of structure equation model analysis show that three antecedents-leaders' enthusiasm, perceived enjoyability, and perceived usefulness-have significant impacts on all dimensions of SOVC. Third, all the antecedents and the dimensions of SOVC lead to increasing member loyalty toward virtual community.