With the increasing popularity of the Internet and mobile Internet, the Virtual Community （VC） is becoming an important medium for person-to-person communication. To realise the potential of the VC, it is neces- sar...With the increasing popularity of the Internet and mobile Internet, the Virtual Community （VC） is becoming an important medium for person-to-person communication. To realise the potential of the VC, it is neces- sary to cultivate within it good group cohesion and vitality. Using empirical and experimental research methods, this study explores the ef- fect of users＇ trust in the VC Platform （VCP） on group cohesion and vitality and how brand and perceived privacy security can affect us- ers＇ trust in the VC. The research results indi- cate that the brand of the VCP can directly af- fect users＇ trust in the VC, and can also influe- nce it indirectly through users＇ perceived pri- vacy protection and perceived security protec- tion. Further, this study also confu＇ms that the performance of the VC （group cohesion and vitality） is significantly affected by users＇ trust in the VC. The results of this study can provide theoretical guidance for internet companies to maintain and enhance the value of VCs.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants No.71201011,No.71301106,No.71103021the Ministry of Education in China under Grants No.13YJA630084,No.13YJC630034,No.20120005120001
文摘With the increasing popularity of the Internet and mobile Internet, the Virtual Community （VC） is becoming an important medium for person-to-person communication. To realise the potential of the VC, it is neces- sary to cultivate within it good group cohesion and vitality. Using empirical and experimental research methods, this study explores the ef- fect of users＇ trust in the VC Platform （VCP） on group cohesion and vitality and how brand and perceived privacy security can affect us- ers＇ trust in the VC. The research results indi- cate that the brand of the VCP can directly af- fect users＇ trust in the VC, and can also influe- nce it indirectly through users＇ perceived pri- vacy protection and perceived security protec- tion. Further, this study also confu＇ms that the performance of the VC （group cohesion and vitality） is significantly affected by users＇ trust in the VC. The results of this study can provide theoretical guidance for internet companies to maintain and enhance the value of VCs.
