A foundation for the study of group decision support systems
Management Science
Net gain: expanding markets through virtual communities
Net gain: expanding markets through virtual communities
Anonymity, pseudonymity, or inescapable identity on the net (abstract)
Proceedings of the ethics and social impact component on Shaping policy in the information age
Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
Information Systems Research
Friendster and publicly articulated social networking
CHI '04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Exploring knowledge contribution from an OCB perspective
Information and Management
Performing catharsis: The use of online discussion forums in organizational change
Information and Organization
Examining knowledge contribution from the perspective of an online identity in blogging communities
Computers in Human Behavior
Are Cyberbullies really bullies? An investigation of reactive and proactive online aggression
Computers in Human Behavior
HICSS '12 Proceedings of the 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
International Journal of Information Management: The Journal for Information Professionals
| Hi-index | 0.00 |
Virtual communities enable one to pretend to be a different person or to possess a different self-identity at little or no cost. Despite the ubiquity of such communities, there is limited theoretical and empirical research regarding the effect of taking on a different self-identity associated with one's psychological and behavioral functioning in those communities. To address this issue, drawing on the self-concept rooted in sociopsychology, this study employs the self-discrepancy index, which assesses the degree of differences between one's virtual and real selves; the study goes onto develop a theoretical framework that links self-discrepancy, psychological states (i.e., autonomy, recovery, and catharsis), and behavior (i.e., contribution quality and quantity). The results of an analysis involving 299 survey participants show that self-discrepancy has a significant influence on autonomy and recovery and that this, in turn, influences levels of contribution quality and quantity. It is of note that the results of this study indicate that catharsis is inversely related to contribution quality. Furthermore, subgroup analysis reveals that the effects of self-discrepancy on contribution vary depending on whether the virtual community is utilitarian or hedonic.