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Updated: May 12, 2026
07:29
Online Explorative Study on the Learning Uses of Virtual Reality Among Early Adopters
Published on: November 22, 2019
Virtual users support forum: do community members really want to help you?
Alessandro Gabbiadini1, Silvia Mari, Chiara Volpato
1Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy. ale.gabbiadini@gmail.com
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|March 28, 2013
Summary
Free-riding tendency, not intentions, hinders content creation in virtual communities. This willingness to maximize personal outcomes negatively impacts user contributions and community health.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Online Communities
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Virtual community survival depends on user-generated content, yet innovative content creation is low.
- Content contribution is a collective action influenced by shared intentions, but free-riding (maximizing individual outcomes) is prevalent.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of free-riding tendency on user content contribution in virtual support forums.
- Examine the roles of individual (I-intentions) and collective (we-intentions) in content creation, considering free-riding.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed 250 users of a virtual support forum.
- Applied the theory of planned behavior and social influence variables.
- Assessed free-riding tendency, I-intentions, we-intentions, and actual contribution behavior.
Main Results:
- Neither I-intentions nor we-intentions predicted actual content contribution behavior.
- Free-riding tendency negatively influenced both types of intentions.
- Free-riding tendency was the sole significant negative predictor of contribution behavior.
Conclusions:
- Free-riding tendency is a significant drawback for user contributions in virtual communities.
- Understanding and mitigating free-riding is crucial for fostering content creation and community sustainability.
- Future research should explore strategies to counter free-riding effects on collective action.
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