Virtual communities: A marketing perspective

Increasingly, consumers interact through the Internet to share their knowledge, experiences, and opinions. Consequently, 'word-of-mouse' has become a significant market force that influences consumer decision-making. On the basis of extensive quantitative and qualitative research. the authors sketch how consumers make use of virtual communities as social and information networks. and how this affects their decision-making processes. We present three studies that address (i) determinants and effects of virtual community influence on the consumer decision process; (ii) virtual community participation patterns: and (iii) discussion practices of the most active community members. Key implications for managers, marketers, and market researchers are discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.