16. Role of Virtual Communities

Question 1

communities as combinations of creativity, knowledge + social interaction

Answer 1

competency of individual contributors

social groups sharing cognitive, emotional and material resources

• corporate intranet
• corporate extranet (supply chain - vertical integration)
• internet (open communities)

Question 2

communities of practice

Answer 2

group of people passionate about something and want to share their knowledge

• collaborative saving of money
• transfer best practices
• solve internal problem

ex: quora

Question 3

types of participants in communities of consumers

Answer 3

tourist

• temporary interest
• not forming strong ties

mingler

• low interest
• strong social ties

devotee

• high interest
• weak social ties

insider

• high interest
• strong social ties

(interest is in consumer activity)

Question 4

netnography

Answer 4

ethnography but applied online to:

• social media
• communications
• connections

dive deep into context behind individual’s conversations
- big data that generates insights

Question 5

community of consumption

Answer 5

aggregation of demand at a global scale

role in NPD process: testing new product concepts

Question 6

community of interest

Answer 6

market research

role in NPD process: concept generation + selection
sometimes self-segmentation of customer base

Question 7

community of relationships

Answer 7

intensifying communication w/ and b/w consumers

role in NPD process: product market launch

Question 8

community of relationship + fantasy

Answer 8

co-defining the values associated w/ the brand

role in NPD process: concept generation + product market launch

Question 9

community of interest + community of relationships

Answer 9

fostering user loyalty

role in NPD process: management of product life cycle
also communities of creation

Question 10

characteristics of virtual communities

Answer 10

size: min mass of users to make it attractive

continuous connection: not occasional

conscious + active participation: developing sense of belonging

Question 11

creative commons

Answer 11

community that declares rules for sharing different creations

• community of creation

Question 12

key functions a virtual community can carry out for a firm

Answer 12

aggregating demand on a global scale

market research

intensifying communication w/ + b/w consumers

co-defining the values associated with the brand

fostering user loyalty