INFORMATION ATTRIBUTES IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES: HOW MEMBER-GENERATED INFORMATION DRIVES CUSTOMER CO-CREATION OF VALUE VIA NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The value of customer cooperation in new product development (NPD) is well-established, but what is unknown is whether and how customers are motivated to cooperate with firms, based on member-generated information (MGI) that they assess in virtual communities. Consumers often seek external information to make decisions about whether to engage with a firm (Folkes 1988; Mizerski, Golden, and Kernan 1979). So, in this study, we conceptualize a consumer's use of a virtual community, and their assessment of the collective information provided by community members, as an attempt to access external information that would help them decide whether to cooperate in NPD with a firm.