Drivers of interdependence and network convergence in social networks in virtual communities

摘要

Social networks proliferate in virtual communities, where interdependence and network convergence among users are key to their development. However, as little is known about the drivers of interdependence and network convergence, this study examines whether individual differences could be one such driver. An online questionnaire was used to collect data and responses from 3086 online gamers, and hierarchical regressions were used for the testing of hypotheses. This study found that the need for affiliation, altruism, and social intelligence are positively related to interdependence and network convergence. Moreover, the need for affiliation interacts with altruism to predict interdependence, and interacts with social intelligence to predict network convergence. This study is the first using the weak/strong tie theory to identify drivers of interdependence and network convergence among users of virtual communities. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.