An empirical study on user participation in interest communities: A socio-psychological perspective

This paper proposed a research model to investigate the factors that drive users to participate in interest communities. The model takes a socio-psychological perspective of flow theory, social presence theory, social cognitive theory and organizational commitment. An online survey was conducted and data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that cognitive absorption, social presence and sense of belonging significantly affect behavioral intention, and social presence has a positive effect on cognitive absorption. This study helps to understand socio-psychological factors and consequent behavior of users on interest communities.