Consumers’ Participation in the Online Communities: a Malaysian Context

Abstract

The emergence of virtual communities has provided platforms for online consumers to share and exchange information regarding products, services and ideas creating immense opportunities for online retailers since online interactions could lead to actual purchase. Although online social networking is a fast growing area, the possible influence of users’ interaction has not yet received much attention from marketing researchers. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to facilitate the understanding role of consumers’ participation in online communities and its effects on their purchase-related behaviours.