Social control in online communities of consumption: a framework for community management

Olivier Sibai*, Kristine de Valck, Andrew M. Farrell, John M. Rudd

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Online communities of consumption (OCCs) represent highly diverse groups of consumers whose interests are not always aligned. Social control in OCCs aims to effectively manage problems arising from this heterogeneity. Extant literature on social control in OCCs is fragmented as some studies focus on the principles of social control, while others focus on the implementation. Moreover, the domain is undertheorized. This article integrates the disparate literature on social control in OCCs providing a first unified conceptualization of the topic. The authors conceptualize social control as a system, or configuration, of moderation practices. Moderation practices are executed during interactions operating under different governance structures (market, hierarchy, and clan) and serving different purposes (interaction initiation, maintenance, and termination). From this conceptualization, important areas of future research emerge and research questions are developed. The framework also serves as a community management tool for OCC managers, enabling the diagnosis of social control problems and the elaboration of strategies and tactics to address them.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)250-264
Number of pages15
JournalPsychology and Marketing
Volume32
Issue number3
Early online date27 Jan 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2015

Bibliographical note

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Sibai, O., de Valck, K., Farrell, A. M., & Rudd, J. M. (2015). Social control in online communities of consumption: a framework for community management. Psychology and marketing, 32(3), 250-264, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mar.20778.

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