Abstract:

The importance of virtual communities is growing every year since consumers are increasingly using online tools to share ideas and contact fellow consumers. For this reason, this work tries to
analyze what factors determine the consumer’s desire to participate in a virtual community. The data, obtained through a web survey using Spanish-speaking members of several virtual communities, show that trust placed in a virtual community has a positive and significant effect on consumer’s intentions to participate in that virtual community. Additionally, a general propensity to
trust, a greater familiarity with the community and a higher quality communication in the community may increase the level of trust placed in a virtual community.