User Acceptance Enablers according to the types of identity on Virtual Community

Despite the fact that virtual communities on the Internet have been growing at an exponential rate in recent years, little research has been done on the characteristics of virtual communities. In order to better understand and manage the activities of virtual communities, a theoretical model is proposed in this paper. The objective of this paper is to clarify the factors as they are related to the Technology Acceptance Model. In particular the relationship among identities, trust, and other factors are hypothesized. Using the Technology Acceptance Model, this research showed that the importance of identity and trust in virtual communities. The members of virtual communities interact continuously and share an identity. According to the identity type, different ways of stimulating the members are necessary in order to facilitate participation in activities of virtual communities. The virtual communities of a more utilitarian identity are more sensitive to trust in members than trust in the service provider, and members of a more utilitarian identity are inclined to exchange information with each other.