Virtual Social Capital: The Way Forward to Creating Peer-to-Peer Value and Positive Social Outcomes in a Virtual Setting
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Authors
Kirkwood, Michael James
Supervisor
Yap, Crystal
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Thesis
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Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract
As technology has progressed over time, so too have the ways in which people now communicate, interact and socialise. As such, the rapid integration of the online world within modern society has undoubtedly shifted the manner in which networks are now established, connected and mobilised. In response to this issue, virtual social capital and peer-to-peer value co-creation in computer-mediated environments presents an area of research that may provide positive social outcomes in relation to harm-related consumption. This research aims to explore how peer-to-peer social interactions contained within computer-mediated peer-support networks forms virtual social capital. The types of value and resources co-created, within the virtual network by way of the social interactions that take place are revealed. This research contributes by offering a theoretical framework of virtual social capital that illustrates the significant role that cognitive resources play in the efficient co-creation of value and the development of virtual social capital.Description
Keywords
Online community, Social capital, Co-creation, Peer-to-peer value, Social interaction