3D Communities as Platforms for Developing Social Capital

Claudia Loebbecke, Paolo Depaoli, Marco De Marco

2012

Abstract

3D virtual communities, a particular form of platforms, have gained remarkable attention in theory and practice. Similarly, the well established concept of social capital, which describes resources becoming accessible and available through the connection and interaction between individuals on a platform, has regained prominence with the boom of social media. In this study, we investigate the development of social capital in 3D virtual communities. Adapting the model of Adler and Kwon (2002), we analyze the role of motivation, ability, opportunity, and integration fir constituting social capital in 3D virtual communities. Our empirical investigation conducted in 2008 and 2009 among users of two 3D virtual communities, one networking platform and one online gaming platform, suggests that only motivation and ability are generally important. We conclude that the sources of social capital depend on the specific type and user audience of a 3D virtual community as well as on the sophistication of the available tools in the particular 3D environment and the cultural openness of the network.

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Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Loebbecke C., Depaoli P. and De Marco M. (2012). 3D Communities as Platforms for Developing Social Capital . In Proceedings of the International Conference on Data Communication Networking, e-Business and Optical Communication Systems - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2012) ISBN 978-989-8565-23-5, pages 227-236. DOI: 10.5220/0004050102270236


in Bibtex Style

@conference{ice-b12,
author={Claudia Loebbecke and Paolo Depaoli and Marco De Marco},
title={3D Communities as Platforms for Developing Social Capital},
booktitle={Proceedings of the International Conference on Data Communication Networking, e-Business and Optical Communication Systems - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2012)},
year={2012},
pages={227-236},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0004050102270236},
isbn={978-989-8565-23-5},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the International Conference on Data Communication Networking, e-Business and Optical Communication Systems - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2012)
TI - 3D Communities as Platforms for Developing Social Capital
SN - 978-989-8565-23-5
AU - Loebbecke C.
AU - Depaoli P.
AU - De Marco M.
PY - 2012
SP - 227
EP - 236
DO - 10.5220/0004050102270236