Understanding Social Capital Formation for Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities

Abstract

This chapter attempts to explore the possibility of building social capital in virtual community(VC) by first introducing the phenomenon, its problems and context, types of VCs and the significance of knowledge sharing. This chapter then presents the process of social capital from a sociological standpoint where two main theories will be used—the elementary theory of social structure and the social exchange theory as the backbone of the arguments. By integrating both theories, a conceptual framework that includes six antecedents to develop social capital is provided. Subsequently, the propositions are expressed in terms of implications to the sociological approach of VC and some conclusions are made by including some future research agenda.