A study of members' helping behaviors in online community

Purpose The aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that enables us to examine the antecedents and consequences effects of members' helping behavior in online communities. It also aims to develop a complete model for empirical testing. Design/methodology/approach The sample is 425 participants including nine online communities in Taiwan, including Yahoo! Kimo, CPB, Sony music, etc.. who were contacted and asked to participate in the study. Data were collected between August and December 2007 via the web for Internet users using a standardized questionnaire. Excluding those surveys that were undeliverable and those who believed that it was inappropriate to respond, the overall effective response rate was 84 percent (355 of 425). Findings The empirical results suggested that online communities members' helping behavior represents a large pool of product know‐how. They seem to be a promising source of innovation capabilities for new product development. Research limitations/implications The research only aims to experimentally investigate complete model of helping behavior in online communities. But this research has not dealt with a double role of online communities' members so far, linking innovation with commercialization. They seem to be a promising source of innovation capabilities for new product development. Practical implications The phenomenon of helping behavior among members may become a major source and channel for information in the decision making process for the purchase of products. Therefore, a major finding derived from the empirical application is that community members are capable and willing to contribute to virtual co‐development. Originality/value Many variables have been evaluated for their influences on the helping behaviors of the members of the online communities. However, none of the previous studies have integrated these variables into a more comprehensive framework.