The Influence of Multi-Variation In-Trust Web Feature Behavior Performance on the Information Dissemination Mechanism in Virtual Community

Abstract

With the flourishing development of the virtual community (VC), trust not only provides a guarantee and foundation for the VC operation, but is critical in activating individual trust-related behavior in a virtual setting. However, based on a review of prior literature on trust and the VC, those studies failed to pay enough attention to trust’s multidimensional nature. Specifically, the relation among multidimensional components (conditions) in the research trust model is usually less discussed. This research focuses on a set of multidimensional conditions (components) that could activate trust in the context of the VC. The research framework also focuses on the factors of the virtual community scene and individual online behavior (based on intrinsic trustworthiness properties). Based on the classic trust framework, the operation and maintaining mechanism of the VC is analyzed, as well as the relationship between the trustworthy qualities of online users and their online behavior, which helps survey scale design, and then the multidimensions of trust’s construct of the VC is successfully isolated. The concept of Multi-Variation In-Trust Web Feature Behavior Performance as the set of multidimensional conditions supporting trust is proposed in the paper, and the relation among four dimensional components (conditions) is verified. Finally, the connection and operation mechanism between the four dimensional conditions (components) of trust and information dissemination in the VC are explored.