Customer-to-Customer Interactions within Online Review Sites: A Typology of Contributors

As the Internet has become an increasingly relevant communication and exchange platform, social interactions exist online in multiple forms. Based on the literature on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication, social exchange theory and transformative consumer research, we conduct latent profile analysis to understand who engages in eWOM communication as well as how and why they do so. In addition to the traditional dichotomy of 'posters' and 'lurkers', we show that another group is included, which multiplies the scope of the WOM through transmission. By identifying and describing two active customer groups in addition to lurkers, our study provides insights into important user groups. Both groups are central for the service provider to manage the community and for understanding who contributes to social capital. Reciprocity as important mechanism in virtual environments presents a key condition for the development of social capital. Our research contributes to the growing field of consumer articulations online by empirically investigating why individuals engage online in social capital generation.