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A validation Study of House of Quality key performance indicators
and suppliers to each other. Within the virtual environment consumers can compare different
products, services, quality, prices and locations which will help them to make a more well-defined
decision. In this case the virtual community acts as an organizing community to its members.
Commercial orientation: some companies create their own communities; commercial communities.
Companies provide valuable information about the company or/and her products to the members of
the community. This information can lead to more appreciation of the company and her products by
the members of the community. This makes the virtual community an attractive tool for companies.
When discussing the concept of virtual communities an important aspect is to understand why
people join a virtual community. What is their main purpose, why do they actively participate and
why do they come back to the community every time? One of the reasons for participating in a
virtual community can be either functional, such as information exchange (Wellman 1996) or from a
hedonic aspect as the creation and consumption of a positive experience through interaction
(Bargozzi and Dholakia, 2002). Interaction is recognized on three levels of communication; two-way
non interactive communication; reactive communication and fully interactive communication (Jones,
1997). Within the community information and knowledge can be seen as a valuable currency or as
social resource (Hitz and Wellman 1997). Different form traditional communities, useful information
and knowledge can be spread within the virtual community through so called “weak-ties” because
members are relative strangers to each other. The virtual community can also be considered as an
important reference group for its members, mostly in a secondary but sometimes also in a primary
way (Constant et al, 1996).
Another reason for participating in a virtual community is the social aspect provided by the
community. It is stated by Heering (1996) that the freedom to express views and to receive social
support are one of the main reasons for individuals to join and participate in a virtual community.
Wellman (1997) defines virtual communities as social networks that use computer support as the
basis of communication among members instead of face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, virtual
communities make it possible to find individuals who are in the same situation and provide
emotional support, social support, a sense of belonging and companionship (Wellman et al, 1999a).
According to Hagel and Armstrong (1997) following types of needs can be distinguished why people
participate in a virtual community:
Interest; within the virtual community members come together because of a common
interest. Members exchange information and share knowledge about this common interest
by sharing resources or giving opinions and advices. Preece (2000) defines the virtual
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