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What Drives Participation Behaviour in Interest-Based Online Communities? An Empirical Assessment from the Indian Context

Home > 2026, Volume 17, Issue 1, 2026 > What Drives Participation Behaviour in Interest-Based Online Communities? An Empirical Assessment from the Indian Context
Published: June 25, 2026 | Views: 4 | PDF Downloads: 5
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Authors

Shelleka Gupta, Priyanka Sharma, Versha Mehta, and Ronnie Dutt

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.15415/jtmge/2025.171001
Keywords
Interest-based online communities, Participation behaviour, Social identity theory, Uses & gratification theory

Abstract

Purpose: Interest-based online communities (IBOCs) have emerged as the new digital hubs for knowledge sharing and socializing, yet member retention and active participation remain a struggle for many such communities. This study proposes and empirically tests a dual pathway model explaining drivers of participation behaviour (PA) through the lens of social and utilitarian factors, while also investigating the relative influence of each driving factor on PA.

Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 266 IBOC members in India, and the data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings: The findings highlight that both social drivers (SD) and functional drivers (FD) exert a significant and positive influence on PA. However, FD emerged as the stronger predictor among the two drivers, exerting nearly twice the influence of SD. Both drivers jointly explained 55.4% of the variance in PA.

Implications: This study shows that users are inclined towards heightened participation in IBOCs due to the deeper influence of pragmatic information-seeking and problem-solving motives, while social factors also remain valid. These insights offer direct implications for IBOC managers, platform architects, and interface designers seeking to encourage user participation and ensure community sustenance in these interest-based digital contexts.

Originality: This study enriches the literature in the context of IBOCs by extending social identity theory and the uses-and-gratifications perspective, distinguishing and examining both the impact and relative influence of relational and utilitarian motivations on PA in non-commercial and interest-based settings. It develops and validates a dual pathway framework explaining the influence of motivating factors on PA in IBOCs, thereby providing community managers, platform designers, and other stakeholders with useful insights.

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How to Cite

Shelleka Gupta, Priyanka Sharma, Versha Mehta, and Ronnie Dutt. What Drives Participation Behaviour in Interest-Based Online Communities? An Empirical Assessment from the Indian Context. J.Technol. Manag. Grow. Econ.. 2025, 17, 1-13
What Drives Participation Behaviour in Interest-Based Online Communities? An Empirical Assessment from the Indian Context

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