Title: Communication and online business opportunities in virtual environment: Second Life

Authors: Sharma Gajendra; Qiang Ye; Wenjun Sun; Lu Qi

Addresses: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Dazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin – 150001, China; Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road, Gaoxinyuan District, Dalian – 116023, China. ' School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Dazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin – 150001, China. ' School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Dazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin – 150001, China. ' School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Dazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin – 150001, China

Abstract: Second Life is a computer mediated 3D virtual world imagined and created by its residents. Virtual world is a simulated environment where residents can interact with each other through different communication media. The purpose of this study is to investigate why people communicate in Second Life and the importance of communication to generate real business value. The major theoretical backgrounds used in this study were the communication theory and social systems, theory of intrinsic motivation and word of mouth communications. A case study from Second Life users in the form of online interview was performed to learn communication behaviour of people, their attitude towards communication technology and experience of performing online business. The result was focused on effectiveness and superiority of web 2.0 communication and its effect on real world companies and organisations. The outcome of the findings has real world implication for policy makers, managers and leaders with respect to sharing information and decision making.

Keywords: Second Life; virtual worlds; communication theory; information systems; online business; web based communities; virtual communities; online communities; social systems; theory of intrinsic motivation; word of mouth; WoM; information sharing; decision making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2012.046261

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2012 Vol.8 No.2, pp.223 - 241

Published online: 20 Aug 2014 *

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