Effets de la participation de l’entreprise dans les activités de sa communauté virtuelle de support sur sa relation avec les membres

This paper considers the role of the company in its virtual community and gives evidence for the importance of its collaboration with members. From a data collecting from 342 members of virtual communities of support initiated by companies, the paper shows that the collaboration of the company is necessary to favour the relationship of members with it. It demonstrates, indeed, that the efforts of the company within its virtual communities (known as its specific investments) are a mediator of the relation between the perceived benefits from members and the quality of their relationship with the company. The first relation is significative only in the case of an active participation of the company in the activities of its virtual community.