Bireylerin Sanal Topluluklara Katılım Motivasyonları Üzerine Netnografik Bir Araştırma
A Netnographic Study on Individuals' Motivations for Participating in Virtual Communities

Summary/Abstract: Virtual communities, which respond to various needs of humans, who are social beings, such as acquiring knowledge, communication, belonging, having fun, socialization, and trustbuilding, have become a significant area of scholarly inquiry in contemporary times. The digitization of communication tools has moved individuals' interaction areas to virtual environments, thereby prompting disciplines such as psychology, marketing, and communication have turned their focus on understanding individual needs and determining purchase decisions within virtual communities. In this regard, the motivations driving individuals to join virtual communities and the cultures existing within those communities have emerged as subjects of investigation. Accordingly, this study aims to examine a forum site where experiences related to third-wave coffee, which has recently gained popularity as a consumption object, are shared, particularly in terms of participation motivations. In the study conducted using the netnographic research method, the cultural structure of the community was examined in terms of communication patterns, language usage, member typologies and existing rules while also focused on the individuals' motivations for participating in the community. In the research, the posts under the "new members-meeting" category of the forum site were subjected to content analysis. As a result, it has been observed that a sincere and respectful language is used within the community, members share ideas with each other at a high level, and there are many written rules for being included in the community as well as for expulsion from the community, and care is taken to carry out all processes in a democratic environment as possible. In addition, when individuals' motivations for participation are examined, it has been determined that the highest motivation for participation is obtaining information, as well as purposes such as socializing, communicating, exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and making sales.

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