Accumulation mechanism of opinion leaders' social interaction ties in virtual communities: Empirical evidence from China

Considering both personal and social perspectives, self-identity and reciprocity were analyzed to identify the underlying mechanisms used by opinion leaders to accumulate their social interaction ties in virtual communities. As a key factor in maintaining the operation of virtual communities, knowledge contribution is employed in our route model. An online survey conducted in several different virtual communities, yielded 666 useable responses. The research findings indicate that opinion leaders accumulate their social interaction ties through different routes such as self-identity, knowledge contribution, and reciprocity. We also observe that both knowledge contribution and reciprocity have a mediating effect on the relation between opinion leader status and social interaction ties. In addition, knowledge contribution has a mediating effect on the relationship between self-identity and social interaction ties; and on the relationship between reciprocity and social interaction ties. The indications and implications of our findings, as well as the limitations of our study, are discussed. •We analyzed the mechanism underlies the dynamic process of opinion leaders in VCs.•Opinion leaders need to maintain and develop their social interaction tie in VCs.•Knowledge contribution plays a key role for opinion leaders to maintain their status.•Self-identity affects social interaction tie indirectly via knowledge contribution.•Reciprocity affects social interaction tie not only directly but also indirectly.