The Effect of a Perceived Leader´s Influence on the Motivation of the Members of Nonwork-Related Virtual Communities

In the plethora of virtual communities (VCs), the importance of nonwork-related VCs is increasing because organizations want to utilize these VCs to improve their performance by means of the social interaction among the members of the nonwork-related VCs. Despite the growing importance of nonwork-related VCs, only limited research has been conducted to examine the factors affecting their members´ motivation and organizational commitment. This study investigated the critical role of leaders in motivating the members of nonwork-related VCs. The influence of the members´ perceptions of two leadership styles-consideration (relationship-oriented leadership) and initiating structure (task-oriented leadership)-on the members´ motivation was examined. We also tested the moderating effects of the members´ perceptions of three sources of power to determine how these sources could increase the leader´s influence on the members. The results obtained from 92 individuals in various nonwork-related VCs showed the significant influence of the leader´s consideration and initiating structure, as perceived by the members, on the members´ motivation and organizational commitment. An additional finding indicated that the influence of the leader´s initiating structure on the members´ motivation and organizational commitment was greater than that of consideration. Furthermore, expert power had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the leader´s consideration and the members´ motivation while reward power and legitimate power had negative moderating effects. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.