Peer-to-peer valuation as a mechanism for reinforcing active learning in virtual communities: actualizing social exchange theory

As knowledge becomes the primary focus of work in many industries, virtual communities and groups are emerging as part of new organizational forms. Within these virtual forms, efficacy of learning in group problem solving and knowledge sharing tasks is influenced by factors such as the level of participation and domination, the level of consensus and cooperation, and satisfaction with group processes. Active collaborative filtering, however, is limited in its ability to motivate active participation. Further, literature reports that virtual discussions are frequently faced with the ´cold-start´ problem. We apply social exchange theory as a foundation to address these limitations. We posit that by applying the insights provided by social exchange theory, member perceptions of the costs and benefits of participating in the virtual group can be modified over time. By providing active feedback to each member, we can influence his/her behavior and willingness to contribute. We propose a modified architecture for virtual community discussions, and demonstrate both the viability and implementation of this as a Web based system with the initial version of a prototype that actualizes social exchange theory to encourage active learning and knowledge sharing in a peer-to-peer community.