Clients of Architectural Services and Online Communities: Exploration and Facilitation of Information Streams in the Korean Context

Abstract

The status of online communities for clients of professional architectural services has been explored only rarely, although various communities have been established autonomously. These communities have faced challenges regarding the reliability of information and incentives for sustainable involvement of members. These concerns can be tackled by facilitating a community embracing socially embedded human actions and virtual markets in which recommendations are powerful for promoting sustainable information streams. This study aims to provide a theoretical framework to implement a structured online community in which trustworthy information are shared in sustainable manner by cultivating social actions in relationship. A preliminary investigation into the opinions of a specific group of professional architectural service clients in existing online communities is conducted. Based on relevant findings, a prototype of a structured online community, which systematizes information flows, involvement of service providers, and evaluation of service quality is developed. A main survey provides insight of clients on the motivation to upload information, usefulness of information, and expected customer power in the structured online community.