The effect of a perceived leader's influence on the motivation of the members of nonwork-related virtual communities

Abstract

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.