The impacts of information quality and system quality on users' continuance intention in information-exchange virtual communities: An empirical investigation YiMing Zheng, Kexin Zhao 1 , Antonis Stylianou ⁎ Department of Business Information Systems and Operations Management, Belk College of Business, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA abstract article info Available online xxxx Keywords: Virtual communities IS post-adoption IS Success model Information quality System quality Individual benefits An information-exchange virtual community (VC) is an IT-supported virtual space that is composed of a group of people for accessing, sharing and disseminating topic-related experiences and knowledge through communication and social interaction [36,43]. With the increasing number of VCs and low switching cost, it is challenging to retain existing users and encourage their continued participation. By integrating the IS post-adoption research and IS Success model, we propose a research framework to investigate VC users' continuance intention from a quality perspective. Based on a field survey, we find that information and system quality directly affect perceived indi- vidual benefits and user satisfaction, which ultimately determine user continuance intention to consume and to provide information. Furthermore, by modeling information quality and system quality as multifaceted con- structs, our results reveal key quality concerns in information-exchange VCs. Implications for VC design and management are also discussed. © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. 1. Introduction An information-exchange virtual community (VC) is an IT-supported virtual space that is composed of a group of people for accessing, sharing and disseminating topic-related experiences and knowledge through communication and social interaction [36,43]. Examples include online forums, message boards, news groups, etc. Due to the prevalent Internet access and increasingly advanced Web 2.0 applications, the growth of information-exchange VCs has been phenomenal and millions of people have become VC users in recent years. For example, Yahoo Groups has 115 million users and formed 10 million groups 2 (eWeek.com). IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has attracted over 4 million users with more than 13 million posts as of January 2012 (www.big-boards.com). A user decides his participation based on his individual needs and experiences of using a VC. Should he find that a VC does not satisfy his needs, he can stop using the VC or switch to another VC of the same type, if available. However, retaining existing users is critical for a VC's long-term development [35,71]. According to marketing re- search, existing customers may exhibit voluntary citizenship behaviors (e.g., helpful, constructive behaviors) that are valued or appreciated by the organization, in addition to consumption of pre-paid products or services [31]. It is found that continued membership positively in- creases members' identification with the organization [8] and reduces the likelihood of lapsing [7]. Furthermore, according to the theory of net- work externalities [38], if a VC can maintain a large pool of existing users, it will attract more new users. Individuals are more likely to join larger VCs than smaller ones, as larger VC are assumed to have more informa- tion sources [32]. The presence of network externalities also enables VCs to leverage economies of scale to operate and grow in a cost- effective way and provide more benefits to users [29]. Therefore, it is important to understand what factors drive the continuance intention to participate in VCs. Although a number of information systems (IS) studies have exam- ined user participation behaviors in VCs [13,36], a limited number of studies have paid special attention to user retention and continued participation [15,71]. It is a challenging issue given that user participa- tion is voluntary. Ma and Agarwal [48] reported that not many VCs were successful in retaining users and motivating their continued usage, which ended up with membership loss. To address this issue, we investigate users' continuance intention to participate in VCs by examining the role of information quality and system quality. Butler [13] argued that the amount of information on its own is not enough to retain users, unless it is transferred to benefits for users, leading to a sustainable VC. Gu et al. [32] found that the value of a VC increases with the number of high-quality postings, which helps users achieve individual benefits and meet their needs. Users are more likely to adopt high-quality information as it provides judgment- relevant content [72]. High-quality information also enhances the repu- tation of a VC and user loyalty, and can serve as a competitive weapon to attract and retain members [45]. Furthermore, user participation is Decision Support Systems xxx (2012) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 704 687 7605. E-mail addresses: yzheng3@uncc.edu (Y. Zheng), kzhao2@uncc.edu (K. Zhao), astylianou@uncc.edu (A. Stylianou). 1 Tel.: +1 704 687 7637. 2 http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Yahoo-Refreshes-Upgrades-Some- Products-775120/. Retrieved on 2/28/2012. DECSUP-12226; No of Pages 12 0167-9236/$ – see front matter © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2012.11.008 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Decision Support Systems journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dss Please cite this article as: Y. Zheng, et al., The impacts of information quality and system quality on users' continuance intention in information- exchange virtual co..., Decision Support Systems (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2012.11.008