Proceedings of the 4 th International Conference on Marketing, Vol. 4, 2016, pp. 36-49 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2357-2655 online DOI: https://doi.org/10.17501/icom.2016.4105 4 th International Conference on Marketing 26-27 May 2016, Bangkok, Thailand THE STRATEGIES OF USING VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES IN BUILDING CUSTOMER CAPITAL Wiesława Caputa* Silesian University of Technology/ Department of Organization and Management Abstract: In the conditions of growing demand and rising barriers to customer requirements, the key competence of the company that determines its duration and development, is the ability to create the customer capital. This ability is directly related to the building and transferring of knowledge. The customers are becoming a source of knowledge for the enterprise more and more, who create their own initiative or are inspired by the enterprise. Virtual communities are embroiled in a web of relationships enabling interactive communication message, the content of which can be used in the process of: design, manufacturing, delivery and communication of values. Realizing the potential of virtual community generates business opportunities to create a unique product. Such a product meeting the functional and emotional tasks defined by the customer, is created on the basis of relationships grounding on cooperation and commitment of the customer, which positively reflect the stability of the relationship, and thus reduce the risk of capital engagement. The research on changes in attitudes and behavior of customers and on the emerging challenges for the company, identified the opportunities and barriers of building the knowledge base with the help of virtual communities and show that the effective use of the potential of virtual communities in the process of customer capital creation requires not only the development and implementation of strategy integrated with the global strategy of the company but also building an organizational culture open to the implementation of the customer‟s interest. The verification of the hypothesis is based on the analysis of scientific research centers and other studies in the literature. Keywords: knowledge resources, customer capital, virtual community Introduction The XXI century is the century of a turbulent change: technical and technological information revolution, intensifying processes of globalization, but above all, the age of the struggle for the customer. The crisis of overproduction, accompanied by: a steady increase in the number of suppliers capable of providing essentially all of the expected customer value, after getting a lower satisfaction cost, implies a radical change used so far to compete (Kaplan and Norton, 2002, pp. 22-23). Quick implementation of new technologies, perfect financial management, increase of productivity, improvement of standards, realization of economies of scale or maximum standardization are the conditions necessary but not sufficient for the protection of long-term supply of capital for the company (Doligarski, 2006, p. 433). In the new conditions of source management of competitive advantage is no longer the quality of the product, not even customer satisfaction created by delivering the value expected, but it becomes a lasting relationship with the customer, based on loyalty and profitability. The value of that relationship is identified with customer capital, which in essence reflects the economic utility of the customer. This utility is inextricably linked to the market and resource potential of the customer, and therefore with his/her ability and willingness to direct and indirect capital supply, which ultimately translates into the customer value for the company and the value of the company itself (Caputa, 2015a, pp.14-15). An important determinant of that power is the duration of the relationship. When striving to maximize the benefits coming from the capital engaged, the company faces Corresponding Author: *Caputa.w@wp.pl