Driving individuals’ citizenship behaviors in virtual communities through attachment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex relationships between common bond attachment, common identity attachment, self-esteem and virtual community citizenship behavior (VCCB). This study identifies two broad categories of VCCB: citizenship behaviors directed toward benefitting other individuals (VCCBI) and citizenship behaviors directed toward benefitting the virtual community (VCCBC). Design/methodology/approach The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses, using a sample of 388 valid responses. Findings The results indicate that common bond attachment and common identity attachment have a significant effect on self-esteem, which, in turn, has a significant effect on VCCBI and VCCBC. The results also indicate that common bond attachment has a significant effect on VCCBI, and that common identity attachment has a significant effect on VCCBC. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of VCCBs through common identity and common-bond theory, social identity theory and the stimulus-organism-response framework.