Uses and gratifications of members of communities of practice
| Published date | 13 April 2015 |
| Date | 13 April 2015 |
| Pages | 163-178 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2014-0170 |
| Author | Azi Lev-On |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval |
Uses and gratifications
of members of communities
of practice
Azi Lev-On
School of Communication, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a large-scale study which examined
the uses and gratifications of communities of practice of the Israeli Ministry of Social Services.
Design/methodology/approach –A twofold research methodology was applied: content analysis
of 7,248 posts, as well as 71 semi-structured interviews with community members.
Findings –Cognitive uses were perceived by community members as the key uses and gratifications
from the communities of practice. The implications of these uses and gratifications, such as the
de-isolation of isolated workers and personal empowerment, are studied.
Originality/value –Contrary to much recent literature, the study presents the communities not
mainly as platforms for social relations or emotional support, but rather as exchange platforms where
information is transmitted between providers and consumers to the benefit of all community members.
Keywords Communities of practice, Cognitive uses, Social uses, Uses and gratifications
Paper type Research paper
Theoretical background
This paper is based on the uses and gratifications theory. The theory, which is central
in communication studies, presumes that media consumers and producers, i.e. viewers,
listeners, readers and internet users, are aware of their needs and the ways to fulfil
them, and select the means perceived as most appropriate to fulfil these needs.
Instead of assuming the various media have uniform impacts on audiences,
the theory is based on the proposition that people use media to address their specific
needs, and that their expectations lead to deliberate usage of the media and selective
exposure to the content they transmit (Katz et al., 1974). Typically studies based on the
uses and gratifications theory use self-reporting methods, i.e. interviews and
questionnaires, which include a list of statements representing different needs.
The wide penetration of the internet has led to renewed interest in uses and
gratifications theory. Internet users actively choose which sites to visit, what items
to read, which communities to join, which information to post, what applications to use
and so on. Such actions involve deliberate decisions and open a vast new field of study
of people’s uses and gratifications (Ruggiero, 2000; Newhagen and Rafaeli, 1996).
Katz et al. (1974) categorised media uses and gratifications as cognitive
(consumption and processing of information), affective (emotional and aesthetic
experiences), escapist (disconnecting from reality) and integrative (strengthening
a sense of belonging, relationships with family, friends, community and state, as well as
providing a sense of security, trust, stability and status). Several early studies applied
Online Information Review
Vol. 39 No. 2, 2015
pp. 163-178
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-07-2014-0170
Received 26 July 2014
Second revision approved
22 December 2014
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
The study was supported by the Center for the Study of New Media, Society and Politics at the
Ariel University. The author thanks Odelia Adler and Nili Steinfeld for their assistance in
analysing the data and finalising the manuscript.
163
Uses and
gratifications
the theory to various online environments, and found a diversity of uses and
gratifications. Earlier studies looked at uses of “the internet”as a whole; for example
Tewksbury and Althaus (2000) identified entertainment, monitoring and surveillance,
and “passing time”as the three key gratifications obtained from use of the internet.
Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) identified five motives for using the internet:
interpersonal utility, passing time, information seeking, convenience (e.g. to
communicate with friends and family) and entertainment. Parker and Plank (2000)
identified three main gratifications: companionship and social relationships;
surveillance and excitement; and relaxation and escape. Song et al. (2004) found
seven such motivation clusters: establishing “virtual community”(finding
companionship, meeting new friends), information seeking, aesthetic experiences,
monetary compensati on (i.e. finding barga ins online), diversio n (i.e. fun and
entertainment), personal status and relationship maintenance.
Recent studies focus on uses and gratifications from online social media; for
example Raacke and Bonds-Raacke (2008) found that social networking sites Facebook
and MySpace address the social needs of users such as keeping in touch with old
friends and making new ones. Leung (2009) identified four key gratifications from
content generated online: satisfying recognition needs, cognitive needs, social needs
and entertainment needs. Dunne et al. (2010) identified communication, entertainment,
escapism and relationship maintenance as perceived gratifications from social
networking sites. Quan-Haase and Young (2010) compared the uses of Facebook and
instant messaging, and identified six key gratifications being obtained: pastime,
affection (e.g. thanking people and helping others), fashion (i.e. to appear stylish),
sharing problems, sociability and obtaining social information.
Additional recent studies focus on uses of and gratifications from additional social
media platforms, such as Wikipedia (Cho et al., 2010), mobile sharing and gaming
applications (Lee et al., 2010), Yelp.com, a review and recommendation site (Hicks et al.,
2012), citizen journalism sites (Lin, 2014), Pinterest (Mull and Lee, 2014) and more.
Lev-On (2012) found that cognitive needs (relating to employment and rights) and
social needs are the key gratifications obtained from an online community of evacuees
in Israel. Additional studies found supplementary gratifications such as venting,
and socialisation –passing stories and norms between generations (Stamatopoulou-
Robbins, 2005).
Note that uses and gratifications may vary according to the characteristics of the
audience. For example motivations for internet usage may vary based on users’age
and socioeconomic status (Cho et al., 2003). For example young people from a high
socioeconomic stratum tended to use the internet for getting the information they need
for specific tasks, as well as for relationship development and learning, while lower
socioeconomic stratum users tended to use the internet mainly for social goals and
entertainment. Different usage patterns may produce different gratifications; for
example Ridings et al. (2006) found that the relatively passive users extract from the
community mainly cognitive benefits, while the “heavier”more active users extract
social benefits that “lighter”users typically do not.
A possible result of the accumulation of knowledge through online communities is
an increased sense of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). This concept describes
a phenomenon in which a person finds that s/he can do something s/he previously
thought s/he was unable to. Personal self-efficacy is established through a gradual
process of learning that takes place in the background of the interaction between
environment, motivational mechanism and the actual achievements of the individual.
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