| Abstract: | Abstract While previous marketing activities were primarily focused on increasing market shares in terms of a mass marketing based on single transactions, the past few years saw a paradigmatic shift towards relationship management. In this respect, virtual communities are becoming increasingly significant for online customer relationship management. A major aspect of virtual communities is the concept of social capital. It will be shown that virtual communities that provide social capital are a key instrument to establish satisfaction, trust, and commitment within a business relationship. |
