The Influences of Belonging and Culture on Willingness to Cocreate Value in Sustainable Businesses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58493/ecca.2025.4.1.18Keywords:
Sense of belonging Dominant service logic Co-creation of value Sustainability Virtual communitiesAbstract
This study examines how a sense of belonging influences individuals’ willingness to co-create value within virtual communities associated with sustainable businesses in Mexico. Adopting a phenomenological-interpretative qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 university students actively involved in sustainable digital communities. Theoretical frameworks by Mahar (2012) on belonging and Yi & Gong (2013) on value co-creation are integrated under Service-Dominant Logic (SDL). Findings indicate that subjectivity, self-determination, reciprocity, and rootedness enhance interaction, responsible behavior, feedback, and community support, whereas geographical distance shows an inconclusive effect. Additionally, initial skepticism toward companies’ sustainability claims is mitigated when authenticity and verifiability are present. This work contributes a conceptual model elucidating how belonging mechanisms facilitate value co-creation, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for designing sustainable virtual communities with stronger engagement.
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