The Identification and Influence of Social Roles in a Social Media Product Community.

Summary This research focuses on the identification of social roles and an investigation of their influence in a social media-based product community. Relying on a systemic approach for role conceptualization and through the prism of positioning theory (Davis & Harré, 1990. Harré & Van Langenhove, 1999), we investigate member's activity, shared content and position in the network within a consumer to consumer social media-based community (SMC) around a product. This investigation led to the identification of ten core roles within the community, based on three key elements: object of interest (product, practice, and community), main contribution type (sharing information and seeking information), individual orientation (factual, emotional). We propose an explanation about how these roles, through their positioning, participate in the community dynamics and how they participate to the creation and diffusion of cookery as a social practice, shaping the periphery around this practice.