This document discusses a research study analyzing factors that influence knowledge generation in virtual communities of tourism professionals using online social networks. The study aims to determine if these communities are generating knowledge and how online media affects this. It will analyze the impact of user satisfaction, participation intention, and cooperative learning on knowledge generation. An internet survey of tourism professionals will collect data, which will be analyzed using structural equation modeling to validate an integrated model combining existing frameworks. The expected results are that user satisfaction, connective learning, and participation/loyalty will positively influence knowledge generation in these virtual communities.

1. Virtual Communities of tourism professionals in the Internet: Analysis of the factors for knowledge generation OriolMiralbell jmiralbell@uoc.edu UOC – Open University of Catalonia

2. Motivation: Why this research issue? Online Social Networksare getting used by many virtual communities of professionals for information exchange and relationship Tourism is mainly an atomized industry made by SMEs with a frequent professional mobility and thus an important loss of tacit knowledge Knowledge generation is scarce inside and among tourism companies The web 2.0 and online social networks seem to furnish real opportunities to break the traditional communication barriers between tourism professionals and help knowledge exchange and generation

6. Expected results System’s user satisfaction affects positively knowledge generation inside Virtual Communities of tourism professionals (VCoTP) Connective learning affects positively knowledge generation inside VCoTP Participation and loyalty affect positively Knowledge generation inside VCoTP There exist significant relations between these three variables to achieve knowledge generation inside VC of TP.

8. The creation of a common framework that can integrate different disciplines

9. Communities of practice

10. Virtual communities / social networks

11. Cooperative learning