Purpose

Facebook community leaders, often nonprofessionals who make a personal decision to create and manage online spaces, are becoming key players on social media sites. Using the theoretical framework of the uses and gratifications theory, this paper reveals the motivations of these individuals who are responsible for the community's information flow, limits and members' well-being. While some studies have begun acknowledging community leaders' important role in the social media, very little is known about their motivations for creating and leading the communities, often voluntarily.

Design/methodology/approach

Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses, data were collected through a survey of 94 Facebook community leaders about their motivations for creating and leading their communities.

Findings

The content analysis of the open-ended question reveals that leaders are motivated to create communities to satisfy informational needs, social needs and individual interests. A factor analysis shows five distinct motivations for leading: social, personal, influence, efficacy and community goals. Finally, a hierarchical regression indicates that extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, time spent per day and being the creator of the community can predict the level of motivation to lead the Facebook community.

Originality/value

As more and more organizations use online communities, the findings of this study may provide insights into leaders' motivations that can help organizations select their community leaders. This study expands on current research about a popular communication tool, Facebook communities, by examining it within the context of the unique role of online leadership in the social media environment.

中文翻译：

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领导 Facebook 社区的主要动机：使用和满足方法

目的

Facebook 社区领袖，通常是非专业人士，他们自己决定创建和管理在线空间，正在成为社交媒体网站上的关键人物。利用使用和满足理论的理论框架，本文揭示了这些对社区信息流、限制和成员福祉负责的个人的动机。虽然一些研究已经开始承认社区领袖在社交媒体中的重要作用，但人们对他们创建和领导社区的动机知之甚少，通常是自愿的。

设计/方法/方法

使用定量和定性分析，数据是通过对 94 位 Facebook 社区领导者的调查收集的，了解他们创建和领导社区的动机。

发现

开放式问题的内容分析表明，领导者有动力创建社区以满足信息需求、社会需求和个人利益。因子分析显示了五种不同的领导动机：社会、个人、影响、效能和社区目标。最后，层次回归表明外向性、神经质、宜人性、每天花费的时间和作为社区的创建者可以预测领导 Facebook 社区的动机水平。

原创性/价值

随着越来越多的组织使用在线社区，本研究的结果可能会深入了解领导者的动机，从而帮助组织选择社区领导者。本研究通过在社交媒体环境中在线领导力的独特作用的背景下对其进行研究，扩展了当前关于流行通信工具 Facebook 社区的研究。