Virtual Sanity: Alternative Sources of Social Support for Expatriates through Online Communities

This exploratory study combines literature on information systems and human resource management by exploring the use of online community- supporting platforms targeted at expatriates and the role they play in creating alternative sources for social support through new social ties. By applying a multi method approach, initially, informal interviews through participant observation were conducted during events organized by such communities to understand the usage of such platforms. Subsequently, text analysis was performed on 13,500 posts from 45 expatriate platforms concluding that most content was either information or interaction-driven. Additionally, an exploratory survey was carried out with 142 participants including users and non- users of these platforms and further the users were analysed in terms of their active online participation and offline participation to community events. The results showed that social ties generated through online communities are valid alternatives for expatriates to obtain informational, emotional, and instrumental support, yet the results diversify depending on the type of participation. Finally, the findings were cross-checked with the survey participants for a final confirmation. Based on these results, we show how expatriates could benefit from expanding their social capital with virtually created social ties by receiving different types of social support.