‘With a little help from my friends’: exploring mutual engagement and authenticity within foodie influencers’ communities of practice

The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of mutual engagement within the foodie influencer communities of practice created via Instagram. The study is based on 20 in-depth interviews with foodie Instagrammers. Findings demonstrate that unlike other communities of practice, rather than competing among themselves, foodies learn from each other, exchange tips, help those starting out in the field and attend events together. Close collaboration also leads to the formation of strong friendship bonds. However, findings show that whilst authenticity of content is deemed important, elements of influencer engagement are artificially orchestrated within their own community of practice. These findings have implications for marketing professionals in terms of evaluating influencersʻ engagement authenticity and the selection criteria they consider with regard to targeting appropriate and specific influencers to work with

Learning to Airbnb by Engaging in Online Communities of Practice

Technological advances, combined with sustained, minimalist consumerism, have raised the popularity of sharing economy platforms like Airbnb and Uber. These platforms are considered to have disrupted traditional industries and revolutionized how consumers interact with their services. The Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) community has researched various aspects of the sharing economy; however, it is unclear how novices grow into experts in its various instantiations. In this paper, we present a qualitative investigation of Airbnb hosts, and Facebook groups in which they participate, for an enriched understanding of their learning mechanisms. Drawing on the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP), our findings highlight the learning mechanisms that enable novice hosts to transition from partaking in peripheral roles to becoming integrated members of their (Facebook) communities of practice.We also present recommendations for sharing economy platforms, micro-entrepreneurs, and the online communities that serve them both.Undergraduat