ABSTRACT
I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 108 II. Background ............................................................................................................ 109
A. Literature review from baseline research on virtual locals and cosmopolitans ................................................................................................. 110
B. Statement of the problem............................................................................... 113 III. Method.................................................................................................................... 114
A. Sample............................................................................................................. 114 B. Selecting messages from the archives............................................................ 115 C. Analytic/observational approach ................................................................... 115 D. Measures ......................................................................................................... 116
IV. Results and discussion ........................................................................................... 117 A. Virtual cosmopolitans ..................................................................................... 117 B. Virtual locals ................................................................................................... 120
V. Summary and conclusion....................................................................................... 123 References........................................................................................................................ 123
This investigation advances recent research on the relevance of Robert Merton’s theory of ‘‘locals’’ and ‘‘cosmopolitans’’ for understanding the governance of virtual academic organizations. It addresses whether virtual communities have the same essential characteristics as those typically observed in face-to-face communities from which the local-cosmopolitan dichotomy was originally applied. Findings from past exploratory research suggest the significance of this traditional conceptualization of professional role/normative structure and orientation for describing and explaining the construction and achievement of an academic community in a virtual realm. This study extends what we know about the degree to which cosmopolitan and local norms have utility for making sense of virtual communities. It employs qualitative modes of observation, particularly a version of ethnomethodological technique, which presupposes that reality is socially constructed as opposed to being universally present a priori in an external world for us to observe. It explores how norm construction in public access data obtained for previous research — faculty at a large state university — compares with observations made on a sample of electronic communications among members of the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA). In our preliminary investigation, we predicted that the virtual context of discourse would blur the distinctions between locals and cosmopolitans; because of the medium, institutional, and local goals becoming aligned and clearly less discrepant. Across different types of virtual communities, however, electronic governance seems to discourage compromise in the approach to solving tasks. Rather normative orientations were palpable and pronounced and the localism and cosmopolitanism professional role orientation split persisted. Moreover, the segregation of orientations led us to test whether online interaction segregated as well. Virtual communities appear especially amenable to self-selection and exclusivity of these normative orientations for fulfilling the functions of academic institutions. Hence, we introduce the significance of ‘‘virtual locals and cosmopolitans.’’ Implications are for public administration as it pertains to a virtual academic community.
