Supporting Customer Cooperation to Promote Sustainable Development

From Virtual Communities

[edit] Authors

Stefan Naumann, University of Applied Sciences Trier

[edit] Abstract

To support sustainable development especially in rural regions, often customer cooperation is needed, because small ecological businesses often have inadequate distribution systems. In this paper we describe a research project that improves regional development by an application which supports a community in ordering, supplying and distributing organic food and other ecologically friendly products. As an extension we look into building up a virtual, decentralized eco-village. Several hundred people understand themselves as inhabitants of the village, which is spread in a limited region with a diameter of about 20-30 miles, because otherwise material flows are too extensive and maintaining social bindings is more difficult.

[edit] Download

Supporting Customer Cooperation to Promote Sustainable Development