PARTICIPATION IN VIRTUAL SOCIAL NETWORKS FROM AN ACTION SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE: PRELIMINARY ETHNOGRAPHIC FINDINGS ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS STUDENTS PARTICIPA O EM REDES SOCIAIS VIRTUAIS SOB A óTICA DAS TEORIAS DA A O: INVESTIGA O ETNOGRáFICA PRELIMINAR SOBRE A IDENTIDADE DE ESTUDANTES DE ADMINISTRA O

This research addresses the degree of coherence between online and physical actions of participants in virtual social networks. We search for a pragmatic definition of virtuality and realism, in order to conceive the Internet as an effective means of communication, socialization and behavioral analysis. In particular, we focus on identity building in virtual environments, including impression management and its effects on social and professional networks. The theoretical framework adopts the widely known theories of human action - espoused and in-use theories - in order to understand an individual’s virtual presence as characterized by one or another prevailing theory. The empirical investigation was an ethnographic research within a virtual conversation group of members, ex-members and sympathizers of the undergraduate management program of a Brazilian state university (UFPB) who interacted live and with the support of Orkut (a virtual conversation tool), so that we could search for a contrast between the informed and actual behavior of current and future managers or sympathizers of the management function. Findings suggest that there is empirical evidence on the primacy of in-use theories within that group of individuals, but there was an emergent need of developing the specific concept of espoused-only theories for some illustrative cases in the virtual world. Contributions of this research also address mainly the issue of whether we should keep separating the physical and the virtual worlds as different loci where human action is effected. Esta pesquisa aborda o grau de realismo em perfis de indivíduos pertencentes a redes sociais online estáveis. Busca-se estabelecer uma defini o operacional para os conceitos de virtualidade e realismo, de modo a dirimir antagonismos práticos entre ambos e abordar a Internet como meio de comunica o, socializa o e análise comportamental. Em particular, foca-se a constru o de identidades na Internet como parte do gerenciamento de impress es e seus efeitos sobre as redes sociais e profissionais. O referencial teórico adota centralmente as teorias da a o, que se subdividem em teorias esposadas e teorias em-uso, com o intuito de entender os perfis individuais online em termos de sua maior caracteriza o por uma ou outra teoria. A investiga o empírica de cunho etnográfico realizou-se junto ao consolidado grupo de conversa es online formado por integrantes, ex-integrantes e simpatizantes do Curso de Gradua o em Administra o da Universidade Federal da Paraíba, grupo este presente na ferramenta Orkut, de modo que s