Knowledge Contribution Behavior Research Articles

What motivates knowledge sharing? Evaluating the quality of answer contribution in online Q&A communities

The Online Q&A community provides platforms for Internet users to exchange and share knowledge. Its rapid development has caused the problem of information overload, which promotes users' demand for precise and personalized information. In light of this, we innovatively analyze the correlation between knowledge quality and user behaviors. First, we propose a novel approach method to evaluate the answer quality through a machine learning approach, which applies the information adoption theory to the design of a text classification model. Hereafter, with applications of motivation crowding theory, this paper introduces the classification results of answer quality by machine learning algorithms into the empirical research model to explore the factors that motivate users in both participation and high-quality user-generated content creation. Results show that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors determine the quality of knowledge contributors' answers. Further, certain external interventions (monetary rewards) can crowd out the effects of knowledge contributors’ intrinsic motivations (knowledge self-efficacy). It enriches the research on user knowledge contribution behavior in online Q&A communities and also provides theoretical guidance and suggestions for community operation.

RESEARCH ON USERS' SUSTAINABLE USE BEHAVIOR IN ONLINE HEALTH COMMUNITY UNDER THE VISION OF SERVICE QUALITY PERCEPTION

This study is based on the theory of social cognition and expectation confirmation theory, on the basis of current online health community research, using a field survey, model and empirical analysis, theory, and system analysis, from the perspective of service quality perception, to explorethe continuous use of users in the online health community. Put forward research hypotheses between variables from the categories of service quality perception, community identity, and continuous use behavior, and construct a model framework between related variables. Through the network questionnaire and other forms of research, to verify the basis of the hypothesis and theoretical model, Through empirical research, it is concluded that service quality perception has a significant influence on users' continuous use behavior; service quality perception significantly affects users' community identity; community identification positively affects users' health knowledge acquisition behavior and health knowledge contribution behavior; community identity mediates the influence of service quality perception and continuous use of users; and the perception of service quality and continuous use influence of users is not valid. In the end of the paper, based on the verification results of the hypothesis, this paper explores the continuous participation promotion strategies of online health community users from the practice level, as well as future research suggestions, to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the healthy development of the online health community.

How to promote students to share more knowledge with peers?

Education experts are trying to encourage students to contribute knowledge among them through online peer assessment so as to enhance the understanding of knowledge. As an online knowledge community, peer assessment will also fail due to the reluctance of students to return the favor and share knowledge. Many studies on this topic have highlighted the importance of contribution of knowledge for students which forms a virtuous feedback loop for the impression of knowledge. However, it is unclear how what influences its development. Motivated by this, this study explored why students contribute knowledge to others through online peer assessment. Empirical panel count data were collected from Peer review platform. The results from a negative binomial regression model with user fixed effects indicate that student’s peer recognition and organization interaction have a positive impact on his knowledge-contribution behaviors. The findings can help guide the development and operation of peer assessment.

考虑互动环境中企业在线社区知识贡献行为的影响研究

考虑互动环境中企业在线社区知识贡献行为的影响研究

Why are physicians willing to contribute knowledge? Evidence from online health communities

The sustainable development of an online health community (OHC) is inseparable from the contribution of physicians. Nevertheless, little research has systemically examined physicians' knowledge contribution behavior (KCB) in the OHC context. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study proposes an empirical model for exploring the influence of environmental factors (material incentives and non-material incentives) and cognitive factors (psychological capital) on physicians' KCB. We collected data from 270 physicians providing services in OHCs to examine the proposed theoretical relationships and model. The findings suggest that physicians' KCB is influenced by different incentive types. Specifically, extrinsic rewards and thanks letters have a positive effect on physicians' KCB, while virtual gifts negatively affect physicians' KCB. However, intrinsic rewards have no motivating effect on KCB. In addition, psychological capital plays an important role in the relationship between incentives and KCB. Accordingly, these results underscore the need to distinguish the impact of different incentives on physicians' KCB. This study therefore broadens the research scope of social cognitive theory and enriches the extant results concerning KCB in OHCs. Our findings also have effective implications for OHC practitioners.

Do peers really influence doctors' knowledge contribution behavior? Evidence from online health communities

PurposeThe online health community's success depends on doctors' active participation, so it is essential to understand the factors that affect doctors' knowledge contribution behavior in the online health communities. From the perspective of peer effect, this paper discusses the influence of focal doctors' peers on focal doctors' knowledge contribution behavior and the mechanism behind it. This paper aims to solve these problems.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data of 1,938 doctors were collected from a Chinese online health community, and propensity score matching and ordinary least squares were employed to verify the proposed theoretical model.FindingsThe results show that the presence of focal doctors' peers in online health communities has a positive effect on the knowledge contribution behavior of focal doctors, and the economic returns and social returns of focal doctors' peers have a significant mediating effect.Originality/valueThis paper discusses focal doctors' knowledge contribution behavior from the perspective of peer effect. It enhances the understanding of focal doctors' behavior in the online health communities by exploring the mediating role of their peers' economic and social returns. The results of this paper extend the research in the field of peer effect and online health and provide management implications and suggestions for online health platforms and doctors.

Finding the sweet spot: Exploring the optimal communication delay for AI feedback tools

AI writing assistants that are capable of offering rapid, automatic, and corrective feedback are becoming increasingly powerful, providing accurate and automatic feedback to knowledge contributors while they write. This helps people stay engaged and focused on their writing tasks. However, even with improved algorithms, AI still requires communication delays to perform sophisticated language processing and generate accurate responses. Prior research suggests that if the delay is too long, users may lose interest and become frustrated, perceiving the AI agent as ineffective. Conversely, if the AI-generated feedback is too quick, users may push back and perceive the AI as not fully comprehending their input, leading to low levels of trust. The impact of feedback timing on knowledge contribution behavior remains largely unknown. To address this gap, this research employs two sequential studies to explore the effects of feedback timing. The first study is a conjoint analysis, and the second study is a random-assignment-based experiment. Our results show that an optimal range of timing for communication delay is approximately one to three seconds, leading to improved performance. Presentation styles of the AI agent may affect these results but only slightly. Our study is the first to systematically investigate the optimality of communication delay on AI feedback mechanisms. Our findings will contribute to the literature on knowledge management, algorithm design, and anthropomorphism, and also inspire the software designers on the optimal timing of the communication feedback.

Are You So Good That They Cannot Ignore You? Effect of Coworker Support on Knowledge Sharing Through an Affective Events Theory Perspective

Drawing on affective events theory, this study considers knowledge sharing as an outcome of emotional responses resulting from an individual’s experience of workplace events. This study aimed to empirically examine how coworker support as a work event encourages employees’ knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking behaviors through feelings of vitality. A structured, questionnaire-based survey was administered to 430 employees of knowledge-based organizations in India. The retrieved data were further analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that perceived coworker support positively influences the knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking behavior of individuals in the workplace. Furthermore, vitality mediated the positive association between perceived coworker support and knowledge sharing. This implies that the perception of coworker support in the workplace augments employees’ feelings of vitality, which further motivates them to contribute to and seek knowledge from coworkers. Therefore, this study critically underscores the existence of a “performance loop” in knowledge sharing, as coworkers find it difficult to bypass an employee because of their outstanding performance and the fact that the same virtuous cycle elicits greater knowledge sharing by coworkers. Such perceived goodwill makes employees so good that they cannot be ignored within an organizational setting. This is a pioneering study investigating how coworker support in the workplace stimulates knowledge sharing among employees by considering the mediating effect of feelings of vitality. This study also contributes to the positive psychology and knowledge management literature by revealing the implications of vitality for extra-role behaviors such as knowledge sharing.

An empirical study of continuous knowledge contribution of doctors in online medical communities

PurposeContinuous knowledge contribution behaviors (CKCB) are critical for the healthy development of online medical communities (OMCs). However, it is unclear that if and how contributors' prior actions and the responses they received from the community influence the nature of their future contributions. Drawing upon the Information Systems Continuance theory and Service Feedback theory, the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of knowledge contribution performance (KCP) on doctors' CKCB. Evaluation of social motivation, financial incentive and the moderating influence of expertise level (EL) provided further insight into the pathways that motivate various forms of CKCB.Design/methodology/approachIn order to better understand the CKCB of physicians in OMCs, the authors divided it into two categories: A_CKCB (active CKCB) and P_CKCB (passive CKCB). Information Systems Continuance theory and Service Feedback theory are adapted and integrated with empirical findings from previous research on OMCs to develop a model of CKCB. This study used ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test hypotheses in the preexisting research model based on data collected from a Chinese OMC platform.FindingsThe results show that KCP helps develop several facets of CKCB. According to the findings, doctors' CKCB improved dramatically after receiving feedback from A_CKCB and P_CKCB, but feedback from peers did not promote CKCB. This study found that financial rewards only have a significant positive effect on P_CKCB, and that the level of expertise has a negative effect on the effect. The findings also demonstrated that doctors' level of expertise moderates the relationship between fA_CKCB (a comprehensive evaluation of doctors' A_CKCB) and A_CKCB.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies should look at the role of self-efficacy as a mediator and attitudes as a moderator in the link between KCP and various forms of CKCB. This will help authors figure out how important KCP is for physicians' CKCB. And future research should use more than one way to gather data to prove the above roles.Practical implicationsThis study makes a significant contribution to understanding the association between CKCB and KCP by highlighting the significance of distinguishing between the various forms of CKCB and their underlying causes.Originality/valueThis research has advanced both the theory and practice of OMCs' user management by illuminating the central role of KCP in this context.

Competitive peer influence on knowledge contribution behaviors in online Q&A communities: a social comparison perspective

PurposeUsers' knowledge contribution behaviors are critical for online Q&A communities to thrive. Well-organized question threads in online Q&A communities enable users to clearly read existing answers and their evaluations before contributing. Based on the social comparison and peer influence literature, the authors examine peer influence on the informativeness of knowledge contributions in competitive settings. The authors also consider three levels of moderating factors concerning individuals' perception of competitiveness: question level, thread level and contributor level.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from one of the largest online Q&A communities in China. The hypotheses were validated using hierarchical linear models with cross-classified random effects. The generalized propensity score weighting method was employed for the robustness check.FindingsThe authors demonstrate the peer influence due to social comparison concerns among knowledge contribution behaviors in the same question thread. If more prior knowledge contributors choose to contribute long answers in the question thread, the subsequent contributions are more informative. This peer influence is stronger for factual questions and questions with higher popularity of answering but weaker in recommendation-type and well-answered questions and for contributors with higher social status.Originality/valueThis research provides a new cue of peer influence on online UGC contributions in competitive settings initiated by social comparison concerns. Additionally, the authors identify three levels of moderating factors (question level, thread level and contributor level) that are specific to online Q&A settings and are related to a contributor's perception of competitiveness, which affect the direct effect of peer influence on knowledge contributions. Rather than focus on motivation and quality evaluation, the authors concentrate on the specific content of online knowledge contributions. Peer influence here is not based on an actual acquaintance or a following relationship but on answering the same question. The authors also illustrate the competitive peer influence in subjective and personalized behaviors in online UGC communities.

Monetary income as opportunity cost: exploring the negative effect on free knowledge contribution of knowledge suppliers

PurposeIn the hybrid knowledge-sharing platform where paid and nonpaid (“free”) knowledge activities coexist, users’ free knowledge contribution may be influenced by financial factors. From the perspective of opportunity cost, this study investigates the direct effect of how the amount of monetary income from users’ contribution to paid knowledge activities influences their free knowledge contribution behavior in the future. Further, this study aims to verify the interaction effect of financial and nonfinancial factors (i.e. the experience of free knowledge contribution and social recognition) on free knowledge contribution.Design/methodology/approachObjective data was collected from a hybrid knowledge-sharing platform in China and then analyzed by using zero-inflated negative binomial regression model.FindingsResults show that the amount of monetary income that knowledge suppliers gain from paid knowledge contribution negatively influences their free knowledge contribution. Experience of free knowledge contribution strengthens the negatively main effect, while social recognition has the weakening moderating role.Originality/valueAlthough some studies have explored and verified the positive spillover effect of financial incentives on free knowledge contribution, the quantity dimension is ignored. This study examines the hindering influence of the quantity of monetary income from the perspective of opportunity cost. By taking the characteristic of knowledge suppliers and platforms as moderators, this study deepens the understanding of the influence of monetary income on free knowledge contribution in the hybrid knowledge-sharing platform.

How peer feedback affects knowledge contribution in online innovation communities: a social identity perspective

PurposeThe research aims to explore the influence mechanism of peer feedback and users' knowledge contribution behavior. This study draws on the social identity theory and considers social identity as a mediating factor into the research framework.Design/methodology/approachThis paper collected users' activity data of 142,191 ideas submitted by 76,647 users from the MIUI community between October 2010 and May 2018 via Python software, and data were processed using Stata 16.0.FindingsThe results indicate that knowledge feedback and social feedback positively influence users' knowledge contribution (quantity and quality), respectively. User's cognitive identity positively mediates the relationship between peer feedback and knowledge contribution behavior, affective identity positively mediates the relationship between peer feedback and knowledge contribution behavior, while evaluative identity positively mediates the relationship between peer feedback and knowledge contribution quality, but there is no mediating effect between peer feedback and knowledge contribution quantity.Originality/valueThis study advances knowledge management by highlighting peer feedback on online innovation communities. By demonstrating the significant mediating effect of social identity, this study empirically clarifies the relationships of peer feedback (knowledge feedback and social feedback) to specific dimensions of knowledge contribution, thereby providing managerial guidance to the online innovation community on incentivizing and managing user interaction to foster the innovation development of firms.

Understanding Sustained Knowledge Contribution from a Motivation Crowding Perspective: A Case Study in a Chinese Q&A Community

A Q&A community typically employs various types of external incentives to motivate knowledge contribution from their community members. This study aims to examine the effects of different external incentives, which are conceptualized as different types of motivational factors, on community participants’ sustained knowledge contribution. Drawing on motivation crowding theory, the present study proposes that different motivators interact and jointly influence knowledge contribution behavior. The panel data were collected from a Chinese Q&A community by using the Python Scrapy crawler, and the Poisson regression model with fixed effects was used to validate the integrative model. The results revealed that generalized reciprocity and social learning undermined the effect of online attractiveness on sustained knowledge contribution, whereas peer feedback strengthens this effect. The findings contribute to the extant research on sustained contribution behavior and provide practical insights into sustaining virtual communities.

Lurkers versus Contributors: An Empirical Investigation of Knowledge Contribution Behavior in Open Innovation Communities

This study aims to examine and compare the mechanisms through which social learning processes influence the knowledge contribution behavior of lurkers and contributors in open innovation communities (OICs). Based on social learning theory and stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, this study developed a model of knowledge contribution formation mechanism from environmental stimuli (observational learning, reinforcement learning), organism cognition (self-efficacy, outcome expectancy) to behavioral response (initial contribution, continuous contribution). The model was tested using structural equation modeling based on a dataset collected through a questionnaire from an OIC of business intelligence and analytics software. The empirical results showed that, at the initial participation stage, observational learning had a significant effect on the organism’s cognition of the lurkers, and indirectly influenced the initial knowledge contribution behavior through self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. At the continuous participation stage, observational learning had a significantly lower impact on the organism’s cognition of contributors and only indirectly influenced continuous knowledge contribution behavior through outcome expectancy. In contrast, reinforcement learning influenced the organism’s cognition of contributors and partially influenced their continuous knowledge contribution behavior through the mediating effects of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. However, self-efficacy had a more pronounced effect on contributors’ continuous knowledge contribution behavior than outcome expectancy. These findings provide practical guidance for the management of OICs to reduce knowledge contributor attrition and induce lurkers to evolve into knowledge contributors for sustainable community development.

From knowledge seeking to knowledge contribution: A social capital perspective on knowledge sharing behaviors in online Q&A communities

Previous research has examined knowledge seeking behaviors and knowledge contribution behaviors in online communities, but it is not clear what is the relationship between knowledge seeking and knowledge contribution, leading to a question on what drives knowledge sharing in online communities. Drawing on the social capital theory, this study proposes that knowledge seeking behaviors lead to knowledge contribution behaviors through online users' social capital which is accumulated as a result of knowledge seeking. Based on the data on >1000 online users' knowledge sharing activities in the Zhihu Community in China, this study provides empirical support for the proposed model and the result show that online community users' knowledge seeking behaviors have a positive impact on their social capital, which is further positively related to their knowledge contribution behaviors – a partially mediated process. This study enriches current research on knowledge sharing in the increasingly digitalized society, and the findings provide important insights on knowledge sharing activities that will help manage knowledge exchange more effectively in online communities.

Impact of Gamification on Knowledge Sharing _ The Mediating Role of Self-Determination

With the development of social Q&A communities, many communities were facing the dilemma of user loss and insufficient knowledge sharing. Gamification was a design paradigm that promoted user knowledge sharing, and its promotion mechanism was also worth studying. Taking Zhihu as an example, based on discussing the relationship between gamification and knowledge sharing, which included knowledge-seeking and knowledge-contribution, this paper further discusses the mediating role of self-determination in the relationship between them. The research used hierarchical regression as the research method. The results of this research demonstrated that the interaction of gamification traits (immersion, fulfillment, and socially relevant traits) has a significant positive effect on self-determination. All have significant positive effects on knowledge-seeking behavior and knowledge-contribution behavior. Self-determination has a significant positive impact on knowledge-seeking behavior and knowledge-contribution behavior. Self-determination was fully mediated between immersion-related gamification, social-related gamification, achievement-related gamification, and knowledge-seeking behavior. Self-determination was partially mediated between immersion-related gamification, social-related gamification, achievement-related gamification, and knowledge-contribution behavior. The research presented that was a new research model to explore the effect of gamification on knowledge sharing. In addition, there also demonstrated that improving the game level of the knowledge-sharing platform was an effective way to improve knowledge-seeking behavior and knowledge-contribution behavior.

Sustainable Knowledge Contribution in Open Innovation Platforms: An Absorptive Capacity Perspective on Network Effects

In open innovation platforms, users learn external knowledge through network interaction, and their position in the interactive network has an impact on the user’s sustainable knowledge contribution. Due to the gap in knowledge level, users’ absorption and utilization efficiency of external knowledge is not consistent. We studied the differences in user sustainable knowledge contribution behavior from the perspective of knowledge absorption. We crawled the data of a typical open innovation platform, used LDA to identify the level of user knowledge diversity and social network technology to analyze the user’s network location, and used the negative binomial regression model for empirical analysis. Our results show that knowledge diversity positively affects user knowledge contribution, and network breadth and network depth have positive and negative effects on user knowledge contribution behavior, respectively. In addition, the level of user knowledge diversity moderates the influence of network location on knowledge contribution. In summary, this research not only provides a comprehensive perspective on our current understanding of the contribution behavior of open innovation platforms, but also provides an in-depth understanding of how open innovation platforms can be properly designed to promote continuous contributions.

The Formation Mechanism of Social Identity Based on Knowledge Contribution in Online Knowledge Communities: Empirical Evidence from China

Social identity is a key factor in the sustainable development of online knowledge communities (OKCs). The purpose of this research is to explore the formation mechanism of the respective social identities of lurkers and posters, based on knowledge contribution behavior. To evaluate the research model, an online survey was conducted in the WeChat group and QQ group, which yielded 469 usable questionnaire responses. Structural equation modeling was then adapted to examine the model. We found that knowledge contribution can produce social and psychological outcomes (i.e., cognitive communication, parasocial interaction, a sense of self-worth, social support, and social identity). The posters’ social identity arises through the mediating effects of information support and cognitive communication, while the lurkers’ social identity arises through the mediating effect of parasocial interaction. In addition, this research reveals that personalized behaviors and social identity can coexist in OKCs. Our findings may provide theoretical and practical enlightenment for managers to achieve sustainable and successful operations in OKCs.

Dynamic Robustness of Open-Source Project Knowledge Collaborative Network Based on Opinion Leader Identification.

A large amount of semantic content is generated during designer collaboration in open-source projects (OSPs). Based on the characteristics of knowledge collaboration behavior in OSPs, we constructed a directed, weighted, semantic-based knowledge collaborative network. Four social network analysis indexes were created to identify the key opinion leader nodes in the network using the entropy weight and TOPSIS method. Further, three degradation modes were designed for (1) the collaborative behavior of opinion leaders, (2) main knowledge dissemination behavior, and (3) main knowledge contribution behavior. Regarding the degradation model of the collaborative behavior of opinion leaders, we considered the propagation characteristics of opinion leaders to other nodes, and we created a susceptible–infected–removed (SIR) propagation model of the influence of opinion leaders’ behaviors. Finally, based on empirical data from the Local Motors open-source vehicle design community, a dynamic robustness analysis experiment was carried out. The results showed that the robustness of our constructed network varied for different degradation modes: the degradation of the opinion leaders’ collaborative behavior had the lowest robustness; this was followed by the main knowledge dissemination behavior and the main knowledge contribution behavior; the degradation of random behavior had the highest robustness. Our method revealed the influence of the degradation of collaborative behavior of different types of nodes on the robustness of the network. This could be used to formulate the management strategy of the open-source design community, thus promoting the stable development of OSPs.

Older adults in virtual communities: understanding the antecedents of knowledge contribution and knowledge seeking through the lens of socioemotional selectivity and social cognitive theories

PurposeAs older adults are increasingly active in virtual communities (VCs), these platforms for knowledge exchange present opportunities for companies to use elder human capital. The purpose of this study is to understand the antecedent factors that motivate older adults’ knowledge contribution and knowledge seeking (KS) behaviors in VCs.Design/methodology/approachRooted in socio-emotional selectivity and social cognitive theories, this study included five key variables and developed models for older adults’ knowledge contributing (KC)/KS behaviors. This paper tested the hypotheses using data from a sample of 204 older adults in 3 VCs in China.FindingsThe results provide support for most of the hypotheses and show that while other members’ participation (MP) acts as a substitute for meaning in life and attitude toward aging, it acts as a complement for outcome expectations (OE) focused on others and OE focused on oneself in their impacts on KC/KS activities.Practical implicationsThe study provides practical insights for developing elder human resources via VCs to avoid knowledge loss.Originality/valueThis study described older adults’ unique characteristics when modeling their information and communication technologies-related behaviors and built two models to explain their KC/KS behaviors. It confirmed that the same factor has different levels of impact on older adults’ KC/KS behaviors in VCs. In addition, it confirmed and reinforced the complementary and substitutive effects of other MP as an environmental factor on these behaviors.