Understanding online knowledge contribution: social learning and social knowledge perspective

Abstract

Online open knowledge sharing is the idea that the Internet can promote the aggregation and dissemination of useful knowledge from a potentially large number of people. Starting from the knowledge sharing idea, various types of online open knowledge sharing services have provided the central platform for users to interact with each other, share their knowledge, and even jointly create new knowledge. Since sharing knowledge in these services is voluntary and involves no material compensation, many studies have focused on why individuals participate in knowledge sharing and ways to encourage them to contribute more actively. However, previous studies focus too much on social aspects and do not well explain the active knowledge sharing in countries with relatively low social capital. Therefore, In this study, we derive two research questions: 1) what framework can better explain online knowledge contribution? and 2) what factors influence online knowledge contribution? The study draws on both social learning theory and the social model of knowledge creation to investigate the overall antecedents of knowledge contribution and to examine three facets, user-oriented, service-oriented, and community-oriented knowledge contribution behavior. To accomplish the main objective of this study, we verify the theoretical fit of social learning theory and social model of knowledge creation in the online knowledge sharing context and examine which knowledge sharing antecedents motivate people to contribute to knowledge sharing services. After developing the preceding factors, we link the related factors to motivation and to knowledge contribution behavior. We then verify each variable and path using a survey and the PLS analysis. The primary sample was online knowledge sharing contributors. A survey instrument was developed by applying measures that had been validated in prior works. Some modifications were made to fit them to the context of online knowledge contribution. F...