IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v15y2024i1d10.1007_s13132-022-01082-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Factors Influence Users’ Willingness to Share Knowledge in Online Groups and How?

Author

Listed:
  • Xuhui Wang

    (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

  • Shengtai Zhang

    (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

  • Luyi Qiu

    (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

  • Guoquan Zhang

    (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

  • Na Liu

    (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

Abstract

The online group, which has played an increasingly important role in people’s lives, accelerates the knowledge sharing and accumulation. Different from other virtual communities, the purpose of knowledge sharing of online groups is to pursue “relationship” instead of “attention.” To better improve the efficiency of knowledge sharing in online group, what factors affect users’ sharing willingness and how should be explored from the perspective of relationship strength. Therefore, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model to study the dynamic process of knowledge sharing in online group under different relationship strength. The results show that: (1) the relationship strength, the value of shared knowledge, the additional and synergy benefits, and the costs including speculative cost, direct cost, and risk cost can influence the willingness to share knowledge in online group. (2) Sharing willingness is positively correlated with the relationship strength, synergies, additional benefits and speculative costs. (3) However, the willingness is negatively correlated with direct costs and risk costs. (4) In online groups with different relationship strength, the value of shared knowledge has different influences on users’ sharing willingness.

Suggested Citation

  • Xuhui Wang & Shengtai Zhang & Luyi Qiu & Guoquan Zhang & Na Liu, 2024. "What Factors Influence Users’ Willingness to Share Knowledge in Online Groups and How?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s13132-022-01082-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-022-01082-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-022-01082-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-022-01082-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Seung Ho Park & Yadong Luo, 2001. "Guanxi and organizational dynamics: organizational networking in Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 455-477, May.
    2. Jie Lou & Yulin Fang & Kai H. Lim & Jerry Zeyu Peng, 2013. "Contributing high quantity and quality knowledge to online Q&A communities," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 356-371, February.
    3. Friedman, Daniel, 1991. "Evolutionary Games in Economics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(3), pages 637-666, May.
    4. Samaddar, Subhashish & Kadiyala, Savitha S., 2006. "An analysis of interorganizational resource sharing decisions in collaborative knowledge creation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(1), pages 192-210, April.
    5. Mingkui Huo, 2013. "Analysis of Knowledge-sharing Evolutionary Game in University Teacher Team," International Journal of Higher Education, Sciedu Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-60, February.
    6. Jie Lou & Yulin Fang & Kai H. Lim & Jerry Zeyu Peng, 2013. "Contributing high quantity and quality knowledge to online Q&A communities," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 356-371, February.
    7. Ivy Chan & Patrick Y.K. Chau, 2005. "Getting Knowledge Management Right: Lessons from Failure," International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), IGI Global, vol. 1(3), pages 40-54, July.
    8. Qian Li & Yuanfei Kang, 2019. "Knowledge Sharing Willingness and Leakage Risk: An Evolutional Game Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, January.
    9. Sergey M. Vasin & Leyla A. Gamidullaeva & Nicholas Wise & Konstantin Yu. Korolev, 2020. "Knowledge Exchange and the Trust Institution: a New Look at the Problem," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(3), pages 1026-1042, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jing Wang & Gen Li & Kai-Lung Hui, 2022. "Monetary Incentives and Knowledge Spillover: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3549-3572, May.
    2. Shan, Wei & Qiao, Tong & Zhang, Mingli, 2020. "Getting more resources for better performance: The effect of user-owned resources on the value of user-generated content," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Yuan Jin & Ho Cheung Brian Lee & Sulin Ba & Jan Stallaert, 2021. "Winning by Learning? Effect of Knowledge Sharing in Crowdsourcing Contests," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 836-859, September.
    4. Xiaozhe Yang & Pei-Yu Cheng & Yueh-Min Huang, 2021. "Understanding Teacher Learning Through Teacher-Created Knowledge Products and Transactions," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, August.
    5. Wang, Nan & Sun, Yongqiang & Shen, Xiao-Liang & Zhang, Xi, 2018. "A value-justice model of knowledge integration in wikis: The moderating role of knowledge equivocality," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 64-75.
    6. Warut Khern-am-nuai & Hossein Ghasemkhani & Dandan Qiao & Karthik Kannan, 2024. "The Impact of Online Q&As on Product Sales: The Case of Amazon Answer," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 747-765, June.
    7. Mingkui Huo, 2013. "Analysis of Knowledge-sharing Evolutionary Game in University Teacher Team," International Journal of Higher Education, Sciedu Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-60, February.
    8. Xiaodan Kong & Qi Xu & Tao Zhu, 2019. "Dynamic Evolution of Knowledge Sharing Behavior among Enterprises in the Cluster Innovation Network Based on Evolutionary Game Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, December.
    9. Tuochen Li & Xinyu Zhou, 2022. "Research on the Mechanism of Government–Industry–University–Institute Collaborative Innovation in Green Technology Based on Game–Based Cellular Automata," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-25, March.
    10. Muddassar Sarfraz & Ghulam Hussain & Muhammad Shahid & Amir Riaz & Muhammad Muavia & Yahya Saleem Fahed & Faiza Azam & Mohammad Tallal Abdullah, 2022. "Medical Students’ Online Learning Perceptions, Online Learning Readiness, and Learning Outcomes during COVID-19: The Moderating Role of Teacher’s Readiness to Teach Online," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-20, March.
    11. Wang, Changyu & Zuo, Meiyun & An, Xiaomi, 2017. "Differential influences of perceived organizational factors on younger employees’ participation in offline and online intergenerational knowledge transfer," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 650-663.
    12. Chih-Hung Peng & Dezhi Yin & Han Zhang, 2020. "More than Words in Medical Question-and-Answer Sites: A Content-Context Congruence Perspective," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(3), pages 913-928, September.
    13. Suhada, Thontowi A. & Ford, Jerad A. & Verreynne, Martie-Louise & Indulska, Marta, 2021. "Motivating individuals to contribute to firms’ non-pecuniary open innovation goals," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    14. Minhyung Kang, 2022. "Motivational affordances and survival of new askers on social Q&A sites: The case of Stack Exchange network," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(1), pages 90-103, January.
    15. Qianru Chen & Hualin Xie & Qunli Zhai, 2022. "Management Policy of Farmers’ Cultivated Land Abandonment Behavior Based on Evolutionary Game and Simulation Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, February.
    16. Lichi Zhang & Yanyan Jiang & Junmin Wu, 2022. "Evolutionary Game Analysis of Government and Residents’ Participation in Waste Separation Based on Cumulative Prospect Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, November.
    17. Gu, Tianqi & Xu, Weiping & Liang, Hua & He, Qing & Zheng, Nan, 2024. "School bus transport service strategies’ policy-making mechanism – An evolutionary game approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    18. Wang Mingbao & Du Zhiping & Duan Hong, 2017. "Study on Participant Behavior Game of Electronic Products Reverse Supply Chain Based on ECP," Journal of Systems Science and Information, De Gruyter, vol. 5(5), pages 411-434, October.
    19. Luis Alfonso Dau & Aya S. Chacar & Marjorie A. Lyles & Jiatao Li, 2022. "Informal institutions and international business: Toward an integrative research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 985-1010, August.
    20. Hongxia Sun & Yao Wan & Huirong Lv, 2020. "System Dynamics Model for the Evolutionary Behaviour of Government Enterprises and Consumers in China’s New Energy Vehicle Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s13132-022-01082-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.