Why do users transition from knowledge seeking behavior to knowledge contribution behavior? Evidence from social...

Area of Science:

• Social Science
• Information Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Social question-and-answer (Q&A) communities rely on user engagement for knowledge sharing.
• Understanding the transition from knowledge seeking to knowledge contribution is crucial for platform sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the motivational and trust-based mechanisms underlying user transitions from knowledge seeking to knowledge contribution.
• To develop and test a unified theoretical framework integrating motivation and trust theories.

Main Methods:

• Covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrap analysis.
• Data collected from 452 valid samples within social Q&A communities.

Main Results:

• Knowledge seeking positively influences intrinsic (altruism, self-efficacy, emotional empathy) and extrinsic motivations (platform reward, social need, group identity).
• Most motivations, particularly altruism, self-efficacy, platform reward, social need, and group identity, significantly promote knowledge contribution.
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations partially mediate the knowledge seeking-contribution relationship, strengthened by platform and interpersonal trust, with interpersonal trust having a greater impact.

Conclusions:

• Motivation and trust are critical drivers for user engagement and knowledge contribution in social Q&A platforms.
• Platform managers should implement strategies to enhance user motivation (e.g., rewards, self-efficacy, group identity) and build multi-level trust to foster sustainable community growth.