A Study on the Factors Influencing Users’ Online Knowledge Paying-Behavior Based on the UTAUT Model

Abstract

With the explosive growth of information and the increase of people’s fragmented time, the knowledge payment industry’s market size is growing. However, the heterogeneity between online knowledge payment behavior and traditional consumption gradually comes to the fore. It is of great practical significance to analyze the factors influencing users’ online knowledge payment behavior and clarify users’ online knowledge payment mechanism. Based on UTAUT theory, this study uses statistics, structural equation modeling, and mediating effect analysis to construct a theoretical model of the influencing factors of users’ payment behavior of knowledge payment platform from the user level, knowledge-provider level, and platform level. The findings show that content quality, peer influence, KOL influence, perceived interaction, effort expectation, and perceived trust significantly affect users’ willingness-to-pay and have an indirect effect on users’ paying behavior through their willingness-to-pay. Perceived cost, perceived interaction, content quality, peer influence, performance expectation, and effort expectation directly and significantly affect user paying behavior. By regulating the above elements, the improvement of customer attraction ability of online knowledge platforms can be realized.