Encouraging physicians' continuous knowledge-sharing in online health communities: A motivational perspective

Abstract

Online health communities (OHCs) as an essential means of patient education can significantly improve patients' health literacy and treatment outcomes. However, sustaining these social benefits brought by OHCs establishes the prerequisite that physicians can continuously share their knowledge on OHCs. Although previous studies have explored physicians' knowledge-sharing in OHCs, scholarly knowledge related to the means of motivating physicians to continue sharing their knowledge remains limited. Therefore, this study developed a research model based on motivation theory to explore the influence of practical benefits, psychological rewards, and perceived connectedness with OHCs on physicians' continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors and the contingent role of physicians' online seniority status. The research model and relevant hypotheses were examined using objective data from one of the leading OHCs in China. The empirical results reveal that both practical benefits and psychological rewards positively affect physicians' continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors. However, an unexpected finding is that perceived connectedness is negatively associated with physicians' continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors. In addition, physicians' online seniority status strengthens the relationship between practical benefits and continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors but weaken the role of psychological rewards and perceived connectedness on continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors. This study contributes to the understanding of the motivational mechanisms underlying physicians' continuous knowledge-sharing behaviors in OHCs and provides significant practical implications for practitioners of OHCs.