Prosocial Behaviors and Their Impact on E-Consultations: The Moderating Role of Online and Offline Doctor Reputation in an Online Healthcare Community (Preprint)

Abstract

Patients using online healthcare communities (OHCs) for e-consultation services have the option to choose their service providers from an extensive online market. To stand out in this crowded field, doctors in OHCs often engage in prosocial behaviors, such as proactive and reactive actions, to attract more users. However, the effect of these behaviors on the volume of e-consultations remains unclear and warrants further exploration.

This study investigates the impact of various prosocial behaviors on doctors’ e-consultation volume in OHCs and the moderating effects of doctors’ online and offline reputation.

A panel dataset containing information on 2,880 doctors over a 22-month period was obtained from one of the largest OHCs in China. Data analysis was conducted using a two-way fixed effects model with robust clustered standard errors. A series of robustness checks were also performed, including alternative measurements of independent variables and estimation methods.

Results indicated that both types of doctors’ prosocial behaviors, namely proactive and reactive actions, positively impact their e-consultation volume. In terms of the moderating effects of external reputation, doctors’ offline professional titles were found to negatively moderate the relationship between their proactive behaviors and their e-consultation volume. However, these titles did not significantly affect the relationship between doctors’ reactive behaviors and their e-consultation volume. Additionally, doctors’ online recommendations from patients negatively moderated both the relationship between doctors’ proactive behaviors and e-consultation volume and the relationship between doctors’ reactive behaviors and e-consultation volume.

Drawing upon Functional Motives Theory and Social Exchange Theory, this study categorizes doctors’ prosocial behaviors into proactive and reactive actions. It provides empirical evidence that prosocial behaviors can lead to an increase in e-consultation volume. This study also illuminates the moderating roles doctors’ online and offline reputations play in the relationships between prosocial behaviors and e-consultation volume.