Examining users’ knowledge sharing behaviour in online health communities

The purpose of this paper is to draw on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework to examine users’ knowledge sharing in online health communities (OHC).

Based on the 326 valid responses collected from a survey, structural equation modelling was employed to examine the research model.

The results indicated that both information quality and service quality affect trust in community, whereas both informational support and emotional support affect trust in other members. Both types of trust and privacy risk determine users’ sharing intention, which in turn affects sharing behaviour.

The results imply that service providers need to improve their community platforms and create a supportive climate in order to facilitate users’ trust and their knowledge sharing behaviour.

Previous studies have examined a few determinants of OHC user behaviour such as privacy concern, trust and motivations. However, they have seldom disclosed the internal decision process underlying users’ knowledge sharing. This research tries to fill the gap.