Exploring askers’ switching from free to paid social Q&A services: A perspective on the push-pull-mooring framework

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that prompt askers to switch from free to paid social question-and-answer (SQA) services. Prior studies have investigated users’ motivations and participation in free and paid SQA services; however, little attention has been paid to askers’ switching behavior. We empirically analyzed the content of qualitative interviews from 64 askers on a well-known SQA platform in China. Based on the push-pull-mooring framework, we identified and classified factors that influenced askers’ to switch from free to paid Q&A services, using the critical incident technique, after which we calculated the entropy weights of the 16 subcategories before and after the switch, using the entropy weight method. The findings suggest that askers’ switching behavior was influenced by push factors (i.e., dissatisfaction with the free SQA service), pull factors (i.e., satisfaction with the paid SQA service), and mooring factors (i.e., social factors, personal factors, situational factors). Moreover, the findings show that the effects of these factors vary significantly before and after a switch. Dissatisfaction with the quality of information from the free SQA service would influence users before a switch, whereas satisfaction with the quality of information from the paid SQA service would influence them after a switch. In terms of mooring factors, the effects of social and personal factors on askers’ switching behavior, especially subjective norms and cognitive lock-in, turn out to be less significant after a switch, whereas the effect of trust is more significant. Besides, the effects of situational factors are more or less the same before and after a switch. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is one of the first attempts to explore factors that affect askers’ switching behavior and to shed light on the managerial strategies of paid SQA services.     

Research agenda for social and collaborative information seeking

Scholars in diverse fields of inquiry have identified the need to expand individual-based information seeking and behavior models and systems to incorporate social as well as collaborative dimensions. However, the research areas of Social Information Seeking (SIS) and Collaborative Information Seeking (CIS) have been largely disconnected from one another despite a few notable attempts to study them under one umbrella. Researchers in these communities have recently realized the value of bringing SIS and CIS together for two main reasons: often it is impossible to separate social and collaborative dimensions in a project; and by considering these two aspects of information seeking, we may be able to support human information behavior in ways not previously possible. A brief synthesis of work in the domains of SIS and CIS is presented here. Then, an integrated view is presented to consider Social and Collaborative Information Seeking (SCIS) as an intersection and extension of SIS and CIS. Benefits of this approach are discussed and the integrated view is used as the basis to present a research agenda that outlines opportunities and challenges unique to SCIS.     

General Media,Minorities, and Research

Ronald G. Hick A Survey of Mass Communication (Gretna, La.: Pelican Publishing Co., 1977—$7.95, paper)

Everette E. Dennis The Media Society: Evidence About Mass Communication in America (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1978—$6.95, paper)

Leslie J. Friedman Sex Role Stereotyping in the Mass Media: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Garland Publishing, 1977—$25.00)

Maurine Beasley and Sheila Silver Women in Media: A Documentary Source Book (Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, 3306 Ross Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008—$5.95, paper)

Preben Sepstrup Consumption of Mass Communication: Construction of a Model on Information Consumption Behavior (Handelsvidenskabelig Boghandel, Fuglesangsalle 4, DK-8210 Aarhus V, Denmark—D. kr . 12, paper)

J. Michael Crabtree and Kenneth E. Moyer Bibliography of Aggresive Behavior: A Reader's Guide to the Research Literature (Alan R. Liss, Inc., 150 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10011—$35.00).

Marcia Guttentag and Shalom Saar, Evaluation Studies Review Annual, Volume 2: 1977 (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1977—$29.95)

Paul C. Cozby Methods in Behavioral Research (Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing, 1977—$6.95, paper)     

International Communication

THE VOICE OF AMERICA: PROPAGANDA AND DEMOCRACY, 1941-1945 by Holly Cowan Shulman (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990—$37.50/12.95, ISBN 0-299-12620-X hard, 0-299-12624-2 paper, 282 pp.)

BERLIN CALLING: AMERICAN BROADCASTERS IN SERVICE TO THE THIRD REICH by John Carver Edwards (New York: Praeger, 1991—$21.95, ISBN 0-275-93905-7, 238 pp.)

BROADCAST DIVERSITY IN EASTERN EUROPE: CHALLENGES FOR THE 1990s (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006—$48.00, paper, no ISBN given, 321 pp.—postage is extra: $3 in US and Canada, $10 to Europe and $13 to USSR and Asia; Latin America and African postage rates not listed!)

LEGAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS edited by Sylvie Schaff (Amsterdam: North-Holland, available in USA from Elsevier Science Publishers in New York, 1990—$128.25, ISBN 0-444-88387-8, 775 pp)

SATELLITE TELEVISION IN WESTERN EUROPE by Richard Collins (London: John Libbey, 1990—$29.00, ISBN 0-86196-203-6, 121 pp.)

TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF TELEVISION IN WESTERN EUROPE by Preben Sepstrup (London: John Libbey, 1990—$35.00, ISBN 0-86196-280-X, 132 pp.)

1991 WORLD SATELLITE ANNUAL edited by Mark Long (MLE Inc. PO Box 159, Winter Beach, FL 32971—$49.95, paper, plus varied shipping charges: $7 in US or Canada; $20 to Latin America and $25 to Far East (no charges listed for Europe or Africa!)

THE INVISIBLE WEAPON: TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 1851-1945 by Daniel R. Headrick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991—$32.50, ISBN 0-19-506273-6, 289 pp.)

DOPAA MEAJA HANABOOK, 1990 EDITION (Paris: Unesco/available in U.S. from Unipub, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Landham, MD 20706-4391—$38.00, paper, order No. DPI/1021, 300 pp.)

TRANSNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS: WIRING THE THIRD WORLD edited by Gerald Sussman and John A. Lent (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1991—$39.95/18.95, ISBN 0-8039-3765-2 hard, 0-8039-3766-0 paper, 327 pp.)

SUPERTECH: HOW AMERICA CAN WIN THE TECHNOLOGY RACE by Thomas G. Donlan (Homestead, IL: Business One Irwin, 1991—$24.95, ISBN 1-55623-371-X, 342 pp.)

MASS MEDIA AND AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY: INSIDER PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL JOURNALISM AND THE FOREIGN POLICY PROCESS by Patrick O'Heffernan (Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1991—$45.00/24.50, ISBN 0-89391- 728-1 hard, 0-89391-729-X paper, 276 pp.)

NEW STRUCTURES AND STRATEGIES FOR UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING by Kim Andrew Elliott (Medford, MA: Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy, Tufts University, 1991—$6.00, paper, no ISSN given, 40 pp.)

FACTS AT A GLANCE: INTERNATIONAL CABLE (National Cable Television Association, 1724 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036—free on request, paper, no ISSN given, 27 pp.)

TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO WORLD RADIO 1991 EDITION (New York: Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill, 1990—$9.95, paper, ISBN 0-8230- 7766-7, 178 pp.)

WORLD RADIO-TV HANDBOOK edited by Andrew G. Sennitt (New York: Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill, 1990—$19.95, paper, ISSN or ISBN not given, but this is Vol 45 of the annual, 575 pp.)

WORLD MEDIA, Gannett Center Journal (Fall 1990, Vol 4, No. 4—$5.00, paper, ISSN 0893-8342, 149 pp.)

THE AGE OF BEHEMOTHS: THE GLOBALIZATION OF MASS MEDIA FIRMS by Anthony Smith (New York: Priority Press, with distribution by the Brookings Institution, Washington, DC—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-87078-325-4, 83 pp.)