Reciprocal intention in knowledge seeking: Examining social exchange theory in an online professional community |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Information Management, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, 123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou, Yunlin 64002, Taiwan;2. College of Computing and Informatics, Providence University, 200, Sec. 7, Taiwan Boulevard, Shalu Dist, Taichung 43301, Taiwan;1. Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Hofstra University, 11501, USA;2. H. John Heinz III College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 15213, USA;1. IMT Atlantique, LEMNA, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, BP 20722, 44307 Nantes Cedex 3, France;2. University of Nantes, LEMNA, SKEMA Business School, Chemin de la Censive du Tertre, BP 52231, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3, France;3. University of South Florida, Muma College of Business, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, BSN 3403, Tampa, FL 33620, USA;1. AG Corporate Semantic Web, Institute of Computer Science, Free University of Berlin, Germany;2. Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis Campus, 1000 LaSalle Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403, USA;3. Montpellier Business School, Montpellier Research in Management, 2300 Avenue des Moulins, 34185 Montpellier, France;1. College of Science & Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China;2. Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan;3. Department of Information and Telecommunications Engineering, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, Taiwan;1. School of Management Science and Engineering, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, Liaoning, China;2. Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning, China;3. The Federation Business School, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Vic, Australia;4. Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Vic, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The free-rider problem in an online professional community could, over time, undermine the wealth of the community and deplete the knowledge inventory to unacceptable levels. A knowledge seeker’s intention to reciprocate is motivated by perceived social benefits. An interpretation of intention to reciprocate cannot be fully addressed without investigating how knowledge seekers define the community support received in their knowledge-seeking process. This study suggests that perceived community support is the degree to which knowledge seekers perceive a supportive climate created by linking actors. An empirical study involving 471 knowledge seekers was conducted in an online professional community that seekers used to search for and acquire programming knowledge. The results indicated that knowledge seekers take perceived social benefits and perceived community support into account when forming an intention to reciprocate. In addition, perceived community support positively moderated the effect of knowledge-seeking effort on perceived social benefits. These findings contribute to the existing literature on knowledge-seeking by using social exchange theory to integrate perceived community support and better explain the intention of knowledge seekers to reciprocate in an online professional community. Theoretical and practical implications derived from the findings are further discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Social exchange theory Knowledge seeking Reciprocity Perceived social benefits Perceived community support |
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