Knowledge contribution behavior in online Q&A communities: An empirical investigation

As social networks and media technology combine, online Q&A communities are playing an important role in satisfying people’s knowledge exchange needs. However, the combination of social networks and media technology does not mean that an exchange of knowledge will occur. Users are the critical components of an online Q&A community, and their active participation is critical for its development. Thus, it is crucial to figure out factors impacting users’ motivation to participate in community activities, especially knowledge contribution. In this study, we focus on user behavior regarding knowledge contribution in social Q&A communities, and differentiate users’ initial participation behavior from continued participation behavior. We collect users’ activity data from a well-known Chinese social Q&A community, and the results show that identity-based trust, feedback from previous knowledge contribution, opportunities of social exposure, word-of-mouth marketing, and pressure from norms of reciprocity have a positive impact on users’ continued knowledge contribution behavior. •Identity-base trust has a positive effect on user knowledge contribution behavior.•Social feedback and social exposure can promote knowledge contribution behavior.•Pressure from norms of reciprocity will motivate users to contribute more.•Self-presentation has a positive effect on user knowledge contribution behavior.•Self-presentation moderates some of the above relationships.