Understanding Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities: An Integration of Expectancy Disconfirmation and Justice Theories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the motivations behind people's intentions to continue knowledge sharing (continuance intention) in open professional virtual communities.Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from 270 members of a professional virtual community provides partial support for the proposed model. LISREL 8.5 was used to analyse the measurement and structural models.Findings – The results show that playfulness is critical for the community members' satisfaction and continuance intention. However, only positive self‐worth disconfirmation, distributive justice, and interactional justice can influence the satisfaction of the community members.Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from a single open professional community; the generalisation of the model and findings to other virtual communities requires additional research. The findings imply that justice factors appear to be important in leading to higher satisfaction levels.Practical implications...

[1]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success: A Ten-Year Update , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[2]  Atreyi Kankanhalli,et al.  Contributing Knowledge to Electronic Knowledge Repositories: An Empirical Investigation , 2005, MIS Q..

[3]  Hsi-Peng Lu,et al.  Factors influencing online auction repurchase intention , 2008, Internet Res..

[4]  Szu-Yuan Sun,et al.  Usability, quality, value and e-learning continuance decisions , 2005, Comput. Educ..

[5]  David F. Larcker,et al.  Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error: Algebra and Statistics: , 1981 .

[6]  H. Kelley,et al.  The social psychology of groups , 1960 .

[7]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  Behavioral Intention Formation in Knowledge Sharing: Examining the Roles of Extrinsic Motivators, Social-Psychological Factors, and Organizational Climate , 2005, MIS Q..

[8]  J. E. Swan,et al.  Consumer perceptions of interpersonal equity and satisfaction in transactions: A field survey approach. , 1989 .

[9]  R. Folger,et al.  Effects of Procedural and Distributive Justice on Reactions to Pay Raise Decisions , 1989 .

[10]  J. Steenkamp,et al.  The Effects of Supplier Fairness on Vulnerable Resellers , 1995 .

[11]  P. Blau.  Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[12]  R. B. Woodruff,et al.  Expectations and norms in models of consumer satisfaction. , 1987 .

[13]  Richard A. Spreng,et al.  Modelling the relationship between perceived value, satisfaction and repurchase intentions in a business‐to‐business, services context: an empirical examination , 1997 .

[14]  Jagdip Singh,et al.  Antecedents and Consequences of Merit Pay Fairness for Industrial Salespeople , 2003 .

[15]  Fatemeh Zahedi,et al.  The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An Expectation and Disconfirmation Approach , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[16]  D. Rousseau,et al.  Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm , 1994 .

[17]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[18]  Carol T. Kulik,et al.  Individual and corporate dispute resolution: Using procedural fairness as a decision heuristic. , 1993 .

[19]  Chao-Min Chiu,et al.  A longitudinal investigation of continued online shopping behavior: An extension of the theory of planned behavior , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[20]  Abraham K. Korman,et al.  Toward an hypothesis of work behavior. , 1970 .

[21]  James G. Maxham,et al.  Modeling customer perceptions of complaint handling over time: the effects of perceived justice on satisfaction and intent , 2002 .

[22]  James Coleman,et al.  A Rational Choice Perspective in Economic Sociology , 2004 .

[23]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[24]  R. Oliver.  Cognitive, affective, and attribute bases of the satisfaction response. , 1993 .

[25]  Yi Zhang,et al.  Factors that Influence Online Relationship Development in a Knowledge Sharing Community , 2003, AMCIS.

[26]  Eric T. G. Wang,et al.  Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories , 2006, Decis. Support Syst..

[27]  R. Bies.  Interactional justice : communication criteria of fairness , 1986 .

[28]  J. Thibaut,et al.  Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis , 1976 .

[29]  J. E. Swan,et al.  Disconfirmation of expectations and satisfaction with a retail service. , 1981 .

[30]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks , 1998 .

[31]  Hans van der Heijden,et al.  User Acceptance of Hedonic Information Systems , 2004, MIS Q..

[32]  D. Cohen,et al.  Toward a Knowledge Context: Report on the First Annual U.C. Berkeley Forum on Knowledge and the Firm , 1998 .

[33]  Sumeet Gupta,et al.  Developing the Commitment to Virtual Community: The Balanced Effects of Cognition and Affect , 2007, Inf. Resour. Manag. J..

[34]  P. Kollock.  The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace , 1999 .

[35]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  Extending the TAM for a World-Wide-Web context , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[36]  Ingoo Han,et al.  Knowledge sharing behavior of physicians in hospitals , 2003, Expert Syst. Appl..

[37]  J. E. Swan,et al.  Equity and Disconfirmation Perceptions as Influences on Merchant and Product Satisfaction , 1989 .

[38]  Kai H. Lim,et al.  Understanding customer knowledge sharing in web-based discussion boards: An exploratory study , 2006, Internet Res..

[39]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[40]  J. S. Adams,et al.  Inequity In Social Exchange , 1965 .

[41]  G. Homans,et al.  Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms. , 1961 .

[42]  Won-Seok Yoo,et al.  Exploring the Factors Enhancing Member Participation in Virtual Communities , 2002, J. Glob. Inf. Manag..

[43]  Thompson S. H. Teo,et al.  The effects of perceived justice on satisfaction and behavioral intentions: the case of computer purchase , 2001 .

[44]  Eun-Ju Lee,et al.  The effects of utilitarian and hedonic online shopping value on consumer preference and intentions , 2006 .

[45]  Robert Folger,et al.  Organizational Justice and Human Resource Management , 1998 .

[46]  Szu-Yuan Sun,et al.  Understanding customers' loyalty intentions towards online shopping: an integration of technology acceptance model and fairness theory , 2009, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[47]  Anol Bhattacherjee,et al.  Understanding Information Systems Continuance: An Expectation-Confirmation Model , 2001, MIS Q..

[48]  T. Tyler,et al.  The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice , 1988 .

[49]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[50]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[51]  F. Herzberg,et al.  The motivation to work , 1960 .

[52]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage , 1998 .

[53]  Martin V. Covington,et al.  The Self-Worth Theory of Achievement Motivation: Findings and Implications , 1984, The Elementary School Journal.

[54]  B. Kogut,et al.  Exploring internal stickiness : Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm , 2007 .

[55]  Ritu Agarwal,et al.  Through a Glass Darkly: Information Technology Design, Identity Verification, and Knowledge Contribution in Online Communities , 2007, Inf. Syst. Res..

[56]  Tai-Kuei Yu,et al.  Exploring factors that influence knowledge sharing behavior via weblogs , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[57]  Robert H. Moorman,et al.  Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors : do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship ? , 1991 .

[58]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior , 1975, Perspectives in Social Psychology.

[59]  M. McLure Wasko,et al.  "It is what one does": why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice , 2000, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[60]  R. Westbrook.  Product/Consumption-Based Affective Responses and Postpurchase Processes , 1987 .

[61]  M. Rokeach.  The Nature Of Human Values , 1974 .

[62]  Kwok Kee Wei,et al.  What drives continued knowledge sharing? An investigation of knowledge-contribution and -seeking beliefs , 2009, Decis. Support Syst..

[63]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  A Social Influence Model of Consumer Participation in Network- and Small-Group-Based Virtual Communities , 2004 .

[64]  Xianggui Qu,et al.  Multivariate Data Analysis , 2007, Technometrics.

[65]  Samer Faraj,et al.  Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2005, MIS Q..

[66]  FarajSamer,et al.  Why should i share? examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practice , 2005 .

[67]  Stuart S. Nagel,et al.  Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis , 1976 .

[68]  R. Oliver.  A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions , 1980 .

[69]  Rik Pieters,et al.  Assimilation processes in service satisfaction formation , 1995 .

[70]  Marcel Creemers,et al.  Understanding online purchase intentions: contributions from technology and trust perspectives , 2003, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[71]  Kar Yan Tam,et al.  The Effects of Post-Adoption Beliefs on the Expectation-Confirmation Model for Information Technology Continuance , 2006, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[72]  J. Peiró,et al.  Justice Perceptions as Predictors of Customer Satisfaction: The Impact of Distributive, Procedural, and Interactional Justice1 , 2006 .

[73]  S. Kiesler,et al.  Community Effort in Online Groups: Who Does the Work and Why? , 2007 .

[74]  David Gefen,et al.  Some antecedents and effects of trust in virtual communities , 2002, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[75]  Ruth N. Bolton,et al.  A Model of Customer Satisfaction with Service Encounters Involving Failure and Recovery , 1999 .

[76]  Fanny M. Cheung,et al.  Going beyond self‐esteem to predict life satisfaction: The Chinese case , 2006 .