Reputation, User Feedback, and Perceived Information Quality in Social Internet Media: An Empirical Study

As the internet evolved into a more collaborative and interactive environment in which users both produce and consume content, related changes have occurred in terms of the factors affecting perceived information quality (PIQ). Two factors have emerged as being highly important in social internet media (SIM): community feedback and individual user reputation. This paper reports on a quantitative empirical study exploring the impact of reputation and user feedback on perceived information quality in SIM contexts. The paper presents a theoretical model derived from the literature, and the results of regression analysis of data gathered from a web-based knowledge sharing community. The findings support several prior studies but challenge others, and provide stimulus for fruitful avenues of further research. The study makes several contributions, including a refined conceptualization of PIQ and feedback and an improved understanding of the relationships between feedback, reputation, and PIQ.

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