Knowledge sharing in online health communities: A social exchange theory perspective

Online health communities (OHC) are becoming valuable platforms for patients to communicate and find support. These communities are different from general online communities. The knowledge shared in an OHC can be categorized as either general (public) or specific (private), and each category is shared in vastly different ways. Using the social exchange theory, we propose a benefit vs. cost knowledge sharing model for OHCs. The benefits are mainly based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the cost includes cognitive and executional costs. We use this benefit vs. cost model to examine how OHC members share general and specific knowledge. Data were collected from 323 users of two well-known OHCs in China and were analyzed using the structural equation model. The results demonstrate that three factors positively impact the sharing of both general and specific knowledge: a sense of self-worth, members’ perceived social support, and reputation enhancement. Another factor, face concern, has a negative influence on specific knowledge sharing and a positive influence on general knowledge sharing. Executional cost only negatively impacts general knowledge sharing, and cognitive cost only negatively impacts specific knowledge sharing. This study of OHCs reveals that personal benefits promote knowledge sharing and costs prohibit it. These impacts vary between general knowledge and specific knowledge sharing.