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The influence of social capital on knowledge creation in online health communities

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Abstract

This study investigates how social capital influences knowledge creation in online health communities (OHCs), based on social capital theory. The study proposes that three social capital dimensions, namely trust, shared language, and network density, affect OHC members’ externalization and combination of knowledge creation, and that these in turn lead to membership continuance intention (MCI). Trust also directly contributes to MCI in the model. Three hundred fifty-three members from eight existing US based OHCs participated in surveys. The results provide overall support for the proposed model. Among the three dimensions of social capital, network density plays a critical role in developing both externalization and combination of knowledge creation. Externalization of knowledge in turn affects members’ MCI. Supplemental analysis shows that trust and shared language influence OHC members’ knowledge creation indirectly via network density.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China (71302095, 71232008, 71272226, and 71102177) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014T70743).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and Tourism Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Jing Zhao

  2. Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Sejin Ha

  3. Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Richard Widdows

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  1. Jing Zhao
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Correspondence to Jing Zhao.

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Zhao, J., Ha, S. & Widdows, R. The influence of social capital on knowledge creation in online health communities. Inf Technol Manag 17, 311–321 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-014-0211-3

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