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From attraction to monetization: How do knowledge influencers trigger users’ willingness to subscribe to knowledge products?

Xiaoyu Chen (School of Cultural Heritage and Information Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China) (Information Research Center, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China)
Alton Y.K. Chua (Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore)

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 15 November 2024

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the phenomenon of “knowledge influencers,” individuals who convey expert information to non-expert audiences and attract users to subscribe to their self-created knowledge products. It seeks to address two research questions: (1) What are the antecedents that promote perceived attractiveness of knowledge influencers? and (2) How does perceived attractiveness of knowledge influencers affect users’ willingness to subscribe to knowledge products?

Design/methodology/approach

Guided by self-branding theory, which suggests that individuals strategically shape user perceptions and interactions to create an appealing image, the study employed a sequential mixed-methods approach. Qualitative interviews were conducted with knowledge influencers and their subscribers, followed by a quantitative survey of users with knowledge subscription experience to validate the findings.

Findings

Results suggested that knowledge influencers could enhance their attractiveness to users by promoting perceived professionalism, perceived familiarity, and perceived connectedness. Perceived attractiveness of knowledge influencers could directly affect users’ willingness to subscribe or indirectly through the role of users’ attachment to knowledge influencers.

Practical implications

By understanding the factors driving users’ subscription intentions, platform operators and influencers can refine their strategies to enhance user attachment and optimize monetization opportunities through personalized interactions and tailored content offerings.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by elucidating the relationship between perceived attractiveness and users’ subscription intentions, offering new insights into the dynamics of online knowledge consumption.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the comments and suggestions from the editors and review team. An earlier version of this paper entitled “Exploring the perceived attractiveness of online celebrities who sell knowledge: A self-branding perspective” authored by Xiaoyu Chen and Alton Y.K. Chua has been published at the Proceedings of the 84th Annual Meeting of Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2021). This study has also benefited from oral presentations at webinars held by Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Haifa. The first author would like to thank Prof. Daphne Raban for her comments and edits on the initial manuscript. All opinions and errors are ours.

Declaration of competing interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Funding: The first author acknowledges the financial support from the Shanghai Pujiang Program (grant number: 23PJC047). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or manuscript preparation.

Citation

Chen, X. and Chua, A.Y.K. (2024), "From attraction to monetization: How do knowledge influencers trigger users’ willingness to subscribe to knowledge products?", Internet Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-07-2023-0595

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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