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Responding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It is asserted that APRD can mitigate or remove the hierarchical structures often inherent in the research process, thus allowing for equal contribution from all.

Building on the bonded design (BD) methodology and informed by a scoping literature review conducted by the same authors, APRD is a human-centered research approach with the goal of empowering and valuing community partnerships. APRD originates from research investigating the use of participatory design methods to foster collaboration between two potentially disparate groups, firstly with adult researchers/designers and elementary school children, and secondly with university faculty and IT professionals.

To achieve this goal, in addition to BD techniques, APRD draws inspiration from elements of indigenous and decolonization research methodologies, particularly those with an emphasis on destabilizing power hierarchies and involving research participants as full partners.

APRD, which emerged from findings from previous participatory design studies, especially those of BD, is based on the premise of partnership, recognizing that each member of a design team, whether researcher or participant/user, has unique expertise to contribute. By considering participants/users as full research partners, APRD aims to flatten the hierarchies exhibited in some LIS participatory research methodologies, where participants are treated more like research subjects than partners.

The primary purpose of this research is to conceptualise and validate the comprehensive framework for effectively measuring and managing employee-based brand equity (EBBE) benefits. The study endeavours to integrate professional and socio-emotional facets of employees' into the proposed model, lending it a more holistic approach.

The study focusses on the banking sector in Kosovo, employing structural equation modelling to analyse data from a sample of 325 employees.

Both professional and socio-emotional perspectives significantly influenced brand knowledge, positively impacting EBBE benefits such as employee satisfaction, retention and positive word of mouth (WOM). These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical assumptions concerning the role of professional and socio-emotional perspectives in building EBBE.

Theoretically, this research could bridge marketing and organisational behaviour theories by highlighting employees' role in building brand equity. Moreover, it might expand the social identity theory within an organisational context, emphasising employees' identification with the brand as a crucial element.

The study offers practical implications for the banking industry and similar contexts, suggesting robust internal marketing strategies prioritising professional development and socio-emotional connectivity. Theoretically, this research could bridge marketing and organisational behaviour theories by highlighting employees' role in building brand equity. Moreover, it might expand the social identity theory within an organisational context, emphasising employees' identification with the brand as a crucial element.

The paper presents an original contribution to the field of brand equity research by proposing and validating a novel framework for EBBE that uniquely integrates both professional and socio-emotional dimensions of employees' experiences. This approach is particularly innovative within the context of the banking sector, offering new empirical insights.

Based on the social interaction theory and trust theory, this study investigates the switching of users on social question and answer (Q&A) platforms from knowledge seekers to knowledge contributors.

We used Python to gather data from Zhihu, performed hypothesis testing on the models using Poisson regression and finally conducted a mediation effect analysis.

The findings reveal that knowledge seeking impacts users' motivation for information interaction, emotional interaction and trust. Notably, information interaction and trust exhibit a chained mediation effect that subsequently influences knowledge contribution.

Current studies on user knowledge behavior typically examine individual actions, rarely connecting knowledge seeking and knowledge contribution. However, the balance of knowledge inflow and outflow is crucial for social Q&A platforms. To cover this gap, this paper empirically investigates the switching between knowledge seeking and knowledge contribution based on the social interaction theory and trust theory.