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Seekers who visit professional virtual communities (PVCs) are usually motivated by knowledge-seeking, which is a complex cognitive process. How do seekers search for knowledge, and how is their search linked to prior knowledge or PVC situation factors? From the cognitive process and interactional psychology perspectives, this study investigated the three-way interactions between seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and perceptions of PVC features (i.e. knowledge quality and system quality) on knowledge-seeking strategies and resultant outcomes.

A field experiment was conducted with 119 seekers in a PVC using a 2 × 2 factorial design of seekers’ expertise (i.e. expert versus novice) and task complexity (i.e. low versus high).

The study reveals three significant insights: (1) For a high-complexity task, experts adopt an ask-directed searching strategy compared to novices, whereas novices adopt a browsing strategy; (2) For a high-complexity task, experts who perceive a high system quality are more likely than novices to adopt an ask-directed searching strategy; and (3) Task completion time and task quality are associated with the adoption of ask-directed searching strategies, whereas knowledge seekers’ satisfaction is more associated with the adoption of browsing strategy.

We draw on the perspectives of cognitive process and interactional psychology to explore potential two- and three-way interactions of seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and PVC features on the adoption of knowledge-seeking strategies in a PVC context. Our findings provide deep insights into seekers’ behavior in a PVC, given the popularity of the search for knowledge in PVCs.

The purpose of this paper is to solve the challenges in knowledge outcome (e.g. knowledge contribution, knowledge exploration) improvement at the post-adoption phase in the context of e-communities. This study develops a model by integrating dedication-constraint framework and self-presentation theory. The model proposes that knowledge outcomes at the post-adoption phase rely on relationship development between community members, conceptualized as commitment. The authors also hypothesize that members’ perceived online self-presentation quality, theorized as personal control and social influence, serves as the key means to motivate members’ commitment.

This study used survey instrument to collect data and adopted partial least squares to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results show that perceived online self-presentation quality positively affects relationship development, which in turn affects continuance intention for knowledge outcomes.

This study expands the dedication-constraint framework by integrating the self-presentation theory. This study contributes new knowledge by proposing a model that delineates the relationship between online self-presentation quality, relationship development, and knowledge outcomes at the post-adoption stage.

This study shows that members’ perceived online self-presentation quality affects both affective commitment and calculative commitment, which in turn affect knowledge outcomes, suggesting the important role of the perceived quality in stimulating a member’s post-adoption reactions.

This study contributes to the research on post-adoption behavior in an e-community context by accounting for the influence of e-community features in self-presentation quality and dedication-constraint mechanisms on post-adoption phenomena.

This paper aims to study knowledge sharing behavior in online brand community (OBC), considering the instantaneous change of consumers’ self-efficacy, knowledge and non-linear characteristic of sharing behavior. It also explores the influence of two external forces, namely, community growth and product innovation.

An objected model reflecting knowledge dynamics is developed to observe knowledge sharing performance in OBC, and then an agent-based simulation is used to run computational experiments on knowledge sharing difficulty, experience, product innovation and community growth to observe consumers’ knowledge sharing performance.

It is observed that the difficulty of successful knowledge sharing is indeed related to knowledge sharing performance. In addition, direct experience can enhance consumers’ self-efficacy that further urges consumer to share knowledge. Although product innovation causes a sudden decrease in knowledge sharing performance, it also arouses consumers’ desire for new knowledge which benefits consumers’ knowledge sharing. However, the disruption caused by product innovation eventually outweighs its benefit. Finally, a growing community is found to be bad for sharing knowledge. The slower the OBC grows, the better the knowledge sharing performs.

This study highlights the dynamic changes of knowledge sharing in OBC; particularly, the simulation model in this paper accounts for the direct and dynamic effects of several important factors on knowledge sharing performance amid interruption. The research results can provide decision support for firm managers.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to understand state-of-art research related to learning preferences from the aspects of impacts, influential factors and evaluation methods.

This paper uses the systematic synthesis method to provide state-of-the-art knowledge on learning preference research by summarizing published studies in major databases and attempting to aggregate and reconcile the scientific results from the individual studies. The findings summarize aggregated research efforts and improve the quality of future research.

After analyzing existing literature, this study proposed three possible research directions in the future. First, researchers might focus on how to use the real-time tracking mechanism to further understand other impacts of learning preferences within the learning environments. Second, existing studies mainly focused on the influence of singular factors on learning preferences. The joint effects of multiple factors should be an important topic for future research. Finally, integrated algorithms might become the most popular evaluation method of learning preference in the era of smart learning environments.

This review used the search results generated by Google Scholar and Web of Science databases. There might be published papers available in other databases that have not been taken into account.

The research summarizes the state-of-art research related to learning preferences. This paper is one of the first to discuss the development of learning preference research in smart learning environments.

Members' knowledge contribution behavior has positive significance for maintaining the activity of the knowledge community, as well as for improving knowledge interaction efficiency and member viscosity. With the development of the mobile Internet, knowledge communities based on social platforms have become more convenient and popular. This study aims to explore what and how factors influence members' knowledge contribution behavior in social knowledge communities from the perspective of social distance.

Based on the theory of reciprocity and on the theory of self-efficacy, hypotheses and research models are proposed. In the empirical study, WeChat learning group is selected as the research case. The empirical investigation (N = 244) collects research data through questionnaires.

I-intention and we-intention both have positive influence on members' knowledge contribution behavior. Knowledge self-efficacy positively moderates the influence of we-intention and affects knowledge contribution behavior. In addition, I-intention is positively affected by expected knowledge benefit, expected emotional benefit and expected image benefit, while costs have no effect. We-intention is positively influenced by affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment in relationship strength, as well as affiliation to the contributing climate.

This paper aims to discuss I-intention, we-intention, and their roles in members' knowledge contribution behavior. It is a beneficial development for existing research to combine the characteristics of new style communities with systematical analysis of knowledge contribution behavior. Findings may provide enlightenment to the social knowledge community on diversity development and differentiated marketing strategies.

Recent technological advances have led to the growing popularity of traffic-related social media platforms which facilitate drivers to easily share, consume and exchange traffic information instead of the traditional ways using TV or radio. By integrating the information systems success model, social capital theory and dedication-based commitment mechanism, the purpose of this paper is to examine the varying degree of effectiveness in maintaining user’s continuance intention between two different social media platforms for traffic information.

The data were collected through online questionnaires from two platforms. One is a multi-channel traffic information community that has been specialized in traffic information for many years and has adopted several kinds of social media to engage with its audience. The other is a community-based traffic application created to help people exchange and contribute traffic information with real-time navigation.

The findings show that the effects of satisfaction and affective commitment on continuance intention are stronger in the community-based traffic application while their antecedents play different roles in shaping satisfaction and affective commitment due to the nature and characteristics of these two groups.

This study will be the first attempt to understand what matters to users and what can retain users to routinely use a specific traffic-related social media platform in their daily lives. This is also one of the first empirical studies that examine both transactional and relational points of view on users’ continuance intention.

Facilitating members' continual participation in a community is crucial for ensuring the community's long-term survival. However, knowledge regarding whether member similarity is related to member participation and the mechanism underlying this relationship is limited. Drawing on similarity–attraction, social exchange and social identity theories, this study explored the influences of different facets of similarity (i.e. value, personality and goal similarity) on group norm conformity, group identity and social participation.

Data were collected from 444 Taiwanese members of social networking sites (SNSs), and structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The results revealed that value similarity directly affected group norm conformity but did not directly affect group identity; personality similarity influenced group identity but not group norm conformity. Goal similarity had positive influences on group norm conformity and group identity. Moreover, group norm conformity had direct and positive influences on group identity and social participation; group identity also had a positive influence on social participation.

On the basis of the aforementioned findings, this study contributes to the understanding of factors facilitating SNS members' participation from the perspective of similarity. These findings can serve as a reference for SNS administrators to facilitate social participation by emphasizing member similarity.

Ongoing advancements in technology provide the opportunity to build and to improve successful virtual teams. Organizational leaders are facing a dynamic and competitive environment that requires levels of flexibility and fast responses to the global marketplace. The virtual team structure is built on communication that is impacted by the ability of the team members to engage with integrated collaborative technology. Advances in technology enable team members of virtual teams to communicate crucial information and to be perceived as inclusive. Communication technologies have characteristics and capabilities that allow for different levels of communication richness, which refers to the quantity and quality of the shared information provided by the technology. There are two broad categories of collaboration technology: communication-focused technology and coordination-focused technology. Communication-focused technologies are considered key contributors to building trust in virtual teams. Coordination-focused technology refers to a complementary set of tools that can be leveraged to enhance trust and coordination among team members. Advances in technology that are discussed: real-time communications protocols enhances video calls through any type of device including wearable technology; Internet of Things making it easier and more natural for people to interact with the objects to stay connected; higher video resolution continues to improve in terms of price, quality, and performance, which will increase the number and type of devices for communication.

Despite skepticism, consumers rely on online reviews for their purchase decisions. However, academics mostly argue that skepticism has an inverse relationship with consumer decision-making. This study aims to investigate the relationship among skepticism, reliance and consumer purchase decisions in an online review context. It also investigates the moderating role of review self-efficacy and regulatory focus in the relationship between skepticism and reliance on online reviews.

A survey with a nationally representative sample and two experimental studies are conducted.

Skepticism negatively affects consumers’ reliance on online reviews and reliance on online reviews mediates the relationship between skepticism and review-based purchase decisions. High review self-efficacy participants tend to rely more on online reviews than low review self-efficacy participants. Promotion-focused people rely more on online reviews than prevention-focused people, despite similar levels of skepticism.

The findings contribute to the skepticism, self-efficacy and regulatory focus literature. The general framework of the relationship among skepticism, reliance and purchase decision is also applicable in an online review context.

The results provide evidence of a stronger reliance on online reviews of high review self-efficacy and promotion-oriented consumers compared to low review self-efficacy and prevention-oriented consumers.

Ministry of Health, Whitehall, S.W. 1. 12th June, 1924. SIR, I am directed by the Minister of Health to state that on consideration of communications received through the Foreign Office from the Government of the Latvian Republic, he has decided to recognise as an Official Certificate for the purposes of the Public Health (Foreign Meat) Regulations a label and mark issued by the Government of that country. He has accordingly caused to be published in the London Gazette of the 30th May, 1924, a Notice containing in the schedule a description of the label and mark which is declared to be admissible as an “Official Certificate” in respect of pork and other edible portions of the pig, which have been subjected to inspection in the Latvian Republic.