Knowledge sharing in a smoking cessation online community: a privacy calculus perspective

Abstract

<p>The paper presents a study design intended to disentangle the various components of social support and<br />privacy concerns related to knowledge-sharing in a smoking cessation online health community from a<br />privacy calculus perspective. In the research model, social support confers benefits of informational<br />support, emotional support, esteem support, and network support, all of which have a positive effect on<br />knowledge-sharing behaviour therein. The privacy concerns, articulated in terms of risks, entail threat<br />appraisals (perceived severity and perceived vulnerability) and coping appraisals (response efficacy<br />and self-efficacy). Threat appraisals negatively affect knowledge-sharing in the smoking cessation<br />OHC, whereas coping appraisals have a positive effect on the sharing. Under privacy calculus theory,<br />the risk–benefit analysis determines individual users’ knowledge-sharing behaviour in a smoking<br />cessation OHC. The individual user’s smoking cessation OHC usage experience and the stage of<br />smoking cessation are set as moderators in the proposed research model to explore user differences in<br />knowledge sharing behaviour in the smoking cessation OHC. This study may contribute to a<br />comprehensive understanding of the core antecedents to knowledge-sharing in smoking cessation<br />OHCs.<br /></p>