Cognitive absorption and behavioural intentions in virtual health communities. A focus on content posters

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-06-2017-0044
Pages122-145
Published date11 March 2019
Date11 March 2019
AuthorMercy Mpinganjira
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information systems,Information & communications technology
Cognitive absorption and
behavioural intentions in virtual
health communities
A focus on content posters
Mercy Mpinganjira
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to providea conceptual model that elucidates the role of cognitiveabsorption in
explainingbehavioural intentions in virtual health communities.
Design/methodology/approach Data were collectedfrom 361 contributing members of virtual health
communities from Gauteng, South Africa, using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling
using AMOSsoftware was used to analyse the data.
Findings The ndings show that cognitive absorption has a signicant direct positive inuence on
content postersintentions to continue participating on virtual health community platforms. Cognitive
absorption was also found to have an indirect inuence on behavioural intentions through its inuence on
membersattitude. It was also found to play a mediating role in the inuence of perceived usefulness and
behaviouralintention.
Research limitations/implications The study shows the value of linking ow theory and the
technology acceptancemodel to provide a comprehensive understanding of behavioural intentionsin virtual
health communityforums.
Practical implications Managers of virtual health communitiesneed to pay attention to experiential
aspects of their sites. Success in ensuringthat community members are cognitively absorbed is key to the
developmentof positive attitude and intentions towardsvirtual health community forums.
Originality/value Virtual health communities play a new and growing role in the way health-related
informationand support is offered and accessed by those in need. Despite their importance,not much research
has been done to explain therole of consumer experience in member behavioural intentionson such forums.
The study contributes to thisunderstanding by demonstrating the value of cognitive absorption in directly
explaining usersattitude and behavioural intentions. The study also sheds light on the role played by
cognitiveabsorption in explaining the inuence of perceived usefulnesson behavioural intentions.
Keywords Attitude, Cognitive absorption, Perceived usefulness, Behavioural intentions,
Flow theory, Virtual health community
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The use of the internet for collaboration through virtual communities has signicantly
transformed the way in which consumers engage with one another and with service
providers (Chang et al.,2014;Ho, 2015). Demiris (2006: 179) dened a virtualcommunity as
a social unit that involvesmembers who relate to one another as a group and interact using
communication technologiesthat bridge geographic distance. Among the sectors that have
experienced a growing use of virtualcommunities by consumers is the health sector (Zhang
et al., 2014;Laing et al.,2011). Health-related virtual communities provide platforms for
individuals to interact with one another, sharing information and experiences relating to
JSIT
21,1
122
Received16 June 2017
Revised18 February 2018
13July 2018
27September 2018
Accepted15 October 2018
Journalof Systems and
InformationTechnology
Vol.21 No. 1, 2019
pp. 122-145
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/JSIT-06-2017-0044
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1328-7265.htm
health conditions, including treatment regimes. Such communities commonly develop
around focal health conditions such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes
and depression. Irrespective of the focal condition, health-related virtual communities
provide current and past patients, carers and other interested parties with opportunities to
share and access information that is helpful in improving the quality of life. They serve as
outlets of emotional supportand health education, thereby enabling more informed decision-
making to take place (Flickinger et al.,2017;Zhang et al., 2017). Laing et al. (2011) pointout
that online health communities addressthe cognitive shortcomings that patients and carers
often experience when using specialist technical information coming only from health
professionals. This is because information sharers mostly include lay people using lay
personslanguage.
The establishment of health-relatedvirtual communities can be initiated by lay people or
by health service providers such as doctors who want to establish a support group for
patients. Irrespective of who initiates and establishes it, the success of any virtual
community largely depends on its ability to attract and retain members who are not only
there to read other peoples postings but also to contribute to discussions by sharing their
knowledge and experiences and by responding to other peoples posts (Lai and Chen, 2014;
Stockdale, 2008). This ability to attract and retain members is especially important, given
that participation in virtual communities is voluntary. However, researchers such as Hung
et al. (2015) and Ma and Agarwal (2007) commonly note the fact that many virtual
communities nd it difcult to attract signicant numbers of active members who
contribute to discussions. Ridings et al. (2006) observed that of the two categories of virtual
community members lurkersand posters lurkers form the larger percentage of members
in most communities. Unlike posters,lurkers are members of a virtual community who like
reading other peoples postings, but do not share their knowledge (Lai and Chen, 2014).
Posters are membersthat contribute to virtual communities by sharing content.
Establishing and managing virtual communities represents a substantial investment of
time and effort whose value can only be realisedwhen sites are used by intended users in a
way that contributes to the objectives of establishing them. Given the importance of active
membership for the success of virtual communities, there is a heightened need for
knowledge about the factors that contribute to attracting and retaining such members in
virtual communities (Chang et al.,2014;Choraria, 2012). This paper aims to contribute to
this knowledge.
As virtual health communities are a new information technology platform, research in
this area stands to benet from theoriesthat have been developed and used in past research
to help understand usersattitudes and behavioural responses to various information
technologies. A review of the literature shows that most past studies emphasise the
importance of beliefs in understanding usersresponses. Many use the technology
acceptance model (TAM) to help explain both usersand non-usersbehavioural intentions
towards information technologies,including web-based systems. Islam (2016) and King and
He (2006) identify TAM as the most widely used and accepted theory among researchers
who are interested in behavioural intentionsrelating to information technologies. While this
may be so, Ahn et al. (2007) note that TAM does notprovide enough explanation to create an
understanding of web usersbehavioural motives. This can be attributed to the fact that
TAM takes a more technology-focusedapproach to explaining user behaviour. As the use of
information technologies intensies, and individuals become more technologically savvy,
factors stipulated in TAM, such as ease of use, are unlikely to inuence information
technology use decisions much. The need for studiesthat go beyond the technology-focused
approach in understanding information technology user behavioural intentions and actual
Cognitive
absorption
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