How innovation types affect users' continuous knowledge sharing intention: a self-determination perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-12-2021-0386 |
| Published date | 22 August 2022 |
| Date | 22 August 2022 |
| Pages | 297-317 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management |
| Author | Chunfeng Chen,Depeng Zhang |
How innovation types affect users’
continuous knowledge
sharing intention:
a self-determination perspective
Chunfeng Chen and Depeng Zhang
School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –This research aims to investigate the effects of innovation types (exploratory innovation vs.
exploitativeinnovation) on users’psychologicalperceptions (perceived self-improvement and prosocial impact)
and continuous knowledge sharing intention and the moderating effects of monetary incentives.
Design/methodology/approach –The research model was developed based on the self-determination
theory. A two-study approach involving an online survey (n5338) and an online experiment (n5160) was
employed to collect quantitative data. Structural equation modeling and variance analysis were adapted to
analyze the data.
Findings –The results show that exploratory innovation leads to higher perceived self-improvement among
users than exploitative innovation, whereas exploitative innovation leads to higher perceived prosocial impact
than exploratory innovation. The perceived self-improvement and perceived prosocial impact positively affects
users’continuous knowledge sharing intention. Monetary incentives moderate the relationships among
perceived self-improvement, perceived prosocial impact and continuous knowledge sharing intention.
Originality/value –This research highlights the role of users’experience of initial participation in forming
continuous knowledge sharing intentions and also reveals the effectiveness of monetary incentives in different
types of innovation activities. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of
users’continuous knowledge sharing behavior, offering new insights and recommendations for managerial
practitioners.
Keywords Innovation types, Perceived self-improvement, Perceived prosocial impact, Monetary incentives,
Continuous knowledge sharing intention
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
To improve the competitiveness of products, an increasing number of companies are inviting
their users to participate in innovation activities and share knowledge in online user
innovation communities. They are firm-sponsored communities where users share content
about the company’s products, services and processes through online platforms (Liu et al.,
2020;Ogink and Dong, 2019). Prominent examples include Huawei’s HuaFen Club, Dell’s
IdeaStorm and Starbucks’MyStarbucksIdea (Liu et al., 2020). Online innovation activities
refer to a participative online activity in which a company proposes the voluntary
undertaking of tasks (such as developing new products and services) to users in online user
innovation communities (Ogink and Dong, 2019;Pacauskas et al., 2018). Emerging social
media platforms allow users to interact online and share content conveniently, leading to new
opportunities for online innovation activities (Chatterjee and Nguyen, 2021;Ooms et al., 2015).
The benefits of user participation in innovation activities have been proven in the
marketplace by providing solutions for products and services (Kang, 2019;Ma et al., 2019).
The existence of online user innovation communities depends on initial participation, but
The effects of
innovation
types
297
The authors appreciate the valuable suggestions from peer reviewers. This work was supported by
National Natural Science Foundation of China (71972055; 71672044).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2050-3806.htm
Received 23 December 2021
Revised 8 April 2022
22 June 2022
Accepted 3 July 2022
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 75 No. 2, 2023
pp. 297-317
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-12-2021-0386
their success relies heavily on continuous participation (Wu et al., 2019). To improve the
efficiency of user participation and reduce the cost of user education, companies are
increasingly focusing on the users’continuous knowledge sharing behavior (Zhang et al.,
2013). Therefore, promoting this behavior among users has become an important concern for
companies and scholars (Kuem et al., 2020).
Previous research has investigated the antecedents of users’continuous knowledge
sharing behavior based on community characteristics (e.g. system quality, service quality)
(Lee and Kim, 2017;Zhou, 2018) and users’cognitions or attitudes (e.g. self-efficacy,
satisfaction) (Kang, 2019;Kuem et al., 2020;Pang et al., 2020). However, limited attention has
been paid to the influence of users’initial participation in innovation activities. It has been
noted that users derive different psychological satisfactions (including emotion-related and
competence-related) from sharing knowledge (Hsieh et al., 2022;Lai and Yang, 2014;Lin et al.,
2009). These psychological satisfactions could lead to different intentions for the continuous
sharing of knowledge. Previous research has not explored the psychological perceptions of
users after initial participation in innovation activities. Therefore, a “black box”exists in the
process of initial participation and the generation of continuous knowledge sharing intention.
Additionally, the characteristics of innovation activities that users engage in, such as
difficulty and complexity, have an impact on the company and users (Enkel et al., 2017;
Liu et al., 2015). It has been pointed out that, companies’innovation activities can be divided
into exploratory innovati on and exploitative innovation (March, 1991). Explor atory
innovations are new technologies, products or services that can potentially render existing
ones obsolete or noncompetitive. Exploitative innovations manifest as improvements on
existing products and services or efficiency enhancements in existing distribution channels
(Enkel et al., 2017;Hernandez-Espallardo et al., 2011;Jansen et al., 2006). Different types of
innovation activities (exploratory innovation vs. exploitative innovation) have different
demands (e.g. expertise, effort) from users and also have different impacts on them (Benner
and Tushman, 2003;Roberts and Dinger, 2018;Zhang et al., 2022). It remains to be explored
how user participation in different types of innovation activities leads to different
psychological perceptions and continuous knowledge sharing intention.
In practice, to encourage know ledge sharing among users in online innovation
communities, companies may offer monetary incentives to users, but the effectiveness of
such strategies is controversial (Kuang et al., 2019;Nguyen and Prentice, 2020;Sun et al.,
2017). For instance, Kuang et al. (2019) found that companies offering financial incentives to
users could significantly increase user engagement, whereas Sun et al. (2017) found that
offering financial incentives reduced content contribution across online communities
significantly. Examining the different effects of monetary incentives in relation to the
different types of innovation activities may provide a more comprehensive understanding of
the effectiveness of strategies pertaining to monetary incentives.
Overall, this research investigates the effects of innovation types (exploratory innovation
vs. exploitative innovation) in online user innovation communities on users’perceptions and
continuous knowledge sharing intention and the moderating effects of monetary incentives.
This research attempts to answer the following questions:
RQ1. What are the different psychological perceptions developed by users after
participating in different types of innovation activities?
RQ2. How do these psychological perceptions affect continuous knowledge sharing
intention in users?
RQ3. Do monetary incentives moderate the relationship between users’psychological
perceptions and continuous knowledge sharing intention?
AJIM
75,2
298
To continue reading
Request your trial