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The role of social capital in selecting interpersonal information sources
Author(s) -
Zimmer J. Christopher,
Henry Raymond M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.23577
Subject(s) - transactive memory , interpersonal communication , information source (mathematics) , social capital , psychology , quality (philosophy) , information quality , interpersonal perception , interpersonal relationship , perception , cognition , social psychology , computer science , information system , sociology , cognitive psychology , social perception , political science , social science , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , epistemology , neuroscience , law
Although the information‐seeking literature has tended to focus upon the selection and use of inanimate objects as information sources, this research follows the more recent trend of investigating how individuals evaluate and use interpersonal information sources. By drawing from the structural, relational, and cognitive elements of social capital theory to inform antecedents to information quality and source accessibility, a research model is developed and tested. For interpersonal information sources, information quality is the key determinant of source use. Perceptions of information quality and accessibility of an interpersonal source are shown to be influenced by boundary spanning, transactive memory, and content type. Implications and prescriptions for future research are discussed.