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User adoption of physician's replies in an online health community: An empirical study
Author(s) -
Zhang Yanli,
Li Xinmiao,
Fan Weiguo
Publication year - 2020
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.24319
Subject(s) - credibility , relevance (law) , empirical research , affect (linguistics) , psychology , source credibility , argument (complex analysis) , objectivity (philosophy) , knowledge management , computer science , medicine , philosophy , communication , epistemology , political science , law
Online health question‐and‐answer consultation with physicians is becoming a common phenomenon. However, it is unclear how users identify the most satisfying reply. Based on the dual‐process theory of knowledge adoption, we developed a conceptual model and empirical method to study which factors influence adoption of a reply. We extracted 6 variables for argument quality (Ease of understanding, Relevance, Completeness, Objectivity, Timeliness, Structure) and 4 for source credibility (Physician's online experience, Physician's offline expertise, Hospital location, Hospital level). The empirical results indicate that both central and peripheral routes affect user's adoption of a response. Physician's offline expertise negatively affects user's adoption decision, while physician's online experience positively affects it; this effect is positively moderated by user involvement.