Impacts of normative and hedonic motivations on continuous knowledge contribution in virtual community: the moderating effect of past contribution experience

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the effects of normative and hedonic motivations on continuous knowledge contribution, and how past contribution experience moderates the effects of the motivations on continuous knowledge contribution.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on goal-framing theory, the present study proposes a comprehensive theoretical model by integrating normative and hedonic motivations, past contribution experience and continuous knowledge contribution. The data for virtual community members' activities were collected using the Python Scrapy crawler. Logit regression was used to validate the integrative model.

Findings

The results show that both normative motivation (reflected by generalized reciprocity and social learning) and hedonic motivation (reflected by peer recognition and online attractiveness) are positively associated with continuous knowledge contribution. Moreover, these effects are found to be significantly influenced by members' past knowledge contribution experience. Specifically, the results suggest that past knowledge contribution experience undermines the influence of generalized reciprocity on continuous knowledge contribution but strengthens the effect of peer recognition and online attractiveness.

Originality/value

Although the emerging literature on continuous knowledge contribution mainly focuses on motivations as antecedents that promote continuous knowledge contribution, most of these studies assume that the relationship between motivating mechanisms and continuous knowledge contribution does not change over time. The study is one of the initial studies to examine whether and how the influence of multiple motivations evolves relative to levels of past contribution experience.

Citation

Dong, L., Hou, J.(J)., Huang, L., Liu, Y. and Zhang, J. (2024), "Impacts of normative and hedonic motivations on continuous knowledge contribution in virtual community: the moderating effect of past contribution experience", Information Technology & People, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 502-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-07-2022-0529