Evaluating Information Adoption Behavior on Social Q&A Platforms: Mediating Role of Information Usefulness and Moderating Role of Time Pressure

This study investigates user information adoption behavior on social Q&A platforms, focusing on information quality, source credibility, perceived information usefulness, and time pressure. Based on the Information Adoption Model (IAM), it examines information novelty, accuracy, and relevance as key components of information quality, with perceived usefulness as a mediator and time pressure as a moderator. The study analyzes Zhihu, a leading Chinese Q&A platform, through an online survey of 291 users of Zhihu. Findings reveal that source credibility significantly influences information adoption behavior, partially mediated by perceived usefulness. Information novelty and accuracy impact adoption behavior fully through perceived usefulness, with novelty having a stronger effect. Time pressure negatively moderates the effect of source credibility on perceived usefulness but does not significantly moderate the effects of novelty, accuracy, or relevance on perceived usefulness. The study extends the IAM framework and provides some theoretical and practical implications