Differing the impacts of individual and group knowledge seeking/contribution behaviors on knowledge sales in online Q&A platform: The moderating role of knowledge contributor category

An increasing number of knowledge contributors are generating revenue through knowledge paid Q&A. Previous research on knowledge sales explores the impact of knowledge contributors’ characteristics and knowledge contribution behavior on knowledge sales but neglects the role of knowledge seeking behavior. We further examine two types of knowledge seeking behaviors which involve individual and group behavior. We then propose that different categories of knowledge contributors can moderate the impact of two kinds of knowledge contribution behavior and knowledge seeking behavior on knowledge sales. Drawing on signaling theory and relevant literature in knowledge management, we build a research model and validate the model by collecting data from 101,836 data points from 7274 contributors in the Zhihu.com platform. The findings demonstrate that knowledge seeking and knowledge contribution behavior have a significant impact on knowledge sales. Further, group behavior has a different impact compared to individual behavior on knowledge sales. Additionally, the impact of knowledge sharing behavior on knowledge sales differs across various categories of knowledge contributors. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.