Impact of physicians' prosocial behaviors on patients' selection in online health communities: a cross-platform perspective

Purpose With the rapid evolution of online healthcare services, to stand out in this crowded field, physicians are beginning to engage in prosocial behaviors and offer free assistance to attract more patients. However, how physician prosocial behaviors across different types of platforms affect patient selection of online consultation remains underexplored. This study aims to explore the heterogeneous of prosocial behaviors characteristics on professional platforms (PPs) and social media platforms (SMPs) and the moderating effect of physicians' professional status from a cross-platform perspective. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this study collected data from 3,104 physicians across professional platforms and third-party social media platforms. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model was employed to examine the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate that both the quantity and quality of physicians' prosocial behaviors on PPs and SMPs positively affect patients' selection. Moreover, prosocial behaviors on SMPs positively moderate the relationship between the quality of prosocial behaviors on PPs and patient selection. Regarding physicians' professional status, professional status positively moderates the relationships between the quality of prosocial behaviors across both platforms and patient selection. Originality/value This study advances existing literature by offering a nuanced understanding of how multi-platform physician engagement influences patient decision-making and by advancing cross-platform theorization in the context of digital healthcare services.