Factors Affecting Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Online Health Communities: The Perspective of the Mediating Effects of Knowledge Self-Efficacy

This study investigates the determinants of users’ health knowledge-sharing behaviors in Online Health Communities (OHCs), distinguishing between General Health Knowledge Sharing Behavior (GKSB) and Specific Health Knowledge Sharing Behavior (SKSB). Drawing on Social Support Theory (SST), Social Exchange Theory (SET), and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), an integrated structural equation model was constructed to examine how external motivations including reciprocity, reputation, informational support, emotional support, and trust shape Knowledge Self-Efficacy (KSE), which subsequently influences GKSB and SKSB. Personal Innovativeness (PI) was incorporated as a moderating variable to capture individual differences in these relationships. Based on survey data from 308 valid respondents, analyzed using LISREL 8.8 Simplis, the findings reveal that reciprocity, informational support, emotional support, and trust significantly enhance KSE, whereas reputation does not. KSE exerts a significant positive effect on GKSB but has no significant impact on SKSB. Moreover, PI significantly moderates the paths between informational support and KSE, trust and KSE, and KSE and GKSB, indicating that individuals with higher innovativeness are more capable of transforming social support into active motivation for health knowledge sharing.