Page 141 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.45, 2019

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individuals with the help of digital technologies and internet recently. SNS (Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, LinkedIn, WeChat, Weibo, etc.) are very popular across the globe. People use these
platforms to express and share knowledge, ideas, opinions, experiences and insights. As such, SNS
have become an important online channel for people to share knowledge.
Individuals from different geographical and cultural backgrounds have many differences in their
perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values, which influence their knowledge sharing behaviors and
motivations. However, previous studies of knowledge sharing motivations have not evaluated these
factors through the lens of cultural perspectives. Subsequently, there is a research gap in relation
to explanations of how culture affects the motivations of SNS users’ knowledge sharing behaviors.
In addressing this gap, this study looks at motivations and knowledge sharing behaviors of SNS
users from China, the United States, and India, three representative countries with significant
cultural differences. Based on self-determination theory, a research model is proposed to examine
factors that promote SNS users’ intention to share knowledge. The factors in this study include
four intrinsic motivators: perceived enjoyment, knowledge self-efficacy, altruism, and knowledge
achievement, along with two extrinsic motivators: learning and social outcomes expectation.
Sample data for comparative analysis was collected through an online survey. Participants were
recruited from China (N=170), the United States (N=187), and India (N=173). The results of the
survey show that WeChat has become the most popular SNS platform in China, followed by QQ
and Weibo. In contrast, Facebook is identified as the most popular platform for both American
and Indian users. The knowledge sharing behavior with the highest frequency for Chinese users
is “sharing valuable content created by other users”; whilst “commenting on or participating in
discussions of interest” is the most important type of knowledge sharing behavior for American
and Indian users. Partial least squares analysis was performed to test hypotheses and examine the
research model. The results indicate that knowledge sharing intention positively affects knowledge
sharing behavior of users in all three countries, and altruism is the most important motivator,
followed by social outcomes expectation. In contrast, knowledge achievement has no effect on the
knowledge sharing intention of users in any of these countries. Other motivators are moderated
by the country of origin of users, such as perceived enjoyment positively affects the knowledge
sharing intention of both Chinese and American users. Knowledge self-efficacy positively affects
the knowledge sharing intention of both American and Indian users, whereas learning is only
positively related to the knowledge sharing intention of Chinese users.
The findings of this study offer insight into understanding the differences in knowledge sharing
motivations and behaviors of users with different cultural characteristics. Results suggest that
inherent and unique socio-cultural qualities affect the knowledge sharing behaviors of individuals
on social networks. These findings have important implications for practice. Knowledge managers
and SNS developers should first stimulate and enhance user intentions if they want to encourage
users to participate in knowledge sharing activities, and then identify key behavioral motivators
and their correlation with intentions. Furthermore, motivation incentive strategies should be