Journal article
Asymmetric cross-side network effects on online knowledge-sharing platforms and the role of platform recommendations
Information & management, Vol.63(2), 104274
03/2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2025.104274
Abstract
Online knowledge-sharing platforms (OKSPs) play an important role in enabling the participants to generate and transfer novel knowledge and obtain social support from their peers. To foster knowledge exchange between knowledge contributors and knowledge seekers, OKSPs implement various governance mechanisms, such as platform recommendations. We are interested in whether cross-side network effects (CNEs) exist on OKSPs, and how the OKSPs’ governance mechanisms affect these CNEs. In this study, we theorize knowledge-sharing processes between the contributor-side and the seeker-side, drawing on the dynamic theory of knowledge conversion. Using fine-grained longitudinal data from the Zhihu platform, we propose a vector autoregressive model (VAR) to examine the temporal dynamics of CNEs on OKSPs and the role of platform recommendations in the CNEs empirically. Our findings indicate that there are symmetrical short-run contributor-to-seeker CNEs and seeker-to-contributor CNEs. However, a temporal asymmetry is present between contributor-to-seeker CNEs and seeker-to-contributor CNEs in the long run. Specifically, we find the answers’ quantity and answers’ quality have short-run and long-run impacts on the growth of questions’ quantity, meaning that the contributor side plays a predominant role in driving the growth and evolution of OKSPs. Our findings also reveal that platform recommendations strengthen immediate and persistent growth in the number of questions and answers through the direct contributor-to-seeker and seeker-to-contributor CNEs rather than the indirect CNEs. Our study provides important theoretical implications to enrich knowledge management research from CNEs’ perspective, as well as practical insights for OKSPs in their operations to incorporate network analytics to promote participants’ engagement and knowledge exchange.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Asymmetric cross-side network effects on online knowledge-sharing platforms and the role of platform recommendations
- Creators
- Wei Liu - Dongbei University of Finance and EconomicsXueying Sun - Dongbei University of Finance and EconomicsWeiguo Fan - Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, Iowa, United StatesZhengfa Yang - China North Industries Group Corporation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Information & management, Vol.63(2), 104274
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.im.2025.104274
- ISSN
- 0378-7206
- eISSN
- 1872-7530
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Grant note
- Social Science Foundation of Liaoning Province: L25ZD036 Education Department of Liaoning Province: LJ112410173040
This research was partially supported by Social Science Foundation of Liaoning Province under grant number L25ZD036, Education Department of Liaoning Province under grant number LJ112410173040. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommen-dations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the above funding agencies.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/2026
- Academic Unit
- Business Analytics
- Record Identifier
- 9985034935902771
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