Study of the charging mechanism of knowledge payment platforms based on a tripartite game model

Information Adoption Patterns and Online Knowledge Payment Behavior: The Moderating Role of Product Type

The development of online knowledge payment platforms in recent years has increased their respective market value by nurturing content resources and improving content ecology. Yet, the underlying factors of knowledge seekers’ payment behaviors and their information adoption mechanisms are poorly understood. Based on the information adoption model, this study develops a research model to examine the relationship between information adoption patterns and knowledge seekers’ payment behavior, and explore the moderating effect of product type on this relationship. To test the research model and hypotheses, we used a multi-analytic approach combining text and regression analysis on a sample of 4366 social Q&A data collected from Quora+ between August 2021 and August 2022. We further classified the product types into utilitarian and hedonic, and compared the differences in influence paths between product types. The results show that the completeness, vividness, and relevance of the product description have a significant positive impact on knowledge payment behavior. The reputation, experience, and integrity of the knowledge provider have a positive impact on knowledge payment behavior. Compared to utilitarian knowledge products, the payment behavior for hedonic products is more related to the reputation and experience of the knowledge provider. This study provides insights into the factors that influence online knowledge payment behavior and practical guidance for the development of online knowledge payment services and platforms.

Use of Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Structural Equation Modeling in Determining the Factors for Continuance Intention of Knowledge Payment Platform

Knowledge payment is a new type of E-learning that has developed in the era of social media. With the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the knowledge payment market is developing rapidly. Exploring the influencing factors of users’ continuance intention is beneficial for the sustainable development of knowledge payment platforms. Our study took “Himalayan FM” as an example and included two studies: Study 1 used latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) to explore the main factors affecting the users’ willingness to continue use, through mining user comment data on the knowledge payment platform; Study 2 constructed the conceptual model by integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) and IS success model (IS) and carried out empirical analysis by SPSS and AMOS using the data that were collected through the questionnaire. The results show that: (1) perceived usefulness, user satisfaction, and spokesperson identity have a direct positive impact on users’ willingness to continuous use, while perceived cost has a direct negative impact on users’ willingness to continue use; (2) perceived ease of use, content quality, and system quality of knowledge payment platforms impacted user satisfaction directly, then affected users’ willingness to continue use indirectly; (3) users’ perceived enjoyment, membership experience, auditory experience, and other factors also directly impacted user satisfaction, affecting users’ willingness to continue use indirectly. This study effectively expands the factors influencing knowledge payment users’ willingness to continue use and provides a useful reference for the sustainable development of knowledge payment platforms.