Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 15
Knowledge Sharing Online
For Health Promotion and Community
Education: e-Mavenism
Hyunjung Kim
State University of New York at Buffalo, USA
Michael A. Stefanone
State University of New York at Buffalo USA
abStract
The aim of this chapter is to explore the utility of online knowledge sharing for the health and human
services. Experiences in marketing are used as a basis for the development of three broad and inter-
related theoretical concepts—the diffusion of innovations, viral marketing, and online word of mouth
advertising—as well as several other influential factors to explain online knowledge sharing. Three
major elements that stimulate online knowledge sharing are distilled from these theoretical perspectives
including internal factors such as altruism, online social network size, and topic salience. This chapter
uses these elements to propose a model of e-Mavenism which explains the cognitive processes that lead
to online knowledge sharing behavior. Based on the e-Mavenism model, several strategies are suggested
for online health promotion and community education.
introDuction
Tzu Hungs: Is there one word which can serve as
the guiding principle throughout life?
The rapid growth of the World Wide Web has seen
users adopt various types of Internet-based Infor-
mation Communication Technologies (ICT) such
as e-mail, social networking sites, and virtual com-
munities to support social relationships and facilitate
information seeking behavior. Using a diverse set
of interactive online media, people communicate
and share information with each other and often
recommend products and services. Ultimately the
interactive, mediated exchanges of information
Confucius: It is the word altruism. Do not do to
others what you do not want them to do to you.
-- Confucius (K'ung Fu tzu 551-479 BC) replying
to Tzu Hungs's question in Oxford Dictionary of
Quotations (2004, p.238:6).
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