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Not what you know, nor who you know, but who you know already: Examining Online Information Sharing Behaviours in a Blogging Environment through the Lens of Social Exchange Theory

Hall, Hazel; Widen, Gunilla; Paterson, Lorraine

Authors

Hazel Hall

Gunilla Widen

Lorraine Paterson



Abstract

This paper focuses on the extent to which online information sharing practice is socially motivated. A key interest is how knowledge of the existing social connections between actors may predict their information sharing behaviour when they move into an online environment, and the relative importance of these connections when set against other factors that may motivate online information sharing within a closed group. The examination of online information exchanges between members of a defined community of bloggers reveals that those with established off-line relationships are more likely to interact with one another when they move into an online environment than those who have not enjoyed earlier contact. The findings of the empirical study are evaluated with reference to social exchange theory, with acknowledgement of the importance of shared social capital as a prerequisite for the efficient operation of work-groups, both in face-to-face and online environments. It is concluded that social exchange theory can be deployed as a means of explaining online information sharing behaviours. The study findings have implications for the design of environments for purposes of online information sharing, especially in terms of the provision of substitutes for physical proximity in distributed organisations, the operation of reward systems, and expectations for communities to develop their own information sharing ecologies.

Citation

Hall, H., Widen, G., & Paterson, L. (2010). Not what you know, nor who you know, but who you know already: Examining Online Information Sharing Behaviours in a Blogging Environment through the Lens of Social Exchange Theory. Libri, 60(2), 117-128. https://doi.org/10.1515/libr.2010.011

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Jun 25, 2010
Publication Date 2010
Deposit Date Jun 28, 2010
Publicly Available Date Jun 22, 2017
Journal Libri
Print ISSN 0024-2667
Electronic ISSN 1865-8423
Publisher De Gruyter
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 60
Issue 2
Pages 117-128
DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/libr.2010.011
Keywords online information sharing; blogging; off-line relationships; social exchange theory;
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/3758
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/libr.2010.011
Contract Date Jun 22, 2017

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