IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-05105-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrating UTAUT and social exchange theory to decipher knowledge-sharing in crowdsourcing

Author

Listed:
  • Haoyu Xie

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Efpraxia D. Zamani

    (Durham University)

  • Suvodeep Mazumdar

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Alessandro Checco

    (Sapienza University of Rome)

Abstract

Microtask crowdsourcing platforms enable rapid, large-scale completion of simple tasks by a globally distributed workforce. This study investigates the factors influencing knowledge-sharing behaviours among crowdworkers, integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with Social Exchange Theory (SET) to provide a comprehensive understanding of these dynamics. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse survey data from 413 crowdworkers, the study identifies key drivers such as Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), and Rewards, which significantly impact both Knowledge-sharing Intention (KSI) and Behaviour (KSB). Our findings highlight the importance of user-friendly and accessible digital tools in promoting active knowledge-sharing within online communities. Effort Expectancy directly influences Knowledge-sharing Behaviour, highlighting the importance of usability in sustaining platform adoption. This research confirms the robustness of the UTAUT model and extends it with social exchange elements to offer new insights into human aspects of information systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Haoyu Xie & Efpraxia D. Zamani & Suvodeep Mazumdar & Alessandro Checco, 2025. "Integrating UTAUT and social exchange theory to decipher knowledge-sharing in crowdsourcing," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05105-2
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05105-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-05105-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-05105-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Yao-Ping Peng, 2024. "Breaking down barriers: exploring the impact of social capital on knowledge sharing and transfer in the workplace," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Jabeen, Fauzia & Dhir, Amandeep & Islam, Nazrul & Talwar, Shalini & Papa, Armando, 2023. "Emotions and food waste behavior: Do habit and facilitating conditions matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    3. Sanna Ulmanen & Mari Hirvonen & Peter Tattersall & Tiina Ristikari & Vincent Kuo & Pertti Virta & Tanja Jurvonen & Mika Niemelä, 2024. "Description of Crowdsourcing and AI-Based Tool for Knowledge Management and Systems Change in Public Services," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(04), pages 1-29, June.
    4. Wu, Jyh-Jeng & Chen, Ying-Hueih & Chung, Yu-Shuo, 2010. "Trust factors influencing virtual community members: A study of transaction communities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(9-10), pages 1025-1032, September.
    5. repec:igg:jkm000:v:17:y:2021:i:3:p:50-67 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Jie Zhao & Chanjuan Zhu & Zhixiang Peng & Xin Xu & Yan Liu, 2018. "User Willingness toward Knowledge Sharing in Social Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-27, December.
    7. Gerber, Christine, 2021. "Community building on crowdwork platforms: Autonomy and control of online workers?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 190-211.
    8. Ahmed Hassan Abdou & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Amany E. Salem & Azzam Ibrahem Albakhit & Muhanna Yousef Almakhayitah & Wagih Salama, 2022. "The Nexus between Environmentally Sustainable Practices, Green Satisfaction, and Customer Citizenship Behavior in Eco-Friendly Hotels: Social Exchange Theory Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Toshali Dey & Susmita Mukhopadhyay, 2018. "Influence of Behavioral Intentions, Affective Trust and Affective Commitment on Knowledge Sharing Behavior," International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), IGI Global Scientific Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 37-51, April.
    10. Yoshikawa, Katsuhiko & Wu, Chia-huei & Lee, Hyun-Jung, 2018. "Generalized social exchange and its relevance to new era workplace relationships," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 90155, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Hannah Kim & Jeongmin Lee & Sung Eun Oh, 2020. "Individual characteristics influencing the sharing of knowledge on social networking services: online identity, self-efficacy, and knowledge sharing intentions," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 379-390, April.
    12. Wei Wei & Jie Sun & Wei Miao & Tong Chen & Hanchu Sun & Shuyuan Lin & Chao Gu, 2024. "Using the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to explore how to increase users’ intention to take a robotaxi," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    13. Shibayama, Sotaro & Lawson, Cornelia, 2021. "The use of rewards in the sharing of research resources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    14. Yoshikawa, Katsuhiko & Wu, Chia-Huei & Lee, Hyun-Jung, 2018. "Generalized Social Exchange and Its Relevance to New Era Workplace Relationships," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 486-492, September.
    15. Lingfeng Dong & Ting Ji & Gan Zhou & Jie Zhang, 2022. "Subjective Norms or Psychological Empowerment? Moderation Effect of Power Distance on Knowledge Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, November.
    16. Vibha Mahajan & Jyoti Sharma, 2021. "Self-Learning and Self-Satisfaction: Exploring the Relationship Through Knowledge-Sharing Behaviour," International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), IGI Global Scientific Publishing, vol. 17(3), pages 1-18, July.
    17. Xiaofeng Su & Wenhe Lin & Jingjing Wu & Qiuqin Zheng & Xiaoxia Chen & Xiaoli Jiang, 2021. "Ethical Leadership and Knowledge Sharing: The Effects of Positive Reciprocity and Moral Efficacy," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    18. Lars Osterbrink & Paul Alpar, 2021. "Silence of crowdworkers—reasons and implications for work conditions and quality," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 136-161, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dr. Ben Kajwang PhD, 2022. "The Role Of Social Media In The Insurance Industry In Kenya," International Journal of Strategic Marketing Practice, IPRJB, vol. 4(1), pages 12-22.
    2. Latorre, Felisa & Ramos, José & Gracia, Francisco J. & Tomás, Inés, 2020. "How high-commitment HRM relates to PC violation and outcomes: The mediating role of supervisor support and PC fulfilment at individual and organizational levels," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 462-476.
    3. Eriksson, Theresa & Näppä, Anna & Robertson, Jeandri, 2023. "Crafting a paying-it-forward mindset in business: Five principles for a competitive employer branding advantage," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 51-64.
    4. Yoshikawa, Katsuhhiko & Wu, Chia-Huei & Lee, Hyun-Jung, 2020. "Generalized exchange orientation: conceptualization and scale development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101478, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Sharma, Mahak & Antony, Rose & Sehrawat, Rajat & Cruz, Angel Contreras & Daim, Tugrul U., 2022. "Exploring post-adoption behaviors of e-service users: Evidence from the hospitality sector /online travel services," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Meents, S. & Verhagen, T. & Vlaar, P.W.L., 2011. "How sellers can stimulate purchasing in electronic marketplaces: Using information as a risk reduction signal," Serie Research Memoranda 0014, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    7. Yaxue Ma & Zhichao Ba & Yuxiang Zhao & Jin Mao & Gang Li, 2021. "Understanding and predicting the dissemination of scientific papers on social media: a two-step simultaneous equation modeling–artificial neural network approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 7051-7085, August.
    8. Mohamed Ahmed Suliman & Ahmed Hassan Abdou & Moatazbellah Farid Ibrahim & Dayal Ali Waheer Al-Khaldy & Ashraf Mohamed Anas & Wael Mohamed Mahmoud Alrefae & Wagih Salama, 2023. "Impact of Green Transformational Leadership on Employees’ Environmental Performance in the Hotel Industry Context: Does Green Work Engagement Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Nugroho Mardi Wibowo & Woro Utari & Yuyun Widiastuti & Abdul Muhith & Dyah Eko Setyowati, 2020. "Building Patient Trust in the Era of National Health Insurance: Consequences of Healthcare Service Quality, Satisfaction and Health Conditions," Review of European Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(3), pages 1-75, September.
    10. Cambier, Fanny & Poncin, Ingrid, 2020. "Inferring brand integrity from marketing communications: The effects of brand transparency signals in a consumer empowerment context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 260-270.
    11. Jiwon Shin & Myengkyo Seo & Yong Kyu Lew, 2022. "Sustainability of Digital Capital and Social Support during COVID-19: Indonesian Muslim Diaspora’s Case in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    12. repec:hal:cepnwp:hal-04050331 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Liu, Linlin & Lee, Matthew K.O. & Liu, Renjing & Chen, Jiawen, 2018. "Trust transfer in social media brand communities: The role of consumer engagement," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-13.
    14. Qin Yang & Young-Chan Lee, 2021. "Why Do People Hide Knowledge in the Online Knowledge Community? An Integrated Framework of Protection Motivation, Self-Determination, and Social Exchange Beliefs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-24, September.
    15. Sparks, Beverley A. & Browning, Victoria, 2011. "The impact of online reviews on hotel booking intentions and perception of trust," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1310-1323.
    16. Dah-Kwei Liou & Wen-Hai Chih & Li-Chun Hsu & Chia-Yi Huang, 2016. "Investigating information sharing behavior: the mediating roles of the desire to share information in virtual communities," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 187-216, May.
    17. Mengmeng Song & Joseph Ugrin & Man Li & Jinnan Wu & Shanshan Guo & Wenpei Zhang, 2021. "Do Deterrence Mechanisms Reduce Cyberloafing When It Is an Observed Workplace Norm? A Moderated Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Rajković, Borislav & Đurić, Ivan & Zarić, Vlade & Glauben, Thomas, 2021. "Gaining trust in the digital age: The potential of social media for increasing the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(4).
    19. Syed Sardar Muhammad & Bidit Lal Dey & Vishanth Weerakkody, 2018. "Analysis of Factors that Influence Customers’ Willingness to Leave Big Data Digital Footprints on Social Media: A Systematic Review of Literature," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 559-576, June.
    20. Ahmed Hassan Abdou & Thowayeb H. Hassan & Amany E. Salem & Mohamed Ahmed Elsaied & Ahmed Anwar Elsaed, 2022. "Determinants and Consequences of Green Investment in the Saudi Arabian Hotel Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    21. Zaglia, Melanie E., 2013. "Brand communities embedded in social networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 216-223.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05105-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.