Who Benefits More from Online Learning? An Empirical Study on Postgraduates’ Online Knowledge- Sharing Behavior

Abstract

Online knowledge-sharing is the key link to individuals in the digital era. Postgraduates are the core members of the future knowledge-based society. Exploring factors affecting postgraduates’ online knowledge-sharing behavior is of significance promoting their fair enjoyment of digital dividends and contributing to the construction of Digital China. However, little literature exists on this topic. This study examines factors resulting in postgraduates’ differentiated online knowledge-sharing behavior from two dimensions: social structure and individual initiative. The results of the questionnaire survey of 501 postgraduates show that: First, not all postgraduates are aborigines of the digital age; and structural factors (gender, school type, location, father’s occupation, and father’s education) have a significant impact on postgraduates’ online knowledge-sharing behavior. These factors also have a greater impact on the quality of online knowledge sharing than in a quantity sense. Second, the individual initiative factor (information literacy) also has a significant impact on postgraduates’ online knowledge-sharing behavior. It has a greater impact on the quantity of online knowledge- sharing than in a quality sense. Third, there is a Matthew effect under the internet context, and certain effects of structural factors on online knowledge-sharing behavior are indirectly generated through individual initiative factors. Participants with privileged structural status show a higher level of information literacy, which further encourages them to be more active in online knowledge-sharing behavior and facilitates their high-quality production.

Keywords

digital society / digital divide / structural factors / initiative factors / online knowledge-sharing behavior

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