International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

The mediating role of trust and commitment on members’ continuous knowledge

sharing intention: A commitment-trust theory perspective
a,∗ b
Kamarul Faizal Hashim , Felix B. Tan
b
a Department of Information Systems, School of Computing, College of Art and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Department of Business Information Systems, Faculty of Business & Law, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

article info abstract

Article history: Although continuous knowledge sharing behaviour is acknowledged as important by scholars, the under-standing of what
Available online 5 December 2014 influence this continuous behaviour remains limited. Thus, this paper fills the gap by examining the mediating role of
identification trust and affective commitment on members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention within business online
Keywords: communities. 220 experienced online community members participated in the web survey. Structural equation modelling
Continuous knowledge sharing technique is used to analyze the data together with Baron and Kenny’s (1986) mediating analysis procedure. The research
Business online communities
findings reveal that, besides user’s level of satisfaction, continuous knowledge sharing intention is partially mediated by
Commitment-trust theory
affective commitment and identification trust. This paper ends by providing some insights on how to encourage continuous
Information systems continuous use model
knowledge sharing intention within business online communities from the per-spective of commitment-trust theory.
Understanding the determinants of this behaviour is important as it helps to build an active community and also provides the
opportunities for consumers to channel their ideas and suggestions in co-creating the products in which they are interested in.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The advancement of information communication technology has led to
exponential development of new forms of online com-munity (Jin, Zhou, Lee,
& Cheung, 2014; Li, 2011). Throughout the decades many online
communities have emerged ranging from public to organizational online
communities. Online communities have gained its popularity as an important
tool used by organiza-tions and the public to share and acquire knowledge
(Ardichvili, 2008; Habibi, Laroche, & Richard, 2014; Jin et al., 2014; Yu,
Hao, Dong, & Khalifa, 2013). An online community without rich knowl-edge
will limit its value (Chiu, Hsu, & Wang, 2006). Encouraging continuous
knowledge sharing can help community have a greater likelihood of retaining
members who are willing to contribute their knowledge or experience; and
also help businesses obtain relevant and useful knowledge through their
discussions (Habibi et al., 2014; Jin et al., 2014).
Based on knowledge sharing literature, continuous knowledge sharing has
been acknowledged as one of the important factors to ensure online
community sustainability (Chen, 2007; Chiu, Wang,
Shih, & Fan, 2011; Jin, Cheung, Lee, & Chen, 2007; Lin, Hung, & Chen,
2009; Zhang, Fang, Wei, & Chen, 2010). Sustainability of an online
community relies on its members ability to continuously regenerate ideas or
knowledge within the community (Uzunoglu & Kip, 2014; Wenger, Liu,
Schneider, Prasarnphanich, & Chen, 2009). Online community sustainability
refers to the community’s ability to maintain active participation and
encourage members’ will-ingness to stay and continuously contribute
knowledge to the community (Cheung & Lee, 2009).
Within the knowledge sharing literature, continuous knowl-edge sharing
refers to individual repeated act of sharing knowledge when using a
knowledge based information system (i.e., online community). Previous
studies have conceptualized knowledge sharing as individual acceptance
behaviour when using a knowl-edge based information system; while
continuous knowledge sharing refers to post acceptance behaviour (He & Wei,
2009). Fur-thermore, most previous studies that examined post acceptance
behaviour adopted Bhattacherjee’s information systems continu-ous use
model (Bhattacherjee, 2001) as their underlying theory. Thus, it can be
concluded that continuous knowledge is a form of user’s post adoption
behaviour when using a knowledge based information system (i.e., online
community).

∗ Based on the information systems continuous use model, an individual’s

Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 49285326.
E-mail addresses: kfaizal@uum.edu.my (K.F. Hashim), felix.tan@aut.ac.nz
feeling of satisfaction is the key determinant factor that drives individual’s
(F.B. Tan). continuous use behaviour. Past studies have

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.11.001 0268-
4012/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
146 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151
shown satisfaction motivates individual’s continuous knowledge sharing
behaviour. However, using satisfaction alone as a motive to examine
continuous knowledge sharing is likely to produce an incomplete causal
model, as it is unable to understand the effect of third variables such as
mediators. This is because relying only on satisfaction to predict continuous
use behaviour is not sufficient as it is not able to explain why there are some
users who dis-continue using an information system although they have
initially expressed positive feelings (i.e., satisfaction) towards the system
(Bhattacherjee, 2001; Hsu, Chiu, & Fu, 2004).
According to commitment-trust theory (Morgan & Hunt, 1994) to ensure
on-going relational exchange, trust and commitment plays an important role
in mediating the relationship. Trust and commitment mediates a relational
exchange by developing a coop-erative environment between parties involved
in a relationship; helping to resist attractive short term alternatives; and view-
ing potentially high risk actions as being prudent. Continuous knowledge
sharing behaviour is also considered as a form of relational exchange as it
requires willingness from both parties (e.g., knowledge seeker and knowledge
contributor) to give and accept knowledge. Without mutual understanding
between the two parties, knowledge is not shared. Strong relationship plays an
important role in stimulating knowledge sharing exchange among community
members (Uzunoglu & Kip, 2014).
Thus, based on the above discussions examining the mediating role of
trust and commitment can help extend the current under-standing of
continuous knowledge sharing determinants beyond the influence of
satisfaction. By examining the mediating role of trust and commitment it can
give additional insights to why users discontinue sharing their knowledge
although they have estab-lished positive expectations earlier within the
community.
In order to examine the role of trust and commitment on member’s
continuous knowledge sharing this study integrates two theoretical lenses –
information systems continuous use model and commitment trust theory.
Rather than using trust and commitment in general, this study examines the
effect of identification trust and affective commitment on the satisfaction-
continuous knowledge sharing relationship. These two constructs are selected
because they have been identified to influence continuous behaviour.
2. Theoretical discussions
2.1. Information systems continuous use model (ISCM)
ISCM has received growing empirical support as a useful frame-work to
examine IS continuous use behaviour. This model has been used to predict
users’ continuous use of a wide range of IS applica-tions such as online
banking (Bhattacherjee, 2001), e-learning (Chiu et al., 2011; Chiu, Sun, Sun,
& Ju, 2007; Lee, 2010), and knowledge management system (He & Wei,
2009). The use of ISCM to exam-ine members’ continuous knowledge
sharing intention has also been identified (Cheung & Lee, 2007b; Jin et al.,
2007). ISCM posits satisfaction as the most important factor influencing
continuous use intention (Bhattacherjee, 2001). Satisfaction refers to users’
transactional experiences with the system which influenced their intentions to
continuously use the system (Bhattacherjee, Perols, & Sanford, 2008). In
other words, satisfaction is a construct used to capture a user’s feeling of
positive or negative emotion towards the use of IS (Bhattacherjee, 2001).
Within knowledge sharing context, previous studies have shown that
satisfaction influences members decision to contin-uously share their
knowledge (Cheung & Lee, 2007a; Jin, Lee, & Cheung, 2010). For instance,
online community members are more likely to share their knowledge if they
have positive level of satisfac-tion using the online communities (Cheung &
Lee, 2007a). Members
with high level of satisfaction are also more likely to be involved in activities
within the community by continuously facilitating or taking part in
knowledge-sharing activities (Chuo, Min, & Lin, 2010; Ma & Agarwal, 2007).
Therefore this study predicts that members’ continuous knowledge sharing
intention is influenced by their level of satisfaction towards the online
community platform to support their knowledge sharing activities. Hence, this
study hypothesizes:
Hypothesis 1. Members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention is
influenced by their level of satisfaction
Satisfaction and trust play a dynamic role in explaining how on-going
relationships evolve (Selnes, 1998). According to this author, trust and
satisfaction are two key variables in explaining relation-ship that exist
between two parties. Both concepts are viewed as similar because they
represent overall evaluation, feeling or atti-tude about individuals involved in
a relationship (Selnes, 1998). However, in maintaining an on-going
relationship, satisfaction is more likely to be used as a source to determine
trust. This is because trust is viewed as acceptable expectancy of how others
will behave in the future. In order to develop trust (i.e., acceptable
expectations) individual should be able to behave and form positive
experiences with others (i.e., satisfaction) first (Selnes, 1998). Thus based on
the above discussion, this study conceptualized trust as an after effect of
satisfaction rather than being a determining factor.
2.2. Commitment-trust theory (CTT)
The role of trust within an online community has received sub-stantial
attention by previous IS researchers (Chiu et al., 2006; Jarvenpaa, Knoll, &
Leidner, 1998; Ridings, Gefen, & Arinze, 2002). Within an online community,
there are no specific rules provided to manage the relationship between
members; trust is considered as a subjective substitute to rules so that a more
open relationship atmosphere can be created (Ridings et al., 2002). Within an
online community context, trust can be used to control “unscrupulous
members who might flame or ridicule post or provide mem-bers information
to external organizations without permission” (Ridings et al., 2002, p. 275).
Therefore, trust is important in shaping reliable and socially accepted
behaviour within a situation where there is an absence of workable rules.
The extant online knowledge sharing literature shows that trust
conceptualization depends upon the situation in which it is being considered
(Rotter, 1971). Different sub-dimensions of trust are required to influence
different stages of knowledge sharing (Chiu et al., 2006; Hsu, Ju, Yen, &
Chang, 2007). Hsu et al. (2007) explained that economic and knowledge-
based trust are developed at the early stage of knowledge sharing; while
identification-based trust is suggested to facilitate knowledge sharing in the
next stage (con-tinuous knowledge sharing stage). Identification trust refers to
trust that develop due to emotional interactions among members that leads to a
point that one’s can effectively act for other (Hsu et al., 2007). Identification
trust usually leads to emotional investments in trusting a relationship, express
care for others and create collective strength. Strong identification trust can
helps to reduce member’s individualistic intention (i.e., lurking).
Within online community setting, satisfied individuals will decide either to
continue their participation within the online platform after they have
observed how others behave within the community (e.g., trustworthiness,
fairness) (Hsu, Liu, & Lee, 2010). Online community members will be
reluctant to continue using the online community platform, if they believe
others are being opportunistic and not being able to keep promises (Yen,
2009).Through strong identification trust, members are willing
to put efforts to invest in emotional interactions with others
and will be more likely to maintain the community by
continuously interact
 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151 147

with others (i.e., continuous knowledge sharing) (Usoro, Sharratt, Tsui, &
Shekhar, 2007).
Based on the above discussions, this study predicts that mem-bers who are
satisfied with their business online community will continue contributing
knowledge if they believe that others are willing to take care of others and are
not being opportunistic (i.e., identification trust). Identification trust in this
study acts as a mediating construct that promotes emotional binding between
members that will influence the relationship between satisfaction and
continuous knowledge sharing intention. Therefore, this study hypothesizes
that:

Hypothesis 2. The relationship between satisfaction and continuous

knowledge sharing intention is mediated by identification trust.

Similar to trust, commitment is also a multi-dimensional con-struct. Fig. 1. Research model.

Commitment can be divided into three sub-dimensions – affective,
continuance and normative (Meyer & Allen, 1991). How-ever, in this study,
3. Research model
focus will be given only to affective commitment as this construct has been
identified to have positive influence on continuous behaviour (Jin et al., 2010;
Fig. 1 illustrates the research model for this study. This study predicts that
Wang & Datta, 2006). Based on online community literature, commitment
members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention is influenced directly by
acts as an impor-tant mediator to maintain positive behaviour among
members’ level of satisfaction, while identi-fication trust and affective
community members. Nowadays consumers are very dependent to online
commitment mediate the relationship between satisfaction and continuous
com-munities when searching for additional information related to certain
knowledge sharing intention. Finally, members’ affective commitment is
product. These online communities act as an unbiased group that provide
directly influenced by identification trust.
advices and suggestions to consumers who are trying to learn about a new
product. Without a strong sense of cohesive-ness and belongingness with
other members, they can easily switch to another alternative community by
4. Research methodology
just a click (Kim, Choi, Qualls, & Han, 2008).
In this study, a quantitative research approach is employed. The research
model for this study is validated using a Partial least squares – Structural
According to Yen (2009), commitment mediates continuous participation
Model Equation technique. For this study, the measurement items are adapted
within an online community by enhancing member feelings of association and
from previous works that examined the continuous phenomenon. The wording
bonding with other members that lead to long-term relationships. According
of each item is modified to fit the context of this study (see Table 1). Meas-
to Goo and Huang (2008), commitment is an important mediating factor that
ures for continuous knowledge sharing intention are adopted from
influences rela-tionship durability. Strong commitment can decrease high
Bhattacherjee (2001). Satisfaction measures are adopted from Ong and Lai
turnover and establish stable relationships. This is because commitment
(2007). Meanwhile identification trust and affective com-mitment measures
mediates the relationship by helping partners to abstain from attractive short-
are adopted from Chiu et al. (2006), Kim et al. (2008) and Yen (2009). All
term alternatives and in favour of long-term ben-efits (Morgan & Hunt,
items are measured using a seven-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly
1994). Therefore, this study predicts that affective commitment plays an
disagree” to “strongly agree”. This study used a web survey approach to
important role in influencing the relationship between satisfaction and
collect data from respon-dents.
continuous knowledge shar-ing intention within business online communities.
This is because members who are satisfied with the community (as a platform
to contribute knowledge) will continue sharing their knowledge if they feel
more emotionally attached to the community. Therefore this study
4.1. Web survey
hypothesizes:
The data collection process is administered for two months using a web
based survey authoring package. Invitation threads are posted in 50 selected
Hypothesis 3. The relationship between satisfaction and continuous business online communities. The invi-tation threads are posted in the online
knowledge sharing intention is mediated by affective commitment. community lounge. Within the invitation thread, respondents are briefed about
the purpose of the study and given link to the web survey. After three weeks, a
Further, based on the CTT, a user’s feeling of commitment has been reminder thread is posted in the online community lounge. The thread is
identified to be directly influenced by trust (Caceres & Paparoidamis, 2007; posted to encourage more participation from the business online community
Yen, 2009). According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), when an individual trusts members.
others they will be committed to maintain their relationship within the
community. A committed individual will be more likely to attach and involve
themselves in the community activity (i.e., sharing knowledge). Trust is 4.2. Sampling
important to increase the confident level between both parties that take part in
a relationship. When both parties trust each other, it will result in a positive Business online communities are randomly selected following the steps
outcome (e.g., commitment) and avoid members from conducting unexpected suggested by Ridings et al. (2002). Search engines, (e.g., Google and Yahoo)
actions (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). Therefore this study hypothesizes that: are used to identify possible business online communities. From the search, 50
online communities were iden-tified and invitation threads were posted on the
selected online community ‘lounge’
section. In total 320 participants
Hypothesis 4. Member’s affective commitment is directly influenced by responded to the web survey from 50 selected online
identification trust communities. However, only 220 responses were complete
and were used for data analysis.
148 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151
Table 1

Measurement constructs.

Construct Items Mean SD Loadings T-test

Continuous CKS1 I plan to continue contributing knowledge using the 5.57 0.811 0.877 22.444
knowledge online community in the future
sharing intention CKS2 I will frequently use the online community to 5.55 0.850 0.886 25.415
AVE = 0.696; continuously contribute knowledge in the future
CR = 0.919 CKS3 I will continue to contribute knowledge using the 5.62 0.916 0.920 52.728
online community as much as possible
Satisfaction SAT1 I am satisfied with the knowledge map of the online 5.33 0.933 0.751 8.538

AVE = 0.569; community (e.g., knowledge classification)

CR = 0.841 SAT2 I am satisfied with the knowledge manipulation of the 5.42 0.888 0.738 11.982
online community (e.g., easy to create, upload
knowledge)
SAT3 I am satisfied with the personalization of the online 5.44 0.866 0.756 12.668
community (e.g., control the settings and presentation
of knowledge)
SAT4 I am satisfied with the knowledge community of the 5.66 0.815 0.773 17.000
online community (e.g., convenience to discuss, share
knowledge with other community members)
Identification TRUST1 I can discuss with the community members about my 5.31 0.755 0.828 25.064

trust personal issues

AVE = 0.696; TRUST2 I know when I share my problems with a community 5.42 0.838 0.865 22.512
CR = 0.919 member, he/she will respond constructively and
caringly
TRUST3 I know most of the members in this online community 5.26 0.777 0.789 16.808
will do everything within their capacity to help others
TRUST4 I know most members of this community are honest 5.40 0.755 0.819 23.387
TRUST5 I know the community members will not knowingly 5.63 0.768 0.865 23.828
do anything to disrupt the conversation
Affective COMM1 I have a sense of belonging to the community 5.35 0.952 0.756 12.800

commitment COMM2 I have emotional attachment to the members of the 5.56 0.912 0.682 7.004
AVE = 0.585; community
CR = 0.876 COMM3 I think that exchanging opinions with other members 5.66 0.792 0.79 13.299
is important.
COMM4 I expect that I will continuously participate in 5.44 0.861 0.784 11.981
community activities.
COMM5 I am an actively participating member of the 5.79 0.818 0.807 16.973
community.

4.3. Respondents demographic 5. Research findings

Table 2 shows the demographic profiles of respondents that par-ticipated
in the web survey. The response rate for this study was 18.6%, where out of
1180 respondents that viewed the question-naire only 220 responded to it.
4.4. Control variables
Assessing the impact of control variables on the dependent vari-able is
important in order to rule out other possible effects that are unrelated to the
hypothesized relationships (Kock, Chatelain-Jardon, & Carmona, 2008).
According to these authors, demographic variables are usually good
candidates that can be used as control variables. For this study, gender, age
and education are selected as control variables.
In a post hoc analysis, the control variables (i.e., age, gen-der and
education) are treated as independent variables together with other latent
variables (i.e., identification trust, affective com-mitment and satisfaction).
Using SmartPLS, the path coefficient and the significant values are examined.
From the analysis, the relationships between all the independent variables
(i.e., identifica-tion trust, affective commitment, and satisfaction) and
dependent variable (i.e., continuous knowledge sharing) are found to be statis-
tically significant despite the inclusion of the control variables (i.e., age,
gender and education). Thus it is concluded that the hypoth-esized
relationships are still significant when the effects of age, gender and education
are controlled for.
5.1. Measurement model
The quality of the measurement model is analyzed based on its convergent
and discriminant validity. The convergent validity is evaluated using Fornell
and Larcker’s (1981) two criteria: (1) all the indicators must be significant (at
least at significant value of 0.05) and their loading should exceed 0.7; and (2)
average vari-ance extracted (AVE) value should exceed 0.50. Table 1 shows
all items are highly significant (p < 0.001) and their loading exceeded 0.7 on
respective constructs. Also AVE value for each construct is above 0.50,
ranging from 0.569 to 0.696. Hence both criteria for convergent validity are
satisfied.
Meanwhile as for discriminant validity, it is evaluated using one of the
most commonly used criteria in PLS: the square root value of the AVE for
each construct should be greater than the inter correla-tions between
constructs in the model (Chin, 1998). Table 3 reports the correlation matrix of
key constructs and AVE square root values (bold diagonal value). The analysis
shows all AVE square root val-ues are greater than the intercorrelation values
between constructs. Hence the criterion for discriminant validity is satisfied.
5.2. Structural model
Fig. 2 shows the results of the structural model. From the analysis,
identification trust emerged as the strongest predictor of members’ continuous
knowledge sharing intention (ˇ = 0.33, t = 4.006, p < 0.001), closely followed
by affective commitment (ˇ = 0.314, t = 4.699, p < 0.001) and satisfaction (ˇ =
0.179, t = 2.42,
 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151 149

Table 2 and satisfaction; and 41.6% of the variance in identification trust is explained
Demographic statistics.
by satisfaction.
Demographic Frequency (n = 220) Percentage (%)
Gender
5.3. Mediating analysis
Male 182 82.7%
Female 38 17.3%
Age A post hoc analysis is conducted to test the mediating effects of
identification trust and affective commitment on satisfaction – continuous
Less than 20 0 0
21–25 49 22.2% knowledge sharing intention relationship. Baron and Kenny’s (1986)
26–30 79 35.9% mediating analysis procedures are adopted by this study. Although, Baron and
31–35 48 21.8% Kenny analysis procedure was introduced way back in the 1980s; this
36–40 26 11.8% mediating analysis pro-cedure has been identified as the most widely used
41–46 16 7.4%
approach to examine the effect of a third variable (Hayes, 2009). According to
Above 46 2 0.9%
Education these authors, this analysis procedure is still relevant and suitable to use with
current approach to test process models (i.e., structural equation modelling).
College/secondary 20 9%
Undergraduate 165 75%
Master’s degree 20 9%
PhD degree 15 7% The significance of the mediating relationship is measured based on
Experience using online communities Sober’s test value (Z value). If the Z value exceeded 1.96, it demonstrates
Less than 1 years 59 26.8% significant mediating relationship (p < 0.05). Table 3 shows the result of
1–3 years 89 40.5% mediating analysis conducted on the research model. The findings of the
3–5years 42 19.1% mediating analysis shows that both affective commitment and identification
5–7 years 22 10%
trust partially mediate the relationship between satisfaction and members’
More than 7 years 8 3.6%
Categories of business online community continuous knowledge sharing intention. From the analysis, the insertion of
identification trust and affective commitment reduce the coeffi-cient value (ˇ)
Computing 85 38.6%
Communication 47 21.4%
of path SAT → CKS (path c) from 0.254 to 0.179 and from 0.292 to 0.179,
Automotive 24 10.9% respectively (refer to Path c and Path c in Table 4). According to Baron and
Consultation 22 10% Kenny (1986), partial media-tion occur when the insertion of a mediation
Financial 20 9.1% variable significantly reduce the strength of the relation between predictor and
Construction 13 5.9%
outcome ( of path c < of path c).
Banking 9 4.1%
Table 3

Correlation matrix of key constructs.

6. Discussion
Construct CKS COMM SAT TRUST
CKS 0.894 Based on the research findings, members’ continuous knowl-edge sharing
Affective commitment 0.625 0.765 intention is directly influenced by their level of satisfaction. Identification
Satisfaction 0.528 0.571 0.754
trust and affective commitment sig-nificantly mediate the relationship
Identification trust 0.614 0.614 0.513 0.834
between members’ level of satisfaction and continuous knowledge sharing
intention. Mem-bers’ affective commitment is directly influenced by
identification trust. According to Commitment-trust Theory, trust and commit-
p < 0.01). Further, identification trust was strongly influenced by satisfaction ment have been identified as two important factors which ensure successful
(ˇ = 0.571, t = 3.459, p < 0.001) and affective commit-ment was significantly relationships (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). These two fac-tors are useful to
influenced by identification trust (ˇ = 0.477, t = 4.716, p < 0.001) and promote cooperative surrounding and also at the same time enhance members’
satisfaction (ˇ = 0.24, t = 4.326, p < 0.001). likeliness to express long-term commitment towards the relationship. This
Overall, the model explains 49.1% variance of the dependent variable theory regards trust and commitment as the key mediating variables that
(continuous knowledge sharing intention). 32.6% of the variance in affective contribute to successful relational exchange.
commitment is explained by identity trust

From the analysis, satisfaction is identified to have direct influence on

identification trust (ˇ = 0.513, t = 4.421, p < 0.001); and identification trust is
also directly influenced by mem-bers’ continuous knowledge sharing intention
(ˇ = 0.275, t = 3.948, p < 0.001). This result is consistent with previous studies
(Caceres & Paparoidamis, 2007; Kim, Hong, Min, & Lee, 2011; Wang, 2009).
For instance, consumers who achieve satisfaction using a website will tend to
trust the web site more and engage with continuous inten-tion (Wang, 2009).
Further, satisfaction is also demonstrated to have direct influence on affective
commitment (ˇ = 0.346, t = 4.097, p < 0.001); and affective commitment is
directly influenced by members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention (ˇ =
0.285, t = 3.486, p < 0.001). This result is consistent with previous studies
(Hsu et al., 2010; Morgan & Hunt, 1994), where consumers who are satisfied
with a product will make commitments to the enterprise. This drives their
continuous intention (Hsu et al., 2010 ).
Further, to test the mediating
effect, a post hoc analysis was conducted.
Fig. 2. Structural model (**p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001).
150 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151
Table 4
The results of mediating analysis.
Path Standard error (sa and sb )
Path a SAT → AC 0.571 0.1319
Path b AC → CKS 0.33 0.0823
Path c SAT → CKS 0.254
Path c SAT → AC → CKS 0.179
Path a SAT → TRUST 0.24 0.069
Path b TRUST → CKS 0.314 0.074
Patch c SAT → CKS 0.292
Path c SAT → TRUST → CKS 0.179
The post hoc analysis findings demonstrate that the mediating relationships
are found to be significant with identification trust (Z = 2.69, p < 0.01) and
affective commitment (Z = 2.94, p < 0.01) significantly mediating the
relationship between satisfaction and continuous knowledge sharing intention.
Based on the results, members’ affective commitment is iden-tified to
have higher effect on mediating continuous knowledge sharing intention
compared to identification trust. One of the pos-sible explanations is that
within an online community context, commitment acts as an important
mediator to maintain positive attitude within the community. Since online
community is mainly based on shared information, the existence of strong
sense of cohe-siveness and belongingness with other members is important as
members can easily switch to other alternative community with just a click
(Kim et al., 2008). However, the role of trust is not deniable as the existence
of trust together with commitment is important for successful relationship
atmosphere of higher qual-ity which is able to influence continuous
behavioural intention (Caceres & Paparoidamis, 2007). These results are
consistent with previous studies that used commitment and trust as mediating
fac-tors within an online community context (Caceres & Paparoidamis, 2007;
Kim et al., 2008; Yen, 2009).
In addition, the research findings also show that affective com-mitment is
directly influenced by identification trust (ˇ = 0.477, t = 4.836, p < 0.001).
This strong influence is consistent with previ-ous studies in continuous use
literature that tested the relationship between trust and commitment (Yen,
2009). For instance, Yen (2009) demonstrates that members’ commitment is
positively influenced by their level of trust. According to this author, trust is
an important factor as it helps to reduce opportunistic behaviour by other
members. Members with high level of trust usually care about others and
would not take advantage over others (Yen, 2009). Thus members who trust
others will have better commitment to main-tain their relationship with others.
Hence, this study confirms that identification trust and affective commitment
significantly medi-ate the relationship between members’ level of satisfaction
and continuous knowledge sharing intention.
7. Contribution and limitation
Theoretically this study contributes by extending ISCM’s robust-ness by
examining the mediating effect of identification trust and affective
commitment on the satisfaction-continuous knowledge sharing relationship.
The research findings help to give addi-tional insight as most of current
studies focused on examining the direct relationship between trust and
commitment with continu-ous behaviour (Cheung & Lee, 2007a; Fang &
Chiu, 2010; Jin et al., 2010; Wang & Datta, 2006).
Practically, business online community owners can help increase
identification trust by involving employees from hosting companies in the
community activities (Ridings et al., 2002). Employees can take prompt
actions (e.g., advising members
Z Type of mediation
2.94 AC partially mediates
SAT → CKS relationship
(p < 0.01)
2.69 Trust partially mediates
SAT → CKS relationship
(p < 0.01)
to behave according to the community norms, or deleting unnecessary or
inappropriate comments) when this type of situation occurs without waiting
for other members to lodge reports. Besides that, business online community
owners can also use an identification system which allows members to have
better idea who others are within the community. Integrating the identification
system with social media applications also can help increase members level of
identification trust.
Meanwhile, to increase affective commitment business online
communities can implement interactive chat room that can offer members the
opportunity to communicate interactively (Thatcher
&George, 2004). Incorporating features that allow one-to-one com-
munication with business representatives is important as it shows the
seriousness of the hosting companies in knowing what their members think of
the product or services (Li, Browne, & Chau, 2006). Based on the
communications, members who are able to give good feedback should be
featured in a special article and get their picture included.
Like all other similar kinds of research, this study has few limitations.
First, this study’s research model does not measure the relationship between
intention and actual behaviour. By not examining the actual behaviour of
continuous knowledge shar-ing in a business online community, this potential
effect remains unclear. Hence, examining actual behaviour to continuously
con-tribute knowledge using business online community may reveal
interesting findings.
Second, the participants of this research only include current and active
business online community members. This study is not able to reach members
who have ceased their participation in the business communities. Acquiring
information from this group of members is worthwhile because they may have
different views on the impact of the proposed constructs on continuous
knowledge sharing intention. Further, the majority of the respondents are from
computing, communication and automotive business online com-munities.
Thus, it is not clear whether the key findings of this study can be generalized
and are able to represent the whole business online community context.
Therefore, further verification of this research finding is highly encouraged.
8. Conclusion
Thus having a clear understanding of what and how these determinants
influence members’ continuous knowledge sharing intention is important as it
can help establish the role of busi-ness online communities as the main source
of reference when it comes to knowledge about consumers’
opinions or
recommenda-tions about products or services. The act of
continuous knowledge sharing will not only help sustain the
vibrant of the community but also provides the opportunities
for the consumers to channel their ideas and suggestions in
co-creating the products in which they are interested in.
 K.F. Hashim, F.B. Tan / International Journal of Information Management 35 (2015) 145–151
References
Ardichvili, A. (2008). Learning and knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice:
Motivators, barriers and enablers. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(4), 541–
554.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social
psychological research: Conceptual, strategies and statistical consider-ations. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2001). Understanding information systems continuance: An expectation-
confirmation model. MIS Quarterly, 25(3), 351–370.
Bhattacherjee, A., Perols, J., & Sanford, C. (2008). Information technology continu-ance: A
theoretical extension and emperical test. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 49(1),
17–26.
Caceres, R. C., & Paparoidamis, N. G. (2007). Service quality, relationship satisfac-tion, trust,
commitment and business-to-business loyalty. European Journal of Marketing, 41(7–8),
836–867.
Chen, I. Y. L. (2007). The factors influencing member’s continuance intentions in professional
virtual communities – A longitudinal study. Journal of Information Science, 1–17.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165551506075323
Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (2007a). Understanding user intention to continue sharing
knowledge in virtual communities. In Symposium conducted at the meet-ing of the
European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Retrieved from
http://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2007/6
Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (2007b). What drives members to continue shar-ing
knowledge in a virtual professional community? The role of knowledge self-efficacy and
satisfaction. In Z. Zhang, & J. Siekmann (Eds.), Knowledge sci-ence, engineering and
management: Second international conference KSEM 2007 proceedings (pp. 472–484).
Germany: Springer-Verlag Berlin.
Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (2009). Understanding the sustainability of a vir-tual
community: Model development and empirical test. Journal of Information Science, 35(3),
279–298.
Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation mod-elling. In G.
A. Marcoulides (Ed.), Modern methods for business research. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Chiu, C.-M., Hsu, M.-H., & Wang, E. T. G. (2006). Understanding knowledge shar-ing in
virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories. Decision
Support Systems, 42, 1872–1888.
Chiu, C. M., Sun, S.-Y., Sun, P.-C., & Ju, T. L. (2007). An empirical analysis of antecedents of
web-based learning continuance. Computers & Education, 49, 1224–1245.
Chiu, C.-M., Wang, E. T. G., Shih, F.-J., & Fan, Y.-W. (2011). Understanding knowledge
sharing in virtual communities: An integration of expectancy disconfirmation and justice
theories. Online Information Review, 35(1), 134–153.
Chuo, S.-W., Min, H.-T., & Lin, C.-T. (2010). Understanding continuance intention to
knowledge creation using extended expectation-confirmation theory: An emperical study of
Taiwan and China online communities. Behavior & Informa-tion Technology, 29(6), 557–
570.
Fang, Y.-H., & Chiu, C.-M. (2010). In justice we trust: Exploring knowledge sharing
continuance intentions in virtual communities of practice. Computers in Human Behavior,
26, 235–246.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unob-servable
and measuremenr error. Journal of Marketing Research, 34(2), 161–188.
Goo, J., & Huang, C. D. (2008). Facilitating relational governance through service level
agreements in IT outsourcing: An application of the commitment-trust theory. Decision
Support Systems, 46, 216–232.
Habibi, M. R., Laroche, M., & Richard, M.-O. (2014). Brand communities based in social
media: How unique are they? Evidence from two exemplary brand com-munities.
International Journal of Information Management, 34, 123–132.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond baron and kenny: Statistical mediation analy-sis in the new
millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408–420.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/036377550903310360
He, W., & Wei, K. K. (2009). What drives continued knowledge sharing? An investi-gation of
knowledge contribution and -seeking beliefs. Decision Support Systems, 46, 826–838.
Hsu, M. H., Chiu, C. M., & Fu, T. L. (2004). Determinants of continued use of the WWW: An
integration of two theoretical models. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 104(9),
766–775.
Hsu, M.-H., Ju, T. L., Yen, C.-H., & Chang, C.-M. (2007). Knowledge sharing behaviour in
virtual communities: The relationship between trust, self efficacy and outcome
expectations. International Journal Human–Computer Studies, 65, 153–169.
Hsu, C. L., Liu, C. C., & Lee, Y. D. (2010). Effect of commitment and trust towards micro-
blogs on consumer behavioural intention: A relationship marketing perspective.
International Journal of Electronic Business Management, 8(4), 292–303.
Jarvenpaa, S. L., Knoll, K., & Leidner, D. E. (1998). Is anybody out there? Antecedents of trust
in global virtual teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 14(4), 29–64.
Jin, X.-L., Cheung, C. M. K., Lee, M. K. O., & Chen, H.-P. (2007). Factors affecting user’s
intention to continue using virtual community IEEE Computer Society. In Symposium
conducted at the meeting of the 9th IEEE International Conference on E-Commerce
Technology and The 4th International Conference on Enterprise Computing, E-commerce
and E-services (CEC-EEE 2007).
Jin, X.-L., Lee, M. K. O., & Cheung, C. M. K. (2010). Predicting continuance in online
communities: Model development and empirical test. Behavior & Information Technology,
29(4), 383–394.
Jin, X.-L., Zhou, Z., Lee, M. K. O., & Cheung, M. C. K. (2014). Why users keep on answering
questions in online question answering communities: A theoretical
151
and empirical investigation. International Journal of Information Management, 33, 93–104.
Kim, J. W., Choi, J., Qualls, W., & Han, K. (2008). It takes a marketplace community to raise
brand commitment: The roles of online communities. Journal of Marketing Management,
24(3–4), 409–431.
Kim, J., Hong, S., Min, J., & Lee, H. (2011). Antecedents of application service contin-uance: A
synthesis of satisfaction and trust. Expert Systems with Applications, 38, 9530–9542.
Kock, N., Chatelain-Jardon, R., & Carmona, J. (2008). An experimental study of simulated web-
based threats and their impact on knowledge communication effectiveness. IEEE
Transactions on Professional Communication, 51(2), 183–197.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2008.2000345
Lee, M.-C. (2010). Explaining and predicting users’ continuance intention toward e-learning: An
extension of the expectation-confirmation model. Computers & Education, 54, 506–516.
Li, X. (2011). Factors influencing the willingness to contribute information to online
communities. New Media & Society, 13(2), 279–296.
Li, D., Browne, G. J., & Chau, P. Y. K. (2006). An empirical investigation of web site use using
a commitment-based model. Decison Sciences, 37(3), 427–444.
Lin, M.-J., Hung, S.-W., & Chen, C.-J. (2009). Fostering the determinants of knowledge sharing
in professional virtual communities. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 929–939.
Ma, M., & Agarwal, R. (2007). Through a glass drakly: Information technology design, identity
verification and knowledge contribution in online communities. Infor-mation Systems
Research, 18(1), 42–67.
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational
commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61–98.
Morgan, R., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship mar-keting.
Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20–38.
Ong, C.-S., & Lai, Y.-L. (2014). Measuring user satisfaction with knowledge manage-ment
systems: scale development, purification, and initial test. Computers in Human Behaviour,
23, 1329–1346.
Ridings, C., Gefen, D., & Arinze, B. (2002). Some antecedents and effects of trust in virtual
communities. Journal of Strategic Information System, 11, 271–295.
Rotter, J. B. (1971). Generalized expectancies for interpersonal trust. American Psy-chologist,
26, 443–4550.
Selnes, F. (1998). Antecedents and consequences of trust and satisfaction in
buyer–seller relationship. European Journal of Marketing, 32(3–4), 305–322.
Thatcher, J. B., & George, J. F. (2004). Commitment, trust, and social involvement: An
exploratory study of antecedents to web shopper loyalty. Journal of Organi-zational
Computing, 14(4), 243–268.
Usoro, A., Sharratt, M. W., Tsui, E., & Shekhar, S. (2007). Trust as an antecedent to knowledge
sharing in virtual communities of practice. Knowledge Management Research & Practice,
5, 199–212.
Uzunoglu, E., & Kip, S. M. (2014). Brand communication through digital influencers:
Leveranging blogger engagement. International Journal of Information Manage-ment, 34,
592–602.
Wang, H. (2009). Research on online consumer repurchasing behavior from rela-tionship
perspective. In Presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Information
Management, Innovation Management and Industrial Engineering
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICIII.2009.249
Wang, Y. K., & Datta, P. (2006). Understanding IS continuance: A technology commit-ment
perspective Symposium conducted at the meeting of the ICIS 2006. Retrieved from
http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2006/77
Wenger, C., Liu, L., Schneider, C., Prasarnphanich, P., & Chen, H. (2009). Creating a successful
professional virtual community: A sustainable digital ecosystem for idea sharing. In
Presented at the meeting of the 2009 3rd IEEE International Conference on Digital
Ecosystems and Technologies.
Yen, Y.-R. (2009). An empirical analysis of relationship commitment and trust in vir-tual
programmer community. International Journal of Computers, 3(1), 171–180.
Yu, Y., Hao, J.-X., Dong, X. Y., & Khalifa, M. (2013). A multilevel model for effects of social
capital and knowledge sharing in knowledge-intensive work teams. International Journal of
Information Management, 33(5), 780–790.
Zhang, Y., Fang, Y., Wei, K.-K., & Chen, H. (2010). Exploring the role of psy-chologyical safety
in promoting the intention to continue sharing knowledge in virtual communities.
International Journal of Information Management, 30, 425–436.
Dr Kamarul Faizal Hashim is a Senior Lecturer of Information Systems at Uni-versiti Utara
Malaysia. His research interests include knowledge sharing, IT user behaviour and social media
usage in business and government organization. Dr Hashim has published in British Journal of
Educational Technology, International Journal of Information Management as well as other
journals and refereed con-ference proceedings. Dr Felix B Tan is Professor of Information
Systems, Head of the Department of Business Information Systems and Director of the Centre
for Research on Information Systems Management (CRISM) at Auckland University of
Technology, New Zealand. His research interests include IT user behaviour and the management
of the IS function – in particular IS strategy, management and gover-nance.
Dr Felix B. Tan has published in MIS Quarterly, Information & Management, Commu-
nications of the AIS, Communications of the ACM, IEEE Transactions on Engineering
Management, IEEE Transactions on Personal Communications, Information Systems Journal,
Journal of Information Technology, International Journal of Electronic Com-merce, as well as
other journals and refereed conference proceedings.