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Monetary rewards or comment recognition? The difference between the two types of feedback in online Q&A community.

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Title: Monetary rewards or comment recognition? The difference between the two types of feedback in online Q&A community.
Authors: Liu, Jinpeng1 (AUTHOR) JinpengLiu@stu.sufe.edu.cn, Li, Xinmiao1 (AUTHOR) xinmiaoli@126.com, Liu, Xipeng1 (AUTHOR) axi853@163.com
Source: Information Technology & People. 2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p906-933. 28p.
Subjects: Reward (Psychology), Question & answer websites, Social status, Motivation (Psychology), Incentive (Psychology), Self-determination theory, Information sharing
Abstract: Purpose: An in-depth exploration of difference in the motivational effects of various types of feedback can better address the challenges faced by knowledge contributions. Drawing upon the self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines the relative effects of asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition in the short term, the heterogeneous effects across different social status levels and their long-term impact over time. Design/methodology/approach: Based on panel data from an online financial knowledge Q&A community, this study employs a fixed-effects Poisson regression for empirical analysis. In addition, it also conducts instrumental variable regression and a series of robustness tests. Findings: The results indicate the following: (1) Peer comment recognition has a positive effect on knowledge contributions, whereas asker monetary rewards have a negative impact. (2) In the short-term, the relative effect of asker monetary rewards is stronger, but this effect changes as the social status of the user increases. (3) There is no evidence of an offsetting effect between asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition. (4) The impact of both asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition on continuous knowledge contributions decreases over time, but the influence of the latter lasts longer. Originality/value: Previous studies on monetary rewards and peer recognition have focused primarily on their direct effects. This research explores the differences in external incentives by examining the sources, types and timing of feedback, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that drive continuous knowledge contribution. It also offers a more valuable insights for the management of knowledge Q&A communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Information Technology & People is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 192012965
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Monetary rewards or comment recognition? The difference between the two types of feedback in online Q&A community.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Jinpeng%22">Liu, Jinpeng</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> JinpengLiu@stu.sufe.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Xinmiao%22">Li, Xinmiao</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> xinmiaoli@126.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Xipeng%22">Liu, Xipeng</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> axi853@163.com</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Information+Technology+%26+People%22">Information Technology & People</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p906-933. 28p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reward+%28Psychology%29%22">Reward (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Question+%26+answer+websites%22">Question & answer websites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+status%22">Social status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motivation+%28Psychology%29%22">Motivation (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Incentive+%28Psychology%29%22">Incentive (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-determination+theory%22">Self-determination theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+sharing%22">Information sharing</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: An in-depth exploration of difference in the motivational effects of various types of feedback can better address the challenges faced by knowledge contributions. Drawing upon the self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines the relative effects of asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition in the short term, the heterogeneous effects across different social status levels and their long-term impact over time. Design/methodology/approach: Based on panel data from an online financial knowledge Q&A community, this study employs a fixed-effects Poisson regression for empirical analysis. In addition, it also conducts instrumental variable regression and a series of robustness tests. Findings: The results indicate the following: (1) Peer comment recognition has a positive effect on knowledge contributions, whereas asker monetary rewards have a negative impact. (2) In the short-term, the relative effect of asker monetary rewards is stronger, but this effect changes as the social status of the user increases. (3) There is no evidence of an offsetting effect between asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition. (4) The impact of both asker monetary rewards and peer comment recognition on continuous knowledge contributions decreases over time, but the influence of the latter lasts longer. Originality/value: Previous studies on monetary rewards and peer recognition have focused primarily on their direct effects. This research explores the differences in external incentives by examining the sources, types and timing of feedback, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that drive continuous knowledge contribution. It also offers a more valuable insights for the management of knowledge Q&A communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Information Technology & People is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Reward (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Question & answer websites
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social status
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motivation (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Incentive (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-determination theory
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      – SubjectFull: Information sharing
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Monetary rewards or comment recognition? The difference between the two types of feedback in online Q&A community.
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            NameFull: Liu, Jinpeng
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            NameFull: Li, Xinmiao
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            NameFull: Liu, Xipeng
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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