Title: What are the determinants of customer knowledge sharing in online brand communities? A meta-synthesis of the literature

Authors: Mona Jami Pour; Seyed Mohammadbagher Jafari; Khadijeh Rafiei

Addresses: Department of Business, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University (HMU), Al-Ghadir Boulevard, opposite Yadegar-e Imam Stadium in Qom Province, Qom, Iran ' Department of Accounting and Management, University of Tehran, Farabi Campus, Qom, Iran ' Department of Business, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University (HMU), Al-Ghadir Boulevard, opposite Yadegar-e Imam Stadium in Qom Province, Qom, Iran

Abstract: Despite the tendency of companies to the field of customer knowledge, there have been scattered studies on the factors that influence customer knowledge sharing in online brand communities, and there are few comprehensive investigations available in this field. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive framework that integrates the multiple factors of customer knowledge sharing in online brand communities. To obtain this purpose, a qualitative meta-synthesis research method was applied. After a systematic review of published studies ranging from 2006 to 2019, 59 articles were selected for analysis. The importance and priority of identified factors from meta-synthesis were determined using the quantitative method of Shannon entropy. The prioritised concepts are individual factors, social factors, motivational factors, and factors related to the structure of brand network relationships, technological factors, and brand-related factors, respectively. This study contributes to current customer knowledge research by offering theoretical advances related to sharing customer knowledge in online brand communities.

Keywords: customer knowledge; customer knowledge sharing; online brand communities; meta-synthesis; Shannon entropy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKL.2024.138384

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 2024 Vol.17 No.3, pp.242 - 269

Received: 21 Nov 2021
Accepted: 05 Nov 2022
Published online: 01 May 2024 *

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