The Influence of Sharer Factors on Internet Sharing Behavior: Moderating Effect of Virtual Benefits
Author(s):
L. Zhang †, Y. Z. Tian †, G. Xu ‡
Affiliation(s):
† School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
‡ School of Management, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
ABSTRACT: The purpose of present study is to examine the influence of 4 sharer factors (empathy, moral judgment, self-esteem and prior experience) on internet sharing behavior, the study is designed to construct a new theoretical model in which virtual benefits acts as moderator variable, and 564 people are assessed through questionnaire. The empirical result indicates: (1) there are significant positive correlations between 2 variables (moral judgment, prior experience) and internet sharing; (2) virtual benefits has a significant moderating effect on relationship between sharer factors and internet sharing; (3) virtual benefits has significant moderating effects on associations between moral judgment, self-esteem and internet sharing, however it can’t adjust significantly associations between empathy, prior experience and internet sharing.
Keywords : Sharer factors; Internet sharing behavior; Virtual benefits; Moderating effect; Positive correlation.
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