The Effect of Gamification on Knowledge Contribution in Online Q&A Communities: A Perspective of Social Comparison

Online questioning and answering (Q&A) communities have become an essential social media platform for individuals to exchange specialized knowledge and collaboratively solve problems. Various gamified design elements (such as reputation scores, badges, levels, and leaderboards, etc.) have been applied in online Q&A communities to motivate users\u27 knowledge contribution on which the sustainability of such communities depends. Current studies generally assume that motivational sources originate directly from the gamified elements. From the perspective of social comparison theory, this research proposes that the motivational affordances motivating knowledge contribution in online communities can be activated from the comparison of virtual rewards offered by gamified design features. Thus, the effect of gamified elements on a user\u27s behavior is determined, at least partially, by the social influence of how other users in the community are rewarded by the gamification mechanism. This research contributes to theory by providing a new perspective for understanding the effect of gamification on knowledge contribution in online Q&A communities. It also provides important practical implications for the design and management of sustainable online communities