Sharing Economy, Platforms and Crowds

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Paper Number

1637

Paper Type

short

Description

Viewers’ engagement with content on community-based question answering (CQA) platforms is critical for both platforms and content creators. In this study, we examine the effect of emotional intensity of an answer on the number of votes, comments and rewards that the answer receives and how this effect is moderated by answer length. There are two possible countervailing mechanisms by which emotional intensity affects viewer engagement, and we theorize that which mechanism dominates depends on whether the answer is long enough to provide sufficient information. Analyses of data from Zhihu, a CQA platform in China, support our theorizing. The results suggest that the effect of emotional intensity on viewer engagement is negative for short answers but positive for long answers. This study contributes to the literature on online knowledge sharing and emotional expression in user-generated content. It also has practical implications for platforms and content creators.

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Dec 12th, 12:00 AM

Emotional Intensity and User Engagement on Community-Based Question Answering Platforms

Viewers’ engagement with content on community-based question answering (CQA) platforms is critical for both platforms and content creators. In this study, we examine the effect of emotional intensity of an answer on the number of votes, comments and rewards that the answer receives and how this effect is moderated by answer length. There are two possible countervailing mechanisms by which emotional intensity affects viewer engagement, and we theorize that which mechanism dominates depends on whether the answer is long enough to provide sufficient information. Analyses of data from Zhihu, a CQA platform in China, support our theorizing. The results suggest that the effect of emotional intensity on viewer engagement is negative for short answers but positive for long answers. This study contributes to the literature on online knowledge sharing and emotional expression in user-generated content. It also has practical implications for platforms and content creators.

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