JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital platforms provide a venue for patients and physicians for health knowledge exchange, consultation, and services beyond the traditional medical systems. Such platforms also alter the relationships between patients and physicians where patients are more empowered and physicians require further motivation for voluntary knowledge sharing. However, most prior studies assume the leading role of physicians in such exchange but overlook the potential influence of patients.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate the effect of patient-empowering behavior (PEB) on physicians’ online knowledge sharing (OKS) and revealed the potential platform contingency for physicians’ proactivity in knowledge sharing.

Methods:

Based on the proactive motivational model and empowerment theory, we argued for a reverse empowerment process from patients to physicians. We hypothesized that PEB could drive physicians’ OKS by enhancing their proactive motivational states, i.e., knowledge-sharing self-efficacy (KSE), sharing meaning (SM), and positive professional affect (PPA). Platform extrinsic rewards (PER) could moderate the impact of physicians’ proactivity. The research was validated by a survey study involving 257 physicians and the partial least square was performed to analyze the data.

Results:

Perceived PEB has a significant positive impact on physicians’ OKS (β=0.27, t225=4.264, P<.001). The mediation analysis showed that KSE (Effect=0.06, t225=2.41, P=.02), SM (Effect=0.14, t225=4.34, P<.001), and PPA (Effect=0.09, t225=2.73, P=.006) each partially mediated the effect of PEB on OKS, and the three proactive motivational states played a complete mediation effect, as indicated through a significant indirect effect (Effect=0.29, t225=5.63, P<.001), but not direct effect (Effect=0.06, t225=0.91, P=.36). Meanwhile, PER significantly mitigated the effect of SM on OKS (β=-0.12, t225=2.98, P=.003) only.

Conclusions:

The study is the first attempt to reveal the active role of patients to empower physicians on digital platforms and investigate the mechanism of proactivity for physicians’ OKS. The results entail significant contributions to existing empowerment, e-health, and proactive behavior literature. The findings also provide valuable guidance for the sustainability of digital platforms for healthcare.