Knowledge sharing in two cultures: the moderating effect of national culture on perceived knowledge quality in online communities

Online communities have been identified as key platforms for innovation and knowledge sharing. While many studies have consistently identified that social capital and cultural factors are important for online knowledge sharing, their joint effect has to date received less attention. Addressing this gap helps us to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach of managing online communities to one which takes into account that social capital (i.e., trust, reciprocity, and a shared vision) may have differential effects on the sharing of high-quality knowledge. We therefore ask: To what extent does national culture shape the effect of social capital on perceived knowledge quality? We use survey data from two online communities from Germany and the Netherlands and demonstrate that the relationship between social capital and perceived knowledge quality differs in the two different national cultures, in particular for effects of reciprocity and shared vision. Besides practical contributions, we add to the literature by first integrating a social capital and online knowledge sharing lens and highlighting the moderating effect of national culture. Second, we provide a fine-grained understanding of the influence of national culture on knowledge sharing by delving deeper into differences between national cultures often regarded as similar.