A value-justice model of knowledge integration in wikis: The moderating role of knowledge equivocality

The sustainability of Wikis heavily relies on the quality of knowledge that is collaboratively integrated by volunteers. Although the factors influencing one specific knowledge contribution or knowledge-sharing behavior (e.g., adding) have been widely examined, the research on the factors that affect another type of knowledge contribution, i.e., knowledge integration, is still rare. Considering the collaborative nature of knowledge integration, beyond the value-centric logic of knowledge contribution, we propose a value-justice model of knowledge integration. We further identify the boundary conditions under which the proposed value-justice model works by investigating the moderating role of knowledge equivocality. A survey was conducted in a well-known Wiki-based website in China, namely, Baidu Baike, to test the research model and hypotheses. Our results show that both perceived justice and perceived value influence knowledge integration, which in turn affects knowledge quality, and knowledge equivocality strengthens the relationship between perceived justice / perceived value and knowledge integration and the relationship between knowledge integration and knowledge quality. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.