LAUSR

Studies on knowledge sharing (KS) in virtual communities (VCs) have indicated several limitations, such as chaotic literature information, interdisciplinarity complexity, and evolution vagueness. In this study, literature on KS in VCs is obtained from the database of Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection during 2002 to 2017. CiteSpace technology based on Java platform is applied to develop the visualization analysis of the development trajectory, and summarize the research distribution, intellectual base and evolution path of how KS in VCs has been studied. Results show that the quantitative development of literature on KS in VCs has undergone three stages, and China, USA, South Korea have led the research of this area. Moreover, the intellectual base is social capital, social cognitive theory, and behavior, motivation, quantity and quality of KS. In addition, the evolution path has gone through two stages: Firstly, the trajectory of development during 2002 to 2014 is concept definition, VCs platform, and factors influencing KS. Secondly, from the perspective of individuals, teams and organizations, the factors including social capital, trust, and self-efficiency have been stressed during 2015 to 2017. It provides the research trajectories and future research directions for authors.