RESEARCH PAPERS
Bi Chongwu, Yang Jingjing, Jin Yan, Sun Zhuo
[Purpose/Significance] Analyzing the user participation patterns in online health communities from a symbiosis theory perspective can help understand the complex interactive relationships in these communities and provides references for improving their management mechanisms. [Method/Process] Firstly, representative data of user participation in Zhihu’s health communities were selected and coded on the grounded theory to identify the behavioral patterns of user participation. Secondly, based on symbiosis theory, the patterns of user participation in online health communities were constructed, exploring the roles, motivations, paths, and modes of user participation in symbiotic scenarios. Finally, combining different modes of user participation, the symbiotic states and behaviors of users were analyzed from a dynamic perspective. [Result/Conclusion] Under the dual effects of self-organization and hetero-organization, the roles of lurkers, bystanders, creators, and evaluators intersect in online health communities along consumption-driven, creation-driven, and interaction-driven paths, generating singular, diverse, and interactive modes of participation. User symbiotic states initially transition from parasitism and biased parasitism to asymmetrical mutualistic relationships, then to mutualistic relationships, ultimately achieving a balance between conflict and cooperation in online health communities.