Who sells knowledge online? An exploratory study of knowledge celebrities in China

What is it about?

This study explored a particular group of online celebrities – Knowledge Wanghong – from two aspects: (1) to study online identities that Knowledge Wanghong signaled; (2) to examine the association between online identity types and their sales performance. In terms of online identities that they signaled, we developed a typology with four distinctive online identities: mentor, broker, storyteller, and geek. In terms of the association between online identity types and their sales performance, we confirmed that the variances of sales volume and customer satisfaction could be related to the identity types. Additional analyses indicated that such differences could be attributed to the extent of professional and personal information self-disclosure. By focusing on an emerging phenomenon of online celebrities who sell knowledge products in China, this study offers a fresh reference point for discussing the identity signaling and monetization performance of online celebrities in a global context.

Featured Image