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<p>Online Q&amp;A communities have gained traction for their role in disseminating high-value information in the form of question-and-answer. While prior research has examined factors influencing answer helpfulness, the role of consistency between questions and answers remains underexplored. Based on the Heuristic-Systematic Model, this study explores how sentiment and thematic consistency function as heuristic and systematic cues respectively to shape answer helpfulness. Using a dataset of 50,525 answers from Zhihu.com, we find that thematic consistency is positively related to answer helpfulness, whereas sentiment consistency is negatively related to it. Additionally, based on identity theory, we examine how social and relational identity moderate these effects. This study extends prior research by integrating content consistency and identity perspectives to explain content evaluation in Q&amp;A platforms. It differentiates cognitive routes via the Heuristic-Systematic Model and reveals that identity dimensions significantly shape users’ processing of different consistency cues. These offer valuable insights for platform managers and content creators, highlighting strategies to increase perceived answer helpfulness in online Q&amp;A communities.</p>

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When answer meets question: the effects of sentiment and thematic consistency on answer helpfulness in online Q&A community

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月29日

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  • Lijuan Luo,
  • Ling Liu,
  • Yujie Zheng

摘要

Online Q&A communities have gained traction for their role in disseminating high-value information in the form of question-and-answer. While prior research has examined factors influencing answer helpfulness, the role of consistency between questions and answers remains underexplored. Based on the Heuristic-Systematic Model, this study explores how sentiment and thematic consistency function as heuristic and systematic cues respectively to shape answer helpfulness. Using a dataset of 50,525 answers from Zhihu.com, we find that thematic consistency is positively related to answer helpfulness, whereas sentiment consistency is negatively related to it. Additionally, based on identity theory, we examine how social and relational identity moderate these effects. This study extends prior research by integrating content consistency and identity perspectives to explain content evaluation in Q&A platforms. It differentiates cognitive routes via the Heuristic-Systematic Model and reveals that identity dimensions significantly shape users’ processing of different consistency cues. These offer valuable insights for platform managers and content creators, highlighting strategies to increase perceived answer helpfulness in online Q&A communities.