Digital Inequality on Global Online Knowledge Exchange Platforms

The present study reports on an empirical investigation about the major causes of digital inequality in the specific context of user participation on cross-cultural, global knowledge exchange platforms. Using social inclusion theory as a theoretical lens, we propose a predictive research model about digital inequality at the country level and posit that four critical resources, physical resources, digital resources, human resources, and social resources contribute to the effective usage of ICT in accessing, adapting, and creating knowledge. We test our research model on data from a sample of 200 leading knowledge-based platforms.