Adopting online problem-based learning (OPBL) to internship educational programs is an effective teaching method to stimulate self-directed and collaborative learning and knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB) of students. However, the OPBL collaboration experience is different from the traditional lecture-based learning experience for students. Integrating social identity theory and commitment-trust theory develops a formative research model that explains the KSB of students when using social media tools for the OPBL process. This process encourages social interaction and communication of students, in turn, facilitating the integration of collective intelligence or the creation, sharing, and exchange of knowledge. Data collected from 425 nursing students who studied at seven nursing colleges or medical universities in Taiwan were analyzed using the partial least squares (PLSs) technique. The results indicate that social identification is a crucial antecedent of KSB. Relationship quality plays a vital role in shaping the effects of interpersonal trust and relationship commitment (RC) on KSB during internship periods. The findings can contribute to theoretical discussions and enhance the effectiveness of KSB in the literature of internship and non-internship in the higher education field.
Keywords: internship education; interpersonal trust; knowledge-sharing behavior; online problem-based learning; relationship commitment; social identification.
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