Value Co-creation Behavior in Online Health Communities: Analyzing Research Progress and Prospects Using CiteSpace

With the growing maturity of Internet technology, online health communities (OHCs) are an increasingly popular and important source of health information. Researchers are particularly focusing on exploring value co-creation behavior within OHCs. However, the existing research findings in this area remain fragmented and lack a comprehensive systematic review, which may hinder further advancements in this field. This study employs CiteSpace visual analysis software to review relevant studies of this topic in publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection database. The findings reveal the progress and frontiers of relevant research, briefly describe the formation mechanism of value co-creation in OHCs, and point to future research directions. The results of the study can provide guidance to managers and members of OHCs for enhanced practical implementation.