Purpose: Mobile fitness apps (MFAs) are increasingly popular for people to promote physical activity (PA) and further enhance health status via behavioral change techniques (BCTs), but the phenomenon of users abandoning MFAs is still common. For improving users' PA and decreasing dropout rates of MFAs, this study intends to gain insights into the effects of major BCTs-based incentive factors on users' PA under MFAs context and the gender differences in their effects.Design/methodology/approach: Based on self-determination theory, three major incentive factors were chosen from the perspective of self-peer-platform incentives, i.e. self-monitoring (SM), social support (SS) and platform rewards (PR). A dataset of 4,530 users from a popular mobile fitness app was collected and was analyzed using fixed effects models.Findings: The results show that all three types of incentive factors are positively associated with users' PA. The estimated effect sizes can be ordered as: SM > PR > SS. Moreover, social support has a stronger positive impact on PA of females than males, whereas platform rewards have a weaker positive effect on PA of females than males. In addition, the results also indicate there are no significant gender differences in the effect of self-monitoring.Originality/value: There is insufficient research on systematically examining the effects of different types of incentive factors of MFAs on users' PA in one study. This study extends the current understanding of incentive factors by simultaneously examining different incentive factors and the role of gender. The findings can also provide insightful guidance for the design of MFAs.

Background: Little research has studied the peer effect of physicians and patients in online health communities (OHCs) simultaneously. The study investigates the impact of the focal physician’s peers (F-peers) on the focal physician (F-physician), and the impact of patients of the focal physician’s peers (F-P-patients) on the focal physician’s patients (F-patients). Moreover, based on brand extension and accessible–diagnosable theories, this study explores the moderating effects of the intensity of F-peers’ knowledge sharing behavior and department reputation. Methods: This study collects data of 3297 physicians and related patients from Haodf.com platform between January 2019 and December 2019. Both two-way fixed effect and panel negative binomial regression are adopted to quantify the effects. Results: Results show that the behavior of F-peers positively affects the behavior of the F-physician, while the behavior of F-P-patients positively affects the behavior of F-patients. Moreover, both the intensity of F-peers’ knowledge sharing behavior and department reputation have a compound moderating effect. Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature of peer effects by constructing the conceptual framework of different types of individual participation behaviors in OHCs. The findings offer practical guides for establishing an incentive mechanism and formulating peer incentives or competition strategies in OHCs.

Purpose: The paper aims to explore the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) embedding degree and education level on individual perception, as well as the moderating effect of nationality. Design/methodology/approach: The paper first conceptualizes PBL embedding degree which means the extent of applying PBL. It takes an empirical study on an international MBA class in one of the first-class universities in China. An investigation is taken with the designed “PBL-based Cognitive Perception Scale” and an Ordered Probit Model is constructed. Findings: The findings of this study are as follows: PBL embedding degree has a significant effect on the cognitive perception of student, which varies in different dimensions; the educational level of international student positively affects the cognitive perception toward PBL; and nationality may moderate the relationship between the PBL embedding degree and individual perception. Originality/value: The paper replenishes the investigation and application of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. By conceptualizing PBL embedding degree, the paper extends the research perspectives of PBL and proposes a subjective method on the evaluation of PBL. The paper also may provide a guidance for PBL curriculum design with sustainable development of education.

Purpose: Peer information can serve as an effective intervention to enhance individual fitness behaviors, offering potential benefits for health promotion and disease prevention. Extending prior literature on the influence of peer information on individual behaviors from the viewpoint of peer outcome information, this study aims to investigate the effect of peer progress information on targeted fitness and non-targeted sharing behaviors of users, as well as the moderating roles of users’ past performance and perceived peer pressure. Design/methodology/approach: The authors develop hypotheses based on the theories of social comparison and social identity. Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment on a popular online fitness platform, this study conducts several difference-in-differences models to test the causal effect of peer progress information. Findings: The results reveal several robust and interesting findings. First, peer progress information significantly increases both exercise engagement and information sharing. Second, users with poor past performance or strong peer pressure exhibit greater responsiveness to peer progress information. Furthermore, the positive effects on fitness behavior are driven by upward social comparison rather than downward comparison, suggesting upward comparison may serve as an underlying mechanism. Practical implications: This study provides actionable guidance for platform designers aiming to foster sustainable engagement through progress-based mechanisms. Originality/value: The findings contribute to the literature on peer information by analyzing the effect of peer progress on user engagement and the corresponding heterogeneity. In particular, the findings offer an effective means to promote user retention for digital platforms.