Xiaoyu Chen, PhD (陈晓宇)
About Me
I’m an Associate Professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies of the School of Cultural Heritage and Information Management at Shanghai University, China.
I hold a PhD in Information Studies from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
My research interests focus on 3U, namely, user information behavior, user cyberpsychology, and user-generated content, particularly in the context of digital technologies. My current work also examines the AI-enabled creation of digital cultural content and the associated consumption experiences, the role of large language models in advancing knowledge production in the humanities and social sciences, and data governance and intelligent decision-making.
My PhD dissertation studies a particular group of digital influencers who sell self-created knowledge products in an online environment. My dissertation is being jointly supervised by Dr. Alton Y.K. Chua and Dr. L.G. Pee.
I hold a master’s degree in Information Science from Wuhan University and a bachelor’s degree in Information Management & Information Systems from Huazhong Agricultural University, both of which are based in Wuhan, a City of Punk in China.
If you are exploring the possibility of conducting research in areas related to my interests and are keen to become a research-active scholar, please feel free to drop me a note. I am more than happy to bounce ideas off with you.
Before I went to Singapore to pursue my PhD degree, I had worked at Xinhua News Agency, Hubei Branch ( July 2016 - December 2016).
I was born in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, P. R. China, also known as “the Cradle of Generals.”
Address:
Building #1, East Campus, Shanghai University, Nanchen Rd #333, Baoshan District, Shanghai 200444, P.R. China
Email: xiaoyu-chen@shu.edu.cn; xiaoyu.chen0928@gmail.com
News
- Academic posters by two master’s students under my supervision have been accepted for presentation at the 2026 ASIS&T Annual Meeting.
- I welcomed a baby girl into my family.
Education
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (Aug 2017 - Dec 2021)
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Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies
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Thesis Title: “Study of Online Celebrities Who Sell Knowledge:
Perceived Attractiveness and Users’ Willingness to Pay”
- Thesis Advisory Committee: Alton Chua (advisor), L.G. Pee (co-
advisor), Joanna Sin (member), and Ben Choi (member)
Wuhan University, China (Aug 2013 - Dec 2016)
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M.Phil. in Information Science
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Thesis Title: “Study of User Information Behavior Characteristics
and Transferring Mechanism in a Social Q&A Community”
Huazhong Agricultural University, China (Sep 2009 - Jun 2013)
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Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Information Management & Information Systems
Research
Research Interests
- Topics:
- Cultural heritage informatics
- Sociocultural, socioeconomic and socioenvironmental impacts of digital technologies including GenAI, AR, VR and XR
- User information behavior, User cyberpsychology, User-generated content
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Philosophy: My research trajectory concentrates largely on “3U”– user information behavior, user cyberpsychology, and user-generated content. To this end, I attempt to adopt a full-cycle approach to moving my research forward. It begins with a certain “action” that raises my interest (i.e., user information behavior), followed by the “underlying mechanism” (i.e., user cyberpsychology) that allows me to explicate the action behaved by users, and finally, look into the outcome (i.e., user-generated content).
- Methodologies: I use mainly quantitative methods, including experiments and surveys, in my work. On occasion, I have used qualitative methods such as interviews, qualitative content analysis, and qualitative comparative analysis to complement my quantitative research. My skills do not include advanced forms of econometric modeling, simulation, or data mining. However, I am learning the basic knowledge and applications of economic analyses, such as difference-in-differences, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity, as I believe that field (quasi-) experiment designs and causal inference will be increasingly popular in information behavior research. Also, I’m interested in design science research that relates to my study areas.
PhD Dissertation
Refereed Monograph/Book Chapter
Refereed Journal Publications (∗ corresponding author)
- [J26] Zhao, H., Zhao, Y., Liu, W., & Chen, X.∗ (2026). Why do players make in-game purchases? A dual perspective of goal-setting and flow experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-01-2026-0216
- [J25] Li, C., Chen, X., & Wei, L.∗ (2026). Ladders to better health? Identifying the cognitive pathways and barriers to value attainment in wearable health device usage. Digital Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207626145239
- [J24] Fu, S., Song, J., & Chen, X.∗ (2026). Repetition and modality in information trustworthiness judgments: Investigating the illusory truth effect in multimodal health information environments. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), 77(4), 640–658. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.70046
- [J23] Chen, X., Wang, C., & Liu, Y.∗ (2026). Interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for Q&A behaviour on an academic social networking site: Qualitative evidence from ResearchGate. Journal of Documentation, 82(1), 174–196. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2025-0154
- [J22] Chen, X.∗, & Chua, A. Y. (2025). From attraction to monetization: How knowledge influencers trigger users’ willingness to subscribe to knowledge products? Internet Research, 35(6), 2218–2255. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-07-2023-0595
- [J21] Chen, X., Wang, C., & Zheng, H.∗ (2025). Turning livestreaming viewers into game players: Exploring the impact of game streamers on viewer video game engagement based on an extended means-end chain framework. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 41(9), 5648–5662. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2365026
- [J20] Xia, S., Zhang, Z., Fu, S.∗, & Chen, X. (2024). Measuring knowledge contribution performance of physicians in online health communities: A BP neural network approach. Journal of Information Science, 50(6), 1382–1399. https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515221121946
- [J19] Zheng, H., Zhao, L., Luo, C., Fu, S., Chen, X., & Liang, S.∗ (2024). Understanding user engagement in mobile health applications from a privacy management perspective. Health Promotion International, 39(4), Article daae103. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae103
- [J18] Chen, Y., Chen, X.∗, Li, S., & Fu, S. (2024). From seeking to learning: Understanding contextual factors associated with users’ self-regulated learning on Q&A platforms. Library & Information Science Research, 46(2), Article 101297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2024.101297
- [J17] Chen, X.∗ (2023). Investigating users’ sustained information seeking on academic social networking sites. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 75(6), 1129–1151. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-04-2022-0219
- [J16] Zheng, H., Chen, X., Jiang, S., & Sun, L. (2023). How does health information seeking from different online sources trigger cyberchondria? The roles of online information overload and information trust. Information Processing & Management, 60(4), Article 103364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2023.103364
- [J15] Ou, M., Zheng, H.∗, Kim, H. K., & Chen, X. (2023). A meta-analysis of social media fatigue: Drivers and a major consequence. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, Article 107597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107597
- [J14] Chen, X.∗, Chua, A. Y., & Pee, L. G. (2022). Who sells knowledge online? An exploratory study of knowledge celebrities in China. Internet Research, 32(3), 916–942. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-07-2020-0378
- [J13] Fu, S., Chen, X.∗, Zheng, H., & Ou, M. (2021). Understanding health information literacy of mHealth apps users from digital wellbeing perspective: Evidence from regression analysis and fsQCA. Library & Information Science Research, 43(3), Article 101108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2021.101108
- [J12] Li, C., Chen, X.∗, & Bi, X. (2021). Wearable activity trackers for promoting physical activity: A systematic meta-analytic review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 152, Article 104487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104487
- [J11] Fu, S., Chen, X.∗, & Zheng, H. (2021). Exploring an adverse impact of smartphone overuse on academic performance via health issues: A stimulus-organism-response perspective. Behaviour & Information Technology, 40(7), 663–675. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2020.1716848
- [J10] Fu, S., Chen, X., & Deng, S.∗ (2021). Relating health information literacy self-efficacy to information technology use and health status: A large-scale study among Chinese undergraduates. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 44(1), 38–69. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjilsrcsib.v44i1.11012
- [J9] Zhao, H., Fu, S., & Chen, X.∗ (2020). Promoting users’ intention to share health articles on social media: The role of confirmation bias. Information Processing & Management, 57(6), Article 102354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102354 (Note: Authors contributed equally; 2021 ASIS&T SIG-SM Best Paper Award.)
- [J8] Chua, A. Y.∗, & Chen, X. (2020). Rumor retransmission on Twitter: Message characteristics, user characteristics and retransmission outcomes. Journal of Digital Information Management, 18(1), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.6025/jdim/2019/18/1/21-32
- [J7] Lou, C.∗, Tan, S. S., & Chen, X. (2019). Investigating consumer engagement with influencer-vs. brand-promoted ads: The roles of source and disclosure. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(3), 169–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2019.1667928
- [J6] Chen, X.∗, Chua, A. Y., & Deng, S. (2018). Comparing the web and mobile platforms of a social Q&A service from the user’s perspective. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 70(2), 176–191. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-06-2017-0149
- [J5] Deng, S.∗, Lin, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, X., & Li, H. (2017). How do personality traits shape information-sharing behaviour on social media? Exploring the mediating effect of generalised trust. Information Research, 22(3), Paper 763. https://informationr.net/ir/22-3/paper763.html
- [J4] Chen, X.∗, Deng, S., Gui, S., & Fu, S. (2016). Exploring the relationship between information characteristics and users’ behavior in a Chinese social Q&A community: Evidence from Zhihu. Geomatics and Information Science of Wuhan University, 41, 101–105.
- [J3] Liu, Y., Deng, S.∗, Hu, F., & Chen, X. (2015). The impacts of unique service resources and habit on e-service loyalty in a highly competitive market. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 17(4), 336–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-06-2015-0050
- [J2] He, W., Chen, X.∗, Li, Y., & Qiu, Y. (2015). What leads to readers’ satisfaction with the mobile news apps service? An investigation into the roles of content originality and user experience. Journal of Data and Information Science, 8(3), 76–89.
- [J1] Chen, X., & Deng, S.∗ (2014). Influencing factors of answer adoption in social Q&A communities from users’ perspective: Taking Zhihu as an example. Journal of Data and Information Science, 7(3), 81–95.
Selected Working Papers
- “Cultural and creative work in the age of AI”
- “Information production and information value in the age of AI”
- “Influencer marketing in the age of AI”
- “Disinformation and misinformation in the age of AI”
- “Cultural heritage informatics and tourism in the age of AI”
Refereed Conference Papers
- [C13] Peng, M., Wang, C., & Chen, X. (2025). Impulse buying unleashed: The roles of streamer gender and product type in influencer-led livestream shopping. In International Conference on Information Management (pp. 32-44). Springer Nature Switzerland. (My students are the first and second authors.)
- [C12] Zeng, C., & Chen, X. (2024). Will creative labor lost their jobs? A social informatics study of the “No to AI Generated Images” campaign. In International Conference on Information Management (pp. 93-105). Springer Nature Switzerland. (My student is the first author.)
- [C11] Chen, X., & Yang, R. (2024). Understanding users’ decision-making on privacy disclosure from a configurational perspective: Perceived values, privacy concerns, cognitive style, and trust. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Information (iConference 2024) (pp. 96-105).
- [C10] Chen, X., He, Y., Zheng, H., & Lu, J. (2023). Audience video game engagement in a live streaming context: Examining the role of perceived influence of game streamers from the self-determination perspective. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Information (iConference 2023) (pp. 257-267).
- [C9] Chua, A. Y., & Chen, X. (2022). Online “helpful” lies: An empirical study of helpfulness in fake and authentic online reviews. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Information (iConference 2022) (pp. 91-99).
- [C8] Chen, X., & Chua, A. Y. (2021). Exploring the perceived attractiveness of online celebrities who sell knowledge: A self-branding perspective. In Proceedings of the 84th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2021) (pp. 60-69).
- [C7] Zheng, H., Chen, X., & Fu, S. (2020). An exploration of determinants of cyberchondria: A moderated mediation analysis. In Proceedings of the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2020), e214.
- [C6] Chen, X., & Chua, A. Y. (2020). Reviewing the landscape of research on influencer-generated content. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Information Management (ICIM 2020) (pp. 244-248). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIM49319.2020.244706
- [C5] Zheng, H., Chen, X., & Duan, X. (2019). An overview of altmetrics research: A typology approach. In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries (ICADL 2019) (pp. 33-39). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34058-2_4
- [C4] Chen, X., & Zheng, H. (2019). Who sells knowledge online? Understanding online identities of knowledge influencers on a pay-for-knowledge platform. Paper presented at the 17th Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC 2019), National University of Singapore, Singapore. (Slides)
- [C3] Chen, X., Lou, C., & Fu, S. (2018). Analyzing high-quality social media discussion content: An information-seeking and sense-making approach. Paper presented at the 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA 2018), Prague, Czech Republic.
- [C2] Lou, C., Tan, S. S., & Chen, X. (2018). Mining influencer marketing messages: Investigating consumer responses to brand- vs. influencer-generated ads. In Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference (AAA 2018), New York, USA.
- [C1] Kong, W. Y., Chen, X., Bañas Alvarez, K., Ho, S. S., & Cummings, C. L. (2017). Exploring the impacts of food technology beliefs, evaluations, and media consumption on attitudes toward nanofood in Singapore. Paper presented at the 6th Annual International Conference on Journalism & Mass Communications (JMComm 2017), Singapore.
Refereed Conference Posters
- [P5] Wang, Y., Wang, C., & Chen, X. (2025). Does trust matter? Unpacking creative workers’ deep use of generative AI in human-AI interaction. Poster presented at iConference 2025 (Virtual Program), Indiana University, USA. (My students are the first and second authors.)
- [P4] Zheng, W., Chen, X., & Wang, L. (2024). Understanding user satisfaction and engagement with an online historical and cultural game from a user experience perspective. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 1177-1179. (My student is the first author.)
- [P3] Yang, R., Chen, X., & Fu, S. (2023). Unlocking privacy paradox in social media from a configurational perspective. In Proceedings of the 86th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2023) (pp. 1197-1199). (My student is the first author.)
- [P2] He, Y., Chen, X., & Wang, L. (2023). How digital events promote intangible cultural heritage? A user experience perspective. In Proceedings of the 86th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2023) (pp. 974-976). (My student is the first author.)
- [P1] Chua, A. Y., & Chen, X. (2021). Analyzing readers’ responses to fake news on Facebook. In Proceedings of the 84th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2021) (pp. 694-696).
Refereed Workshop Papers
- [W2] Yang, R., & Chen, X. (2023). Unlocking the privacy paradox on social media platforms from a configurational perspective: Perceived values, privacy concerns, cognitive style and platform trust. Paper presented at the 2023 ASIS&T Annual Meeting, London, UK. (Runner-up, SIG-III International Paper Contest Award.)
- [W1] Chen, X., & Fu, S. (2019). Who sells knowledge to you? Understanding online identities of knowledge influencers on a pay-for-knowledge platform. Paper presented at the 13th China Summer Workshop on Information Management (CSWIM 2019), Shenzhen, China.
Doctoral Consortium
- [DC1] Chen, X. (2021). Online celebrities who sell knowledge: Perceived attractiveness and users’ willingness-to-pay. Presented at the 16th International Conference on Information (iConference 2021), Virtual Event, Beijing, China.
Open Science
To support transparent and reusable research, our group is building a GitHub-hosted collection of research data, code, documentation, and legally shareable full-text manuscripts. Materials are released publication by publication, subject to participant consent, research ethics, publisher policies, and third-party data licenses.
Teaching
Others
Professional Services
- Technical Program Committee Member
- International Conference on Information Management (ICIM)
- European Advanced Educational Technology Conference (EAET)
- International Conference on E-Business and Internet (ICEBI)
- International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries (ICADL)
- Academic and Professional Leadership
- ASIS&T Social Media Chapter, Communication Officer (2020-2021)
- ASIS&T Asia Chapter, Webmaster (2024-current)
- Member of the iSchools Asia-Pacific Next Generation Committee (2025-current)
- Editorial Review Board
- Information Processing & Management (2025-current)
- Scientific Reports (2024-current)
- Creator and Influencer Studies (2026-current)
- Ad hoc Journal Reviewer
- ACM Journal on Responsible Computing (2025)
- Applied Economics (2024)
- Aslib Journal of Information Management (2018-current)
- Australasian Journal of Information Systems (2022)
- Behaviour & Information Technology (2023-current)
- Computers & Education (2025)
- Computers in Human Behavior (2019-current)
- Data and Information Management (2023-current)
- Decision Support Systems (2022-current)
- Digital Health (2022-current)
- Digital Transformation and Society (2022-current)
- Electronic Commerce Research (2025-current)
- Electronic Commerce Research and Applications (2022-current)
- The Electronic Library (2025-current)
- European Journal of Information Systems (2025)
- The Lancet Digital Health (2022)
- Frontiers in Psychology (2021-2022)
- History Archives (2026-current)
- Industrial Management & Data Systems (2023-current)
- Information & Management (2021-current)
- Information Processing & Management (2020-2024)
- Information Technology & People (2021-current)
- International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (2024-current)
- International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (2026)
- International Journal of Medical Informatics (2025)
- Internet Research (2021-current)
- Journal of Advertising (2021)
- Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST) (2021-current)
- Journal of Consumer Behaviour (2020-2021)
- Journal of Information Science (2022-current)
- Journal of Interactive Advertising (2021)
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (2022)
- Journal of Systems and Information Technology (2017-2019)
- Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2019-2020)
- Library & Information Science Research (2025-current)
- Online Information Review (2019)
- Social Sciences & Humanities Open (2024)
- Social Science & Medicine (2024)
- Sustainable Futures (2025)
- Telecommunications Policy (2025-current)
- Telematics and Informatics (2024-current)
- Ad hoc Conference Reviewer
- Association of Internet Researchers Annual Conference: AoIR 2021, 2022, 2023
- Association for Information Science & Technology Annual Meeting: ASIS&T 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
- European Conference on Information Systems: ECIS 2023, 2024
- Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences: HICSS 2024
- International Conference on Information: iConference 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
- International Communication Association Annual Meeting: ICA 2020, 2023
- IEEE International Conference on Information Management: ICIM 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- International Conference on Information Systems: ICIS 2021, 2023, 2024
- Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: PACIS 2021, 2023, 2024, 2026
- Wuhan International Conference on E-Business: WHICEB 2021, 2024, 2025
- Reviewer Development
- Student Reviewer Training Program, Journal of Advertising (2020-2021)
- MIS Quarterly Virtual Reviewer Development Workshop (5 Dec 2020)
- Membership
- Academy of Management (AoM)
- American Academy of Advertising (AAA)
- Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T)
- Association for Information Systems (AIS)
- Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
- Student Supervision and University Service
- Shanghai University: Undergraduate Innovation Project Supervision; Master Theses Supervision
- Nanyang Technological University: Residential Mentor, Hall of Residence 13 (Aug 2019-Jul 2021); Master Theses Supervision (AY 2019-2020; AY 2020-2021)
Awards & Honors
- DIM Best Reviewer Award, Data and Information Management (2024)
- Best Poster Reviewer at the ASIS&T Annual Meeting, Runner-up (2024)
- ASIS&T SIG-ILS Paper Competition, Best Paper Award in Sociotechnical Concerns (2023)
- ASIS&T SIG-III International Paper Contest Award, Runner-up (2023)
- Shanghai Leading Talents Project (Overseas) (2022)
- Shanghai University Early Career Research Award (2022)
- ASIS&T SIG-KM Symposium Best Dissertation Talk (2022)
- Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (2021)
- ASIS&T SIG-SM Inaugural Best Paper Award, Winner (2021)
- Research Scholarship Awarded by Nanyang Technological University (2017-2021)
Hobbies
- Books & movies & music (100% passion)
- Jogging (80%)
- Story writing (70%)
- Photography (50%)
- Traveling (50%)
- Cooking (30%)
- Sichuan/Shanghai Mahjong (25%)
Expertise
- Debates: I have 7 years of debating experience in competitions and coaching
- Debating styles: TV shows, Oregon, and British Parliamentary
- Language for debates: Mandarin
Last Update: August 2026