The challenge of raising a creative question exists in recombining different categories of knowledge. However, the impact of recombination remains controversial. Drawing on the theories of knowledge recombination and category-spanning, we claim that the impact of knowledge spanning on the appeal of questions is contingent upon questions’ knowledge hierarchy in the knowledge space. Using word embedding models and network analysis to quantify knowledge spanning and knowledge hierarchy respectively, we test our hypotheses with the data collected from a large online knowledge market (N = 463,545). Knowledge spanning has an inverted U-shaped influence on the appeal of questions: the appeal of questions increases up to a threshold, after which point the positive effect reverses. However, with the increase in knowledge hierarchy, the inverted U-shape is weakened and disappears quickly. We fill the research gap by conceptualizing question-asking as knowledge-spanning and highlighting the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge hierarchy. The theoretical and practical implications for future research on knowledge recombination are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.