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However, due to the fact that doctors use their fragmented time to serve patients, online D\u2013P interaction inevitably has some problems, such as the lack of pertinence in the reply content and doctors' relative unfamiliarity with their individual patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to excavate whether potential D\u2013P social ties and D\u2013P knowledge ties accentuate or attenuate the influence of patient selection (online and offline selection).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>The authors used the methods of text mining and empirical analysis on the structured and unstructured data of an online consultation platform in China to examine the research hypotheses.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>The findings illustrate that the potential D\u2013P social ties increase the influence on patient selection, as do the potential D\u2013P knowledge ties. Specifically, the effect of social ties on patient selection is positively moderated by patient health literacy. Conversely, health literacy weakens the link between knowledge ties and patient selection. In addition, the doctor's title weakens the influence of social ties on patient selection, in contrast to knowledge ties (partially).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study provides guidance for doctors and patients on how to communicate effectively and alleviate tension within D\u2013P relationships. The study\u2019s findings have both theoretical and practical implications for both doctors' and online platforms' decision-making.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/intr-07-2020-0403","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,8]],"date-time":"2021-08-08T23:45:31Z","timestamp":1628466331000},"page":"219-240","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Exploring the influence of doctor\u2013patient social ties and knowledge ties on patient selection"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5482-1507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shuqing","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9569-0299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xitong","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8221-2258","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tianshi","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Xiaofeng","family":"Ju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,10]]},"reference":[{"issue":"5","key":"key2022011705585644700_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1104","DOI":"10.1108\/IntR-08-2016-0245","article-title":"What answers do questioners want on social Q&A? 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