Abstract:  [Purpose/Significance] In order to promote the continuous participation of users in the knowledge-sharing community (KSC), more and more platforms have begun to introduce gamification designs such as badge systems to retain users, but there is still a lack of research on how various types of badges influence the survival of users in different life cycles. [Design/Methodology] This study addresses this omissionby adopting Cox proportional hazard regression models and using the user badge data and user behavior data. We collect data from 1,495,002 Stack Overflow users and divide them into stages ofintroduction, growth and maturity by their survival time. Then, survival analysis with Coxmodel is conducted to investigate how various types of badges influence the survival time of users. [Findings/Conclusion] The empirical results show that in both leapfrog processes, granting badges can inhibit users losses and promote users retention, but different types of badges have different effects on users at different stages. [Originality/Value] In this study, it is found that different gamification strategies need to be adopted for users in different life cycles to promote their survival, whichhas direct theoretical and practical significance for gamification system design and knowledge-sharing community management.

Keywords: Cox model, Survival analysis, Gamification, Online knowledge community