Demystifying continuous participation in game applications at social networking sites

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Wu ◽  
Tingru Cui ◽  
Na Liu ◽  
Yimeng Deng ◽  
Junpeng Guo

Purpose Drawn from the social playfulness literature and the elaboration likelihood model, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a research model to examine users’ continuous participation in SNS game applications. Design/methodology/approach A field survey with 133 subjects was conducted to test the research model. Findings Two identified design features, symbolic physicality and inherent sociability, are found to influence users’ perceived curiosity and perceived enjoyment toward playing SNS game applications. Perceived enjoyment is significantly associated with perceived curiosity and predicts users’ continuous participation of SNS game applications. The authors also observed a gender difference of social playfulness design on perceived curiosity. Research limitations/implications Use intention was used as a proxy for actual use behavior, since objective data on continuance behavior was not available. Additionally, the contributions of this study may be constrained by one single sample. Practical implications The findings of the study suggest practical guidelines for designing game applications in SNS through socialization design and symbolic physicality. Further, based on the findings of gender differences, a personalization game design strategy is provided. Originality/value The study contributes to the post-adoption IS literature and sheds light on the interesting area of social media participation. Additionally, this study enriches the online gaming research by demonstrating gender differences.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1386-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya F. Farah ◽  
Muhammad Junaid Shahid Hasni ◽  
Abbas Khan Abbas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the important factors which help explain consumer intention and use behavior in mobile banking (m-banking) adoption. All constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 are studied. Non-monetary value is studied through perceived value. Trust and perceived risk are also included to predict intention. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was utilized to evaluate customer responses on a five-point Likert scale. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from a sample of 490 respondents in Pakistan. The data were analyzed using AMOS and SPSS for Cronbach’s α, CR, CMV, AVE, Harmon’s single factor test, correlation and structural equation modeling. Findings The results of the study show that most of the predictors of intention, including perceived value, performance expectancy, habit, social influence, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation (except for facilitating condition), perceived risk and trust, are significant. All predictors of usage behavior are significant. Research limitations/implications A cross-sectional study was conducted due to time constraints. Practical implications Bank managers must focus on improving customers’ intentions to use m-banking as well as on providing facilitating conditions to increase its actual use. To boost mobile banking, banks’ management must consider the customers’ habits while designing their m-banking products. Originality/value The findings of this paper are not only interesting in terms of boosting m-banking diffusion rate, but also in terms of financial inclusion of the vast majority of mobile users. Further the impact of intention, facilitating condition and habit were checked on actual use behavior since people tend not always to act upon their intentions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjin Zha ◽  
Haijuan Yang ◽  
Yalan Yan ◽  
Guanxiang Yan ◽  
Chengsong Huang ◽  
...  

Purpose Microblogging as one kind of social media application provides an important information sharing platform. Adaptive information sharing is the combination of adaptive information technologies (IT) use behavior and information sharing behavior and subsequently refers to adaptive use of IT oriented to information sharing. The purpose of this paper is to understand adaptive information sharing in the context of microblogging from the perspective of cognitive switching. Design/methodology/approach A research model was developed and survey data were collected. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to verify the research model. Findings Adaptive information sharing is positively impacted by other people’s use, discrepancies and deliberate initiatives among which other people’s use is the key determinant. Meanwhile, task self-efficacy positively moderates the effect of other people’s use on adaptive information sharing. Practical implications Developers of microblogging should as far as possible create learning atmosphere and learning culture. With learning atmosphere and culture, more and more users could keep on learning from observing other people. Consequently, more and more users would be willing to try new features of microblogging to share information. Originality/value This study examines adaptive information sharing by extending adaptive IT use behavior from the levels of technology, system and feature to the information level, presenting a new lens for adaptive IT use and information sharing alike.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhou

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of social support on social capital in mobile social networking sites. Design/methodology/approach Based on the 234 valid responses collected from a survey, structural equation modelling was employed to examine the research model. Findings The results indicated that social support, which includes informational support and emotional support, has a significant effect on social capital that consists of structural, relational and cognitive capital. Originality/value Although previous research has found the effect of social capital on user behaviour, it has seldom identified the determinants of social capital. Thus, how to build and develop social capital remains a question. This research examined the effect of social support on social capital.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiabing Zheng ◽  
Christy M. K. Cheung ◽  
Matthew K.O. Lee ◽  
Liang Liang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of user engagement in the context of online brand communities. A research model is proposed to explain how brand loyalty is developed through user engagement. Design/methodology/approach – The research model was empirically tested with an online survey study of 185 current Facebook users. Findings – Results revealed that user engagement influenced brand loyalty both directly and indirectly through online community commitment. Users tend to focus on the benefits (rather than the costs) derived from the usage when they engage in an online brand community. Research limitations/implications – The selection of respondents is bound to the Hong Kong area, while Facebook members are globally distributed. In addition, this study involved a cross-sectional design instead of investigating the development of brand loyalty from a long-term perspective. Practical implications – The results inform e-marketers the importance of user engagement behaviors for building brand loyalty through online communities. Strategies that encourage members to engage in online brand communities on social networking sites such as Facebook are also provided. Originality/value – The concept of user engagement in online brand communities is still poorly understood, underscoring the need for theoretically based research of user engagement. This paper enriches the knowledge in the area of brand engagement by presenting a research model that introduces the concept of user engagement in social media research and empirically examines its role in building brand loyalty in online brand communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Hui Fang ◽  
Chia-Ying Li ◽  
Zeeshan Ahmed Bhatti

PurposeNumerous companies have launched brand pages (BPs) on social networking sites to enhance customer-brand communication, cultivate the customer-brand relationship and promote brand loyalty. This study aims to investigate how BP affordances support social commerce.Design/methodology/approachThe study devises a theoretical model linking the proposed BP affordances (visibility, selectivity, persistence and interactivity) to three customer values (relationship quality, brand experience and smart shopping feeling [SSF]) to encourage brand loyalty and BP endorsement on the part of the customer.FindingsData collected from 591 respondents support all proposed hypotheses. The model explains high variances in brand loyalty and BP endorsement, indicating that relationship quality plays a more salient role in producing brand loyalty, while SSF plays a more important role in eliciting BP endorsement.Originality/valueThe study is unique in four ways. First, drawing on the lens of affordance, it proposes specific affordances for BPs and offers empirical results for their applicability. Second, by incorporating CDL into the research model, it illuminates the high explanatory power of these proposed BP affordances on the three customer values. Integrating the S-O-R model with the affordance perspective and CDL provides a more complete picture of the BP phenomenon. Third, it extends the reach of existing work by examining BP endorsement in social media as a dependent variable beyond brand loyalty, with SSF included as another source of values to shed more light on the relationships depicted in the model. Fourth, by taking trait competitiveness into account, it sheds further light on relationships between customer values and BP endorsement.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqdas Malik ◽  
Kari Hiekkanen ◽  
Amandeep Dhir ◽  
Marko Nieminen

Purpose The popularity of Facebook photo sharing has not only seen a surge in the number of photos shared but also has raised various issues concerning user privacy and self-disclosure. Recent literature has documented the increasing interest of the research community in understanding various privacy issues concerning self-disclosures on Facebook. However, little is known about how different privacy issues, trust and activity influence users’ intentions to share photos on Facebook. To bridge this gap, a research model was developed and tested to better understand the impact of privacy concerns, privacy awareness and privacy-seeking on trust and actual photo sharing activity and subsequently on photo sharing intentions. This study aims to examine the consequences of various facets of privacy associated with photo sharing activity on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional data from 378 respondents were collected and analysed using partial least squares modelling. Findings The results revealed a significant relationship between various aspects of privacy, including awareness and protective behaviour, with trust and activity. Furthermore, trust and users’ photo sharing activity significantly impact photo sharing intentions on Facebook. Originality/value This study contributes new knowledge concerning various privacy issues and their impact on photo sharing activity and trust. The study also proposes implications that are highly relevant for social networking sites, media agencies and organisations involved in safeguarding the privacy of online users.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Sajjad Hosain

Purpose This paper aims to critically discuss the mounting role of social media (SM) or social networking sites (SNSs) on various human resource management (HRM) practices. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on 87 published papers collected from the Web of Science Database particularly from 2010 to 2020 (up to June) using VOSviewer software. After reviewing those paper contents, the author briefly highlighted the findings. Findings According to most of the previous studies, the utilization of SM information for various HRM practices is rising although such utilization is mostly limited to talent search and recruitment & selection at present. Further, it was found that Facebook and LinkedIn are the two most accepted sites among the hiring professionals where the first one mostly provides behavioral information and the second one provides job-related information. Finally, it was revealed that organizations can develop a strong corporate branding through the presence in SM. Research limitations/implications This review paper is expected to motivate further research initiatives regarding the role of social media into different HRM practices. Practical implications The author expects that based on the findings, the organizational policymakers can get some practical guidelines regarding the efficient utilization of such a platform. Originality/value Social media is a powerful platform for flourishing business entities, promoting products, branding, talent search and so many more purposes. An organization can well promote its existence through this popular platform. In particular, the media can be a well-established platform for searching competent employees and creating employer branding. Therefore, more and more research studies should be carried out focusing on this recent issue. This review paper can be a base for the upcoming researchers as it has accumulated the previous literature and their findings.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Yu Lin ◽  
En-Yi Chou ◽  
Heng-Chiang Huang

PurposeSocial networking sites (SNSs) have significantly influenced people's lives and changed their behavior. Although previous research has explored self-disclosure in virtual communities, little is known about the impact of other users, particularly their online social support, on self-disclosure. The aim of this study is to explore how online social support dimensions (i.e., emotional, informational, esteem, instrumental and network support) influence people's self-disclosure, which in turn affects their commitment to SNSs.Design/methodology/approachBased on social exchange theory, this study proposes a research model that explores the role of other users on self-disclosure. This study collects data from a sample of 558 respondents and applies the structural equation modeling technique to test the research model.FindingsThe findings show that users are motivated to disclose information and commit to a specific SNS because of the supportive climate. Results also show that self-disclosure mediates the effect of online social support on users' commitment to SNSs.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the influence of other users' roles on self-disclosure on SNSs, extending the application of social exchange theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1064-1089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yicheng Zhang ◽  
Chee Wei Phang ◽  
Rui Gu ◽  
Chenghong Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what may influence participation in mobile collaborative consumption (CC). In particular, the authors investigate the effects of individual sociability and psychological antecedents including enjoyment, social connection, altruistic motivation, reputation, trust and embarrassment on the participation intention in this emerging phenomenon, as well as their relationships. Design/methodology/approach Survey approach was employed to validate the research model. Findings Hedonic factor, i.e. enjoyment, and social-related factors including altruistic motivation, reputation and embarrassment emerge as important antecedents of participation in mobile CC. On top of these factors, individual sociability plays an important role, by acting as a direct antecedent of the dependent variable, while also influencing their perceived greater altruistic motivation and reputation from participating in the CC. Yet, sociability has no significant effect on perceived enjoyment and embarrassment associated with the activity, suggesting that addressing these factors may encourage individuals with low sociability to participate. Originality/value This study taps into mobile technology to support CC in daily consumption activities, and highlights the factors that influence people’s participation in such activities. More importantly, the findings suggest that while it is more likely for individuals with high sociability to participate in this emerging form of social activities, for consumers with low sociability, addressing the enjoyment aspect and embarrassment issue of the activities may nonetheless promote their participation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy K. H. Chan ◽  
Christy M. K. Cheung ◽  
Na Shi ◽  
Matthew K. O. Lee

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors associated with user satisfaction in the social network sites (SNSs), and to explore the moderating effects of gender on user satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – A research model was built upon the expectation disconfirmation model (EDM) with a focus on SNSs specific motivations (i.e. relationship maintenance and entertainment). The model was tested empirically with 221 experienced Facebook users using an online survey. Findings – The research model explained 40.5 percent of the variance in user satisfaction. In addition, the results showed that entertainment plays a more important role in determining user satisfaction with SNSs for male users, while relationship maintenance is more important in determining user satisfaction with SNSs for female users. Research limitations/implications – The current study enriched the theoretical understanding of user satisfaction in the context of SNSs. Particularly, perceptions and disconfirmations about the use of SNSs were identified and empirically tested. Furthermore, gender differences in terms of SNSs usage were empirically demonstrated. Originality/value – The present study is one of the first few studies that attempts to explain user satisfaction with SNSs as well as examine the role of gender with a theoretical foundation. It complements the empirical research in the IS literature that addresses new social communication technologies.


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