Factors influencing students’ satisfaction and its impact on their loyalty for the University: Case Study at The University of Jordan-Aqaba Branch

This study aimed to measure the impact of several antecedent factors on student’s satisfaction (i.e., academic aspects, non-academic aspects, program issues, reputation, access, quality of university facility, university location and social network services) and the mediator factor of students’ satisfactions' impact on student’s loyalty on the university of Jordan-Aqaba Brunch. Measurement tool was developed to examine the relationship between the study variables. The sample of 379 was used from the university of Jordan-Aqaba brunch students. Results indicated that academic aspects, non-academic aspects, reputation, university location and social network services impacted students' satisfaction directly. In the other hand, program issues, access and quality of university facility did not impact students' satisfaction. However, there was a positive impact of students' satisfaction on students' loyalty.

Social Overload and Discontinuance Intention on Facebook: A Comparative Study

When users begin to feel uncomfortable about the influence of social network services (SNSs) on their lives, they react with various discontinuance behaviors. This comparative study intends to provide a comprehensive explanation of how the fatigue or regret phenomenon is related -to users’ diverse reactions against SNSs. This study attempts to answer two questions: 1) How do specific types of relationships influence social overload from SNS interactions on Facebook? and 2) How does social overload threaten the free usage of services and lead to users’ dissatisfaction with SNSs, and how do these constructs influence users’ intent to discontinue usage of SNSs? To this end, we test a reactance model with Facebook users (n = 433) using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). This study found significant results of the reactance mechanism using samples from two countries, Korea and Japan, which support the generalizability of the reactance mechanism in SNS fatigue. The path of the psychological reactance mechanism in SNSs could differ by country. We also found that reactions toward persona non grata in SNSs differed by country. Our findings suggest that the specific cultural context should be considered when analyzing social overload in SNSs. In previous studies, insufficient attention has been paid to the social features or contexts of SNS. This study proposes a new categorization of relationships in the context of SNSs through the persona non grata concept. As SNSs are social platforms, emotions perceived from the social features of SNSs are an important construct that motivates people to continue using SNSs. Therefore, promoting free activities for users can be an important strategy for maintaining their motivation to use the service. It should be noted that the sample used in this study was slightly unbalanced by the inclusion of a greater proportion of young participants.

Factors affecting the diffusion of mobile social network services in an aging society: value of informative, hedonic and ubiquitous services

Purpose This paper aims to identify factors affecting the continued intention to use mobile social network services (m-SNS) among middle-aged and older adults in Korea, based on the focal characteristics of mobile services and SNS. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an online questionnaire to understand m-SNS usage from 358 people aged over 40 years in Korea. Findings Results show that middle-aged and older users of m-SNS are strongly motivated to seek information; they prefer to use m-SNS on a habitual basis because of the ubiquitous connectivity of mobile services. Furthermore, they perceive the usefulness of m-SNS in expanding their social networks. These results can be used to identify factors that affect continued use of m-SNS by the middle-aged and older generation in Korea. Originality/value This paper expands the literature on SNS acceptance among middle-aged and older adults, the population that, in future, is expected to constitute the majority of m-SNS users. This paper can also help understand factors that affect mature consumers’ continued use of m-SNS.

An Information Recommendation Technique Based on Influence and Activeness of Users in Social Networks

Over the past few years, the number of users of social network services has been exponentially increasing and it is now a natural source of data that can be used by recommendation systems to provide important services to humans by analyzing applicable data and providing personalized information to users. In this paper, we propose an information recommendation technique that enables smart recommendations based on two specific types of analysis on user behaviors, such as the user influence and user activity. The components to measure the user influence and user activity are identified. The accuracy of the information recommendation is verified using Yelp data and shows significantly promising results that could create smarter information recommendation systems.

A Study on the Millennials Usage Behavior of Social Network Services: Effects of Motivation, Density, and Centrality on Continuous Intention to Use

Whether in terms of social media platforms, mobile pay apps or an increasing acceptance of RFID chips in humans, technology has transformed everyday life for consumers. Social networks have experienced enormous growth as online personal networking media. Social exchange theory (for motivation and social reward) and theories of collective action can be applied in order to understand how an individual’s behavior may exert effects on or receive influences from other users with regard to the continuance usage intention of social apps. First, this study aims to examine behavioral characteristics of the Millennials, and takes flow and social reward systematically so as to explore SNS users’ continuance based on SNS characteristics. Targeting Millennials SNS users, this study empirically examines users’ continuance intention at individual level and simulates users’ continuance behavior at group level, which are expected to be influential as a next generation of purchasing group, focusing on social network services (SNS) usage. Second, this study tries to suggest strategic implications by identifying key factors that dominate SNS users’ behavior in the process of experiencing SNS. For the empirical purpose, this study analyzes the relationship between SNS characteristics (motivation to use, density, and centrality) and usage behavior (flow, social reward, and continuous intention to use). As a result, each construct of motivation to use SNS, SNS density, and SNS centrality are positively linked with flow. Motivation to use SNS and SNS centrality are positively associated with social reward, however, SNS density does not have a significant effect on social reward. In addition, flow and social reward turn out to have positive linkage with continuous intention to use respectively. The findings of this study are expected to provide implications for researchers and operators in related fields to identify various factors that explain the SNS usages of the Millennials, especially the major factors that sustain SNS involvement and activities. This study can enrich both SNS continuance theory, and help SNS operators to manipulate resources effectively to attract and retain users.

The Management of Digital Marketing Strategies in Social Network Services: A Comparison between American and European Organizations

The present study aims to provide an overview of the digital marketing strategies in social network services (SNSs) used in America and Europe. This work, unlike previous research that analyze digital marketing strategies in SNSs in a single geographic area, presents as the main contribution and value the use of a comparative approach between continents; specifically, then, an approach that allows comparing the management strategies used in these two areas. The research takes a sample of forty organizations, twenty American and twenty European. The author applies a descriptive examination followed by a parametric analysis using the t-test procedure over a total of 158,208 publications on Twitter. The findings show significant differences in the management approaches applied in these two continents. Even though the digital marketing strategies in SNSs should be based on dialogue and interaction with the organization’s target audience, this point can be more or less important, depending on the continent. While European organizations confer great importance to the interaction with its audience, American organizations tolerate a greater degree of one-way communication. The author concludes that the paradigms governing the definition of digital marketing strategies in SNSs at the global level, a priori thought to be universal, probably require reformulation if they are to be well adapted to the specific geographic areas where these strategies are implemented.