Examining the integrated influence of fairness and quality on learners' satisfaction and Web-based learning continuance intention

Abstract.  As with any other information system (IS), the success of Web-based learning depends largely on user satisfaction and other factors that eventually increase users' intentions to continue using the service (continuance intention). This research integrates the IS success model and fairness theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind learners' intentions to continue using Web-based learning. Our model theorizes that the three dimensions of quality (i.e. information, system and service) and the three dimensions of fairness (i.e. distributive, procedural and interactional) affect learners' satisfaction. We also argue that satisfaction and the three dimensions of fairness will influence learners' intention to continue using Web-based learning. The hypothesized model is validated empirically using data collected from 289 learners of a Web-based learning service. The results show that information quality, system quality, system use, distributive fairness and interactional fairness exhibit significant positive effects on satisfaction. Also, procedural fairness and satisfaction play significant roles in shaping learners' intention to continue using Web-based learning.     

Understanding continuance usage of mobile shopping applications in India: the role of espoused cultural values and perceived risk

We drew on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model, and perceived risk construct to propose an integrated model to explain continuance usage of mobile shopping applications. Espoused national cultural values of individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term/short-term orientation act as moderators to examine the influence of within-culture variation on app usage. Findings reveal habit as the strongest predictor of both continuance intention and use behaviour, but interestingly perceived risk did not influence the post-acceptance behaviour of users significantly. Individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and long-term/short-term orientation espoused cultural values significantly moderated the relationships in the model. Noteworthy theoretical and managerial implications of the research are discussed further.     

Social virtual world continuance among teens: uncovering the moderating role of perceived aggregate network exposure

Engagement in virtual worlds has become pervasive, particularly among the young. At the same time, the number of virtual environments has increased rapidly. Due to intensifying competition, promoting sustained usage, i.e. continuance, has become a top priority for virtual world operators. Prior research has shown that network externalities play a key role in the adoption of communication technologies. However, a small amount of research has examined the role of network externalities in continued IT usage in general or with respect to the virtual world participation in particular. To fill in this gap, we examine how perceived network externalities affect the continuance of social virtual worlds. To this end, we introduce the concept of perceived aggregate network exposure (PANE). We extend the original information systems (IS) continuance model with perceived enjoyment and position PANE as a moderator. We test the model with data collected from 2134 Finnish Habbo Hotel users and employ structural equation modelling in the analysis. The results demonstrate that PANE moderates the influence of motivational factors on continued use intention and satisfaction.     

Predicting continuance in online communities: model development and empirical test

Popular interest in online communities has grown rapidly in recent years as a result of the widespread diffusion of Web 2.0 applications. However, the full values and potential of online communities cannot be realised without users' ongoing participation. Thus, this study aims at developing and empirically testing a research model to examine users' continuance intention to participate in an online community based on an extended information systems (IS) continuance model. Specifically, entertainment value and affective commitment are included in the IS continuance model and empirically examined in the context of online communities. A total of 240 returns collected from an online survey, which was conducted among users of a website bulletin board-based community in China, were analysed using partial least squares. The results reveal that users' continuance intention to participate in an online community is determined by both satisfaction and affective commitment. Satisfaction and affective commitment are, in turn, influenced by positive disconfirmations of purposive and entertainment values. The findings of this study contribute not only to theory building in online community continuance but also inform online community moderators in their effort to develop strategies for retaining their users.     

Exploring the antecedents of trust in virtual communities

Although previous research has established that interpersonal trust and system trust are critical in shaping individual behaviour in virtual settings, the two perspectives have not been examined by IS researchers in virtual communities (VCs) simultaneously. Drawing from prior literature on trust and VCs, a research model for understanding the importance of trust in members and trust in system and their antecedents in VCs is presented. Six trust-building factors were identified using three trust-building bases (calculative base, relationship base and technology base). Data were collected from 324 members of a technical VC to test the model. The study shows that trust in members and trust in system have significant influences on knowledge sharing intention. The study also indicates that knowledge growth, perceived responsiveness and shared vision affect trust in members positively, while knowledge quality influences trust in system significantly. The study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of this study and proposes several future research directions.     

Extended conceptualisation of perceived usefulness: empirical test in the context of information system use continuance

A technology or an information system provides value to its users. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) successfully operationalised such value as the degree that a system can improve users' job performance. The proposed construct, perceived usefulness, has been proved to be the most important factor for technology adoption. However, many scholars have called for further theoretical development to enrich this critical construct but not much effort has been put forward (Bagozzi, R.P., 2007. The legacy of the technology acceptance model and a proposal for a paradigm shift. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8 (4), 244–254; Benbasat, I. and Barki, H., 2007. Quo vadis, TAM? Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8 (4), 212–218). To respond to this call on deepening the conceptualisation of perceived usefulness, this article argues that system usefulness can be formulated beyond job performance improvement and explores several additional usefulness constructs based on well-established management concepts and human need theory. The information system (IS) use continuance model (Bhattacherjee, A., 2001. Understanding information systems continuance: An expectation-confirmation model. MIS Quarterly, 25 (3), 351–370) has been adopted as the theoretical foundation of this study because certain types of system usefulness can be recognised only in a use continuance stage. The empirical results of the research have validated most of the proposed constructs. Significant contributions to research and practice are identified and discussed.     

Blog learning: effects of users' usefulness and efficiency towards continuance intention

Web-based learning is ubiquitous. The blog is a learning channel where learners acquire useful knowledge, to use in specific situations or in dealing with issues. These benefits may stimulate learning motivation for learners. Whether each blog learner can effectively enhance continuance learning intentions is a valuable research issue. Hence, this study proposes an extended expectation–confirmation model (ECM) that explicitly incorporates experiential learning, perceived self-efficacy, and perceived usefulness to examine blog continuance learning behavioural intentions. A survey of 318 bloggers provides strong support for the extended model. Results of the study show that these variables have a strong effect on satisfaction. This study demonstrates the blog as a good learning platform, and provides implications and recommendations resulting from the study.     

Continuance intention of blog users: the impact of perceived enjoyment,habit, user involvement and blogging time

The purpose of this study is to understand factors that affect continuance intention of a popular hedonic information system, blogs. The expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) is adapted with perceived enjoyment, habit and user involvement. Data was collected via an online survey. A total of 430 valid responses were collected. The research model was assessed by structural equation modelling (SEM). The results show that continuance intention of blog use was predicted collectively by user involvement, satisfaction and perceived enjoyment. Habit, however, exhibited no strong relationship with satisfaction and use intention. Users' satisfaction with blog use was predicted primarily by perceived enjoyment, followed by users' confirmation of expectation and user involvement. Perceived enjoyment was predicted by users' involvement and users' confirmation of expectation. Blogging time significantly moderates the effect of habit on perceived enjoyment, but not on satisfaction and continuance intention. The integrated model explains 65% of the satisfaction and 57% of continuance intention. The results suggest that integrating perceived enjoyment and user involvement into the ECT provides better insights into continuous use in the blog context.     

Understanding customers' repeat purchase intentions in B2C e‐commerce: the roles of utilitarian value,hedonic value and perceived risk

Customer loyalty or repeat purchasing is critical for the survival and success of any store. By focusing on online stores, this study investigates the repeat purchase intention of experienced online buyers based on means‐end chain theory and prospect theory. In the research model, both utilitarian value and hedonic value are hypothesised to affect repeat purchase intention positively. Perceived risk is hypothesised to affect repeat purchase intention negatively and moderate the effects of utilitarian and hedonic values on repeat purchase intention. Utilitarian value is proposed as a formative second‐order construct formed by product offerings, product information, monetary savings and convenience. Hedonic value is also proposed as a formative second‐order construct formed by the six hedonic benefits that have been identified in prior research. Data collected from 782 Yahoo!Kimo customers provide strong support for the research model. The results indicate that both the utilitarian value and hedonic value are positively associated with buyers' repeat purchase intention. A higher level of perceived risk reduces the effect of utilitarian value and increases the effect of hedonic value on repeat purchase intention. Implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Mechanisms underlying aggravation and relaxation of virtual aggression: a Second Life survey study

Most studies on user aggression in virtual worlds have mainly focused on the causes of aggressive behaviour, but only a few have focused on the factors that relieve it. This study was conducted to determine the causes of aggression relaxation and aggravation in virtual worlds, using an approach that significantly differs from that used in previous research. We examined the mechanisms that affect aggravation and relaxation of virtual aggression, and suggested ways to resolve problems with aggression. A survey was conducted with 112 Second Life users to examine how commitment, belief, avatar attachment, desensitisation, and addiction were related to self-control and control disorder, and how the two latter factors affected virtual aggression. The survey also examined how virtual aggression influenced the intention for attacking behaviour in the real world. The results showed that (1) belief is a positive predictor of self-control, which has a negative impact on virtual aggression, (2) addiction is a positive predictor of control disorder, and (3) anger in virtual worlds is significantly connected to aggression in the real world.     

The social influence of online collaborative community: the moderating effect of achievement

Online collaborative communities become particularly influential in contemporary Internet economy. However, these communities are often characterised by limited liability. Following the perspective of social influence, this study examines the impacts of three social influence modes in online collaborative communities of a famous online game. The moderating role of a player’s game achievement is also explored. Our results show that community identification is the most influential on online game continuance intention, especially for high achievement players. Community value congruence is likely to affect online game continuance intention for low achievement players. The impact of community normative influence on online game continuance intention appears to be curvilinear. This is more obvious for low achievement players. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.     

Assessing the determinants of flow experience in the adoption of learning management systems: the moderating role of perceived institutional support

Information technology has moved the focus of students and instructors from blackboards to online learning platforms. In the emerging e-learning revolution, the success of quality education depends on the right use of information and communication technology, including the creation of participants’ flow experience while using learning systems, which are rightly considered a backbone of contemporary education. There is a gap in the e-learning literature, reflecting a lack of understanding of students’ flow experience while using online interactive systems. This paper presents a study investigating the key factors (interpersonal factors and atmospheric cues) affecting flow experience and highlights its massive role in the use of any learning management system (LMS). Moreover, the study examines the moderating role of perceived institutional support (PIS) on student adoption of LMS. Using a survey, data were collected from university students in Pakistan and the data were analysed through structural equation modelling. We found that interpersonal factors and LMS atmospherics have significant effects on the flow experience. It was also found that PIS moderates the relationship between flow experience and the use of LMS. This study contributes to the literature by helping institutions and policy-makers know key factors of effective learning systems that students value and enjoy.     

The role of perceived social capital and flow experience in building users’ continuance intention to social networking sites in China

The long-term development of social networking sites (SNSs) relies on their users’ continuance of use. This paper tested the role of perceived social capital and flow experience in driving users to continue using SNSs based on the expectation–confirmation model of information systems continuance. Using data from online surveys of social networking sites users in China, the proposed model was tested by using the Partial Least Squares (PLSs) technique. The results show that perceived bridging and bonding social capital have different role in building users’ satisfaction and continuance intention: perceived bridging social capital has remarkable influence on users’ satisfaction and continuance intention, but perceived bonding social capital has none. Flow experience has influence on users’ satisfaction but none on continuance intention. In addition, gender has impact on users’ continuance intention.     

The influence of self-discrepancy between the virtual and real selves in virtual communities

Virtual communities enable one to pretend to be a different person or to possess a different self-identity at little or no cost. Despite the ubiquity of such communities, there is limited theoretical and empirical research regarding the effect of taking on a different self-identity associated with one’s psychological and behavioral functioning in those communities. To address this issue, drawing on the self-concept rooted in sociopsychology, this study employs the self-discrepancy index, which assesses the degree of differences between one’s virtual and real selves; the study goes onto develop a theoretical framework that links self-discrepancy, psychological states (i.e., autonomy, recovery, and catharsis), and behavior (i.e., contribution quality and quantity). The results of an analysis involving 299 survey participants show that self-discrepancy has a significant influence on autonomy and recovery and that this, in turn, influences levels of contribution quality and quantity. It is of note that the results of this study indicate that catharsis is inversely related to contribution quality. Furthermore, subgroup analysis reveals that the effects of self-discrepancy on contribution vary depending on whether the virtual community is utilitarian or hedonic.     

The relationships among service quality,perceived value,customer satisfaction,and post-purchase intention in mobile value-added services

The purposes of this study are to construct an instrument to evaluate service quality of mobile value-added services and have a further discussion of the relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and post-purchase intention. Structural equation modeling and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data collected from college and graduate students of 15 major universities in Taiwan. The main findings are as follows: (1) service quality positively influences both perceived value and customer satisfaction; (2) perceived value positively influences on both customer satisfaction and post-purchase intention; (3) customer satisfaction positively influences post-purchase intention; (4) service quality has an indirect positive influence on post-purchase intention through customer satisfaction or perceived value; (5) among the dimensions of service quality, “customer service and system reliability” is most influential on perceived value and customer satisfaction, and the influence of “content quality” ranks second; (6) the proposed model is proven with the effectiveness in explaining the relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and post-purchase intention in mobile added-value services.     

Antecedents and consequences of perceived value in Mobile Government continuance use: An empirical research in China

This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of perceived value in m-government continuance use. Drawing upon service science studies and Chinese m-government context, a research model is constructed by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM). Data collected from a field survey of 326 m-government users are analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that perceived value is strongly influenced by mobility, perceived usefulness and security, which is, in turn, significant impact on satisfaction and trust in technology, trust in agent and trust in government. These results contribute to drawing attention to the important role of perceived value in m-government continuance use and providing a new view that supplements to the extant technology acceptance research.     

How virtual community participation influences consumer loyalty intentions in online shopping contexts: an investigation of mediating factors

Extant studies generally recognise that virtual community building is an effective marketing programme for forging deep and enduring affective bonds with consumers. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that investigates key mediating processes (via trust, satisfaction and identification) that underlie the relationship between virtual community participation and consumer loyalty intentions. The authors test the hypotheses using data obtained from three large online retailing stores. Virtual community participation significantly enhances loyalty intentions, through both social mechanisms (via community identification) and psychological mechanisms (via trust and satisfaction). Moreover, the findings provide insights into the complex relationship between the two mechanisms in online shopping settings. Community identification is a pivotal factor for enhancing customer loyalty intentions. The results advance understanding of the process by which virtual community building facilitates the development of business-to-consumer relationships in the computer-mediated environment. The authors discuss the managerial implications of the findings, as well as avenues for further research.     

Understanding value co-creation in virtual communities: The key role of complementarities and trade-offs

Virtual communities form the principal environment favoring provider-client interaction. However, questions regarding the way to manage these communities so that they might generate value have yet to be resolved. Following an inductive approach, seven Lego virtual communities, classified following their governance form and objectives, were analyzed. It is found that different kinds of virtual communities appear as complementary tools to favor value co-creation and enhance members’ performance by constituting a system of value co-creation. Moreover, these community features can help firms achieve a better adjustment between their strategies and their decision-making process relative to the use of social networks.     

Investigating the intention to purchase digital items in social networking communities: A customer value perspective

Some social networking community service providers have earned revenue by selling digital items to their community members. We examined SNC member decisions to purchase digital items based on customer value theory. Six factors were extracted from three dimensions of customer value: functional, social, and emotional value. Our findings indicated that the effects of value on member purchase intentions were significant in terms of the emotional and social dimensions. Our results should help SNC providers by improving their sales of digital items.