Understanding social networking sites adoption in China: A comparison of pre-adoption and post-adoption

Prior experience is an important determinant factor of individual behavior. This paper developed a theoretical model to predict the adoption intention of pre-adopters and post-adopters on social networking sites based on the theory of planned behavior. Using data from online surveys of netizens in China, the proposed model was tested in the context of pre-adoption and post-adoption by using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. Then, multi-groups analysis was explored to compare the difference between the two groups. The results show that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavior control have significant effect on the adoption intention of pre-adopters and post-adopters, and there is no significant difference between the two groups. In addition, information, meeting new people, and conformity motivations have the same significant effect on both groups. However, entertainment motivation has a significant effect on pre-adopters but connecting with old friends has none; in contrast, connecting with old friends has significant effect on post-adopters while entertainment motivation has no significant effect.     

Why men and women continue to use social networking sites: The role of gender differences

Organizations increasingly use social media and especially social networking sites (SNS) to support their marketing agenda, enhance collaboration, and develop new capabilities. However, the success of SNS initiatives is largely dependent on sustainable user participation. In this study, we argue that the continuance intentions of users may be gender-sensitive. To theorize and investigate gender differences in the determinants of continuance intentions, this study draws on the expectation-confirmation model, the uses and gratification theory, as well as the self-construal theory and its extensions. Our survey of 488 users shows that while both men and women are motivated by the ability to self-enhance, there are some gender differences. Specifically, while women are mainly driven by relational uses, such as maintaining close ties and getting access to social information on close and distant networks, men base their continuance intentions on their ability to gain information of a general nature. Our research makes several contributions to the discourse in strategic information systems literature concerning the use of social media by individuals and organizations. Theoretically, it expands the understanding of the phenomenon of continuance intentions and specifically the role of the gender differences in its determinants. On a practical level, it delivers insights for SNS providers and marketers into how satisfaction and continuance intentions of male and female SNS users can be differentially promoted. Furthermore, as organizations increasingly rely on corporate social networks to foster collaboration and innovation, our insights deliver initial recommendations on how organizational social media initiatives can be supported with regard to gender-based differences.     

Communication in virtual environments: The influence of spatial cues and gender on verbal behavior

As communication technologies continue to evolve, more people will engage in virtual social interactions. With this trend comes an increasing need for research on behavior within virtual worlds. This study contributes to that agenda by focusing on the influence of physical attributes of a virtual setting and gender on verbal behavior expressed by mixed-gender dyads in a virtual world. Computerized text analyses revealed linguistic differences as a function of both the physical and social complexity of virtual settings and gender. The latter differences included both quantitative and qualitative features of written communication. These results add important new discoveries to the literature on virtual psychology and highlight the value of using text analysis tools to investigate virtual interactions.     

Understanding the role of competition in video gameplay satisfaction

One of the key elements in many video games is competition. Based on Self-Determination and Flow theories, this paper explores the process through which competition makes a video game satisfying. A structural model that examines the impacts of Situational Competitiveness (manipulated via modes of competition) and Dispositional Competitiveness (as a personality trait) on gameplay experience is proposed and validated. The results show that the perception of video game competitiveness has a strong effect on Flow experience and Satisfaction. While an individual’s personality impacts the perception of a game’s competitiveness, this perception can also be influenced by the mode of competition.     

The mediator role of self-disclosure and moderator roles of gender and social anxiety in the relationship between Chinese adolescents’ online communication and their real-world social relationships

Based on theory and previous research, we examined relationships among gender, social anxiety, self-disclosure, quality of real-world friendships and online communication by Chinese adolescent Internet users. Results indicated that online communication and self-disclosure are not related to quality of friendship, and online communication is positively related to self-disclosure. For adolescent boys and adolescents with high social anxiety, online communication can explain more variance in users’ self-disclosure, indicating that gender and social anxiety moderate the relationship between online communication and online self-disclosure.     

Understanding post-adoption behaviors of e-service users in the context of online travel services

We developed a model to investigate the factors influencing two different post-adoption behaviors of e-service users based on the Post-Acceptance Model of IS Continuance (IS continuance model): (1) continuance intention to use e-services; and (2) Word of Mouth (WOM) behavior. We tested the research model using a survey of 543 usable responses in China. Our findings show that satisfaction and perceived usefulness positively affect continuance intention, which, together with perceived usefulness, positively influences the WOM behavior. The two different post-adoption behaviors of e-service users, continuance intention and WOM, are closely related. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.     

Understanding the privacy behavior of adolescents on Facebook: The role of peers,popularity and trust

We study whether peer influence processes, popularity and trust predict privacy settings on Facebook. We use large-scale survey data from 3434 Dutch adolescents combined with observed privacy behavior on Facebook. The findings show that peer influence processes play a role and that adolescents imitate the privacy settings of their peers in the classroom. Such imitation processes are particularly pronounced for highly connected classrooms. The results show that more popular adolescents in the classroom are more likely to publicly display their Facebook profiles. Furthermore, we find that low-trust groups (ethnic minorities, lower educated and younger adolescents, and girls) more frequently opt for private Facebook profiles.     

Mobile payment: Understanding the determinants of customer adoption and intention to recommend the technology

Mobile payment is receiving growing attention globally, from consumers to merchants, as an alternative to using cash, check, or credit cards. The potential of this technology is enormous. This study aims to identify the main determinants of mobile payment adoption and the intention to recommend this technology. We advance the body of knowledge on this subject by proposing an innovative research model that combines the strengths of two well-known theories; the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) with the innovation characteristics of the diffusion of innovations (DOI), with perceived security and intention to recommend the technology constructs. The research model was empirically tested using 301 responses from an online survey conducted in a European country, Portugal. Data was analyzed using the structured equation modeling (SEM). We found compatibility, perceived technology security, performance expectations, innovativeness, and social influence to have significant direct and indirect effects over the adoption of mobile payment and the intention to recommend this technology. The relevance of customer's intention to recommend mobile payment technology in social networks and other means of communication was also confirmed, supporting the recommendation to include it in social marketing campaigns and in future technology adoption studies. For researchers this study provides a basis for further refinement of individual models of acceptance. For practitioners, understanding the key constructs is crucial to design, refine, and implement mobile payment services, applications, and products that achieve high consumer acceptance, value, and high rates of positive recommendations in social networks.     

The effects of the self and social identity on the intention to microblog: An extension of the theory of planned behavior

Microblogging has become one of the most popular social communication styles in the world. Much research has already addressed this hot issue; however, studies examining the intentions behind microblogging behaviors are limited. This study extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict intention to microblog and other behaviors. The results showed that social identity was the greatest predictor of intention, followed by attitude and perceived behavioral control. Social identity fully mediated the effects of subjective norms and self-identity on intention. Intention significantly predicted users' microblogging behaviors. These results have important implications for industry players and marketing managers.     

Understanding the intention to follow the advice obtained in an online travel community

Online travel communities are an increasing phenomenon that is motivating great changes in consumer behavior in the travel sector. Travelers prefer to rely on peers’ recommendations and thus visit these communities to look for unbiased information. This work analyzes some of the precursors of the consumer intention to follow the advice obtained in an online travel community. Data show the relevant role of attitude toward the advice, trust in the online community that provides the advice and perceived usefulness of this information in order to determine the consumer intention to follow the advice obtained in the community. As well, trust and usefulness have been found to influence consumer attitude, and usefulness is also directly affected by trust in the community that provides the advice. Finally, a specific personal attribute - namely, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence -, moderates the effects of the antecedents of the intention to follow the advice obtained in a travel community. Based on these results, some implications for practice are widely discussed.     

Exploring gender and gender pairing in the knowledge elaboration processes of students using computer-supported collaborative learning

The aim of the study is to investigate the influence of gender and gender pairing on students’ learning performances and knowledge elaboration processes in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). A sample of ninety-six secondary school students, participated in a two-week experiment. Students were randomly paired and asked to solve several moderately structured problems concerning Newtonian mechanics. Students’ pretest and posttest performances were analyzed to see whether students’ gender and the gender pairing (mixed or single-gender) were significant factors in their problem solving learning in CSCL. Students’ online interactions were also analyzed to unravel the dynamic process of individual knowledge elaboration. The multilevel analyses revealed that a divergent pattern of knowledge elaboration was a significant predictor for students’ learning achievement, and in mixed-gender dyads students’ knowledge elaboration processes were more inclined to diverge from each other. Moreover, females in single-gender dyads significantly outperformed females in mixed-gender dyads. But this was not the case for male students.     

Website design in an international context: The role of gender in masculine versus feminine oriented countries

Previous research confirms there are differences between men and women concerning website design preferences. A few researchers have further suggested website preferences based on gender (i.e. whether one is a man or a woman) differ in countries that are typically considered higher in masculinity versus higher in femininity. As such, this supposes fewer differences exist between men and women in more feminine societies, while more significant differences occur in more masculine societies. To test this assumption, we survey a total of 955 participants located in six countries. More particularly, we examine design constructs of Information Content, Navigation Design, Visual Design modeled to Website Trust and Website Satisfaction. We are interested to determine if gender differences are strong in higher masculinity countries and weak in lower masculinity countries. We also investigate if gender moderates the various relationships in our model. As predicted, in higher masculinity countries there are more differences between men and women, and gender is more likely to moderate the relationships in the model. This research has implications for the complexity of website design preferences, and extends earlier work on website design in a multiple country sample where masculinity–femininity differs. Theoretical contributions and design issues are elaborated.     

Understanding affective commitment in social virtual worlds: The role of cultural tightness

Understanding how cultural differences affect the formation of users’ affective commitment (ACO) to social virtual world (SVW) services is a critical but understudied issue. Using a novel, norm-based cultural approach, we introduce cultural tightness (CT) to capture cultural differences in users’ collective environment and postulate a model that investigates the contingent effects of CT on the relationships between ACO and its drivers. A two-level analysis of survey data gathered from 400 field users of an influential SVW service and secondary data of CT reveals that the effects of satisfaction, calculative commitment, and subjective norm on ACO are contingent on CT.     

Antecedents of computer self-efficacy: A study of the role of personality traits and gender

Empirical evidence suggests that computer self-efficacy plays an important role in one’s acceptance and use of new information technology. Little is however known about the antecedents of computer self-efficacy. This paper reports on a study of 143 non-users of a self-checkout library system available at a large Canadian university which was conducted to investigate the relationships between stable personality traits and gender with computer self-efficacy. Results indicate that four of the five stable personality traits, as measured by the Big-5 factors of personality, contribute to explain computer self-efficacy. Taking gender into account, results show that the traits of neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness are significantly related to computer self-efficacy for women but not for men. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Understanding the role of technology attractiveness in promoting social commerce engagement: Moderating effect of personal interest

The rapid growth and increasing convergence of social networking and e-commerce open up a new era of social commerce, wherein people are encouraged to engage in various social interactions that are conducive to commercial activities. However, current studies are limited in investigating the concept of social commerce engagement and the processes through which social commerce engagement is established. Drawing upon interpersonal attraction theory and relationship management perspective, this study proposes a research model to address the influences of technology attractiveness, which is composed of task, social, and physical attractiveness, on social commerce involvement and engagement. Considering that social interactions in social commerce community are often stimulated by users’ common interests in products and consumption activities, the moderating role of personal interest is further examined by applying personality literature to reveal how technology attractiveness and community involvement take effect in the social commerce context. Empirical results indicate that all the three aspects of technology attractiveness (i.e., task, social, and physical attractiveness) are positively associated with community involvement, which in turn affects social commerce engagement. In particular, involvement fully mediates the impact of physical attractiveness and partially mediates the effects of task and social attractiveness. Personal interest enhances the effect of social attractiveness, whereas it weakens the effect of physical attractiveness on community involvement. Personal interest also strengthens the positive relationship between community involvement and social commerce engagement. Findings emerged from this study will contribute to the current understanding of how social commerce engagement is formed and help practitioners improve community attractiveness and deliver differential attractiveness to users with different levels of personal interest.     

The role of social interaction on users motivation to exercise: A persuasive web framework to enhance the self-management of a healthy lifestyle

The current research guidelines of the European community suggest the importance of the development of systems that help users manage their health themselves. The increasing amount of communication technologies and devices from which users can access information, and the possibility to interact through social media channels, play an important role in this scenario. Based on these considerations, in this paper we present an innovative persuasive web application, designed both to exploit social networking sites and to cooperate with a mobile application that already operates in the e-health and motivational domains. In particular, the innovative aspects introduced by the web application are the possibility to access also from a web browser some features previously available only through a mobile application and a more direct and user-friendly integration of social network sites. Indeed, thanks to an extensive interaction with the Facebook social network, users are allowed to share their experience with the application. This generates a strong social influence effect, which inspires and motivates other users to improve their exercising activity. Experimental results put in evidence that our web application, also thanks to social interactions, is favoring an enhancement of users’ motivation to a more active lifestyle. This is mainly due to its capability to have an impact on the other users thanks to the posts generated on the Facebook social network.     

Understanding consumer intention to participate in online travel community and effects on consumer intention to purchase travel online and WOM: An integration of innovation diffusion theory and TAM with trust

The growing presence of online travel communities is leading to great developments in the travel industry. Grounded in the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM), this paper seek to develop and empirically test a comprehensive framework to examine the antecedents of customers' intention to participate in online travel community. Using SEM to analyse the data collected from a sample of 495 members, the results indicate that innovation diffusion theory and TAM with trust provide an appropriate model for explaining consumers' intention to participate; this intention in turn has a positive influence on intention to purchase and positive WOM. Furthermore, religiosity plays an important role in understanding consumers' behavioural intention. The results offer important implications for online service provider and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of online travel community.     

A multivariate investigation of gender differences in the number of online tests received-checking for perceived self-regulation

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the number of formative e-tests taken differed by gender, using students' perceived self-regulation levels as a covariate. The sample was 340 teacher candidates reached through purposeful sampling. The study lasted a semester; students were involved in a blended learning environment where classroom lessons supported by self-regulatory e-tests as a part of an online course management system, called MOODLE. It was possible for students to take 10-item online quizzes and 20-item practice tests as many as they wanted. In the analysis, a factorial ANOVA design was applied. Findings indicated a moderate correlation between the number of formative e-tests taken and the perceived self-regulation levels, indicating higher perceived self-regulation levels as the number of formative e-tests increased. By using perceived self-regulation levels as a covariate, the gender differences in the number of e-tests taken were also investigated. According to finding, gender variable did not explain the differences in the compound variable “the number of formative e-tests”. However, after controlling for the effect of perceived self-regulation, the findings were significant. Hence, we can conclude that self-regulated behavior is independent of students' gender; therefore, e-assessments is a self-regulated, technology-based instructional aid in higher education.     

Understanding the future of energy-performance trade-off via DVFS in HPC environments

DVFS is a ubiquitous technique for CPU power management in modern computing systems. Reducing processor frequency/voltage leads to a decrease of CPU power consumption and an increase in the execution time. In this paper, we analyze which application/platform characteristics are necessary for a successful energy-performance trade-off of large scale parallel applications. We present a model that gives an upper bound on performance loss due to frequency scaling using the application parallel efficiency. The model was validated with performance measurements of large scale parallel applications. Then we track how application sensitivity to frequency scaling evolved over the last decade for different cluster generations. Finally, we study how cluster power consumption characteristics together with application sensitivity to frequency scaling determine the energy effectiveness of the DVFS technique.