Perceived social support moderates the relationships between variables in the social cognition model

Posting behaviour on social networking sites (SNS) has become a method enabling unsatisfied users to vent emotions. Based on social cognition theory (SCT), personal outcome expectations and self-efficacy affect posting behaviour for venting emotions on SNS. However, perceived social support (PSS) may alter the relationships within the SCT model. Thus, this study aimed to explore the moderating effect of PSS on the relationships between variables in the SCT model for venting emotions on SNS. In total, 310 unsatisfied customers in Taiwan were investigated, and structural equation modelling was performed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that personal outcome expectations and self-efficacy were positively associated with posting behaviour which, in turn, increased venting emotions on SNS. Moreover, PSS moderated the relationships between variables in the SCT model.