Understanding the Effect of Tie Strength on Continuance Intention of Second-Generation Mobile Instant Messaging Services

Facilitated by the widespread adoption of smartphones, applications (apps) on smartphones such as WeChat and WhatsApp have seen rapid and explosive growth. These apps are generally referred to as second-generation mobile instant messaging (SMIM) services. Unlike first-generation mobile instant messaging (FMIM) services (e.g. Short Message Service), SMIM services typically support multimedia contents and are embedded within social networks, which may have a bearing on the post-adoption behaviour of users in particular. However, prior studies on the post-adoption usage of SMIM services have a limited understanding of the effects of social network. Network tie strength, as a configuration of social network, has an important impact on users in SMIM services. In order to explore the effects of social network on users’ continued usage intention in SMIM services, we propose and empirically test an integrated model by identifying the antecedents such as tie strength, satisfaction, and perceived critical mass. This study contributes to existing IS post-adoption literature by understanding and capturing the role of social network (i.e. tie strength) in SMIM services. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Social Media And Health: Implications For Primary Health Care Providers

This report is the second deliverable of the ?Digital Inclusion and Social Knowledge Media for Health: Frameworks and Roadmaps? project. The first discussed the concept of social and digital exclusion whilst this report focuses on the emerging phenomenon of social media. The report outlines current knowledge on the users and usages of social media for health and goes on to discuss social media in the context of a continuing focus (ref. D1.1) on the areas of mental health, smoking cessation and teenage lifestyles. The report concludes with an outline of an approach to a ?social media strategy? and with suggestions for directions for future research

How mobile instant messaging affects public employees’ daily work: An empirical examination based on stressor-strain-outcome model

The phenomenon of excessive instant messaging usage in the workplace has garnered increasing attention in recent years. Despite its pervasiveness, extant literature predominantly focused on the psychological well-being, with the subsequent influences on work performance remaining largely unexplored. Using data from street-level bureaus in China, this study examines how work-oriented mobile instant messaging stressors result in psychological reactions and daily work performance decrement as well. Results demonstrate that information overload, compulsive usage and normative response pressure are significant predictors of strain which was represented by cognitive fatigue, emotional fatigue and invasion of life. These strain constructs can further impair individual’s work performance. The findings from this research provide meaningful theoretical insights and carry practical implications

Learning about Chinese-speaking cultures at a distance

This chapter focuses on the challenges posed by curriculum choices and pedagogical frameworks to the study of Languages of the Wider World in the UK. These languages reflect complex linguistic and cultural realities that do not fit into the traditional constraints of language education, which raises questions about the extent to which we can address the global and local dimensions of the target languages and cultures. I examine in particular the case of Chinese – a language family with multiple varieties and spoken by many communities in Asia and other parts of the globe – in the context of distance education. Issues surrounding language learning at a distance are discussed, as well as the role that teachers and technology play in supporting the development of language learners’ cultural awareness. While teachers can, in a face-to-face situation, exploit, expand and discuss cultural information, this possibility is very limited in distance learning. We will see how, at present, technology has taken on a major role in both formal and informal education, facilitating contact between learners and between learners and teachers (however distant they might be). For example, the Open University’s beginners’ Chinese course discussed here makes use of online forums to enable cultural interaction; initial examinations of these forums reveal the students to be diverse and mobile, and they also give us a sense of their cultural stances, and of the shapes of the beliefs, values and attitudes supported by their individual cultural backgrounds

Mobile social media in inter-organizational projects: Aligning tool, task and team for virtual collaboration effectiveness

Inter-organizational projects face unique challenges and opportunities due to team diversities and task complexity. Mobile social media like WhatsApp and WeChat emerge as new-generation collaboration tools in such endeavors. Based on a literature review, this study posits that how well team-tool, task-tool and team-task relationships are handled shape virtual collaboration effectiveness. The conceptual framework, validated with the interviews from inter-organizational project team members in China and the USA, leads to a research model. The results of a larger-scale survey confirm that tool usability, task fit and team connectivity contribute to virtual collaboration effectiveness, which affects project management success and team appreciation. In addition, there are noticeable cross-country differences, especially the opposite moderating effects that degree of use imposes on the relationship between virtual collaboration effectiveness and project management success. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed

Integrating guanxi into technology acceptance: an empirical investigation of WeChat

Social influence is an important research topic in the technology acceptance literature, in particular for social media. Prior empirical studies have for the most part employed social influence theory to investigate user intentions to continue with social media, while culture driven theories have been neglected. Rather than using social influence theory, we introduced guanxi theory to explore how guanxi social mechanisms (or processes) influence Chinese users’ continuance intentions in WeChat. Specifically, we developed a model that examines the role of guanxi as manifested by renqing, mianzi and ganqing in perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and continuance intention in WeChat. A survey research method was adopted to test the proposed hypotheses. This study found that ganqing has a positive impact on perceived usefulness and continuance intention. Mianzi exerts a negative effect on continuance intention but exhibits a positive effect on perceived usefulness. Renqing was found to have no significant impact on perceived usefulness and continuance intention. Our study advances the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by introducing guanxi-based constructs in a Chinese mobile social-messaging application context. Our study also offers alternative insights on guanxi-based social influence processes in the Chinese technology acceptance literature

Mediating identity, 'mobile-ising' culture : the social impact of MXIt in the relational lives of teens

The primary aim of the study was to examine the mediating role that MXit plays in the identity formation of 16-18 year old adolescents. Little is known about the social impact of MXit on adolescents’ identities when this usage is so deeply embedded in the relational exchanges of teens’ everyday experiences. Nine focus groups, four group interviews and two one on one interviews were employed across six schools located in four socioeconomically divergent Cape Town suburbs demarcated using middle to upper-income (Milnerton and Newlands) and lower-income (Khayelitsha and Cloetesville) operational definitions

UNDERSTANDING COLLABORATIVE STICKINESS INTENTION IN SOCIAL NETWORK SITES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING

This study aims to investigate users’ knowledge sharing intention and collaborative stickiness intention towards social network sites (SNS). SNS offer an opportunity for users to interact and form relationships, while knowledge is accrued by integrating user’s information, experience, and practice. However, there have been few systematic studies that ask why people use SNS to share knowledge. We adopt social capital theory, social identity theory, as well as use and gratification theory to explore the determinants of members’ knowledge sharing intention in SNS. The survey was conducted on two education VCs of facebook, while most members were teachers and educators. Data analysis was carried out to validate our research model, and SmartPLS were used to analyze users’ collaborative stickiness intention. The result shows that social capital and social identity have impact on teacher’s knowledge sharing intention, in turn, influence on collaborative stickiness intention toward on SNS. Our findings not only help researchers interpret why members sharing their knowledge in VC, but also assist practitioners in developing better SNS strategy

Facebook satisfaction, life satisfaction: Malaysian undergraduate experience

The central aim of this study was to investigate an approach whereby students’ online social networking produces positive psychological outcomes. Basically, Facebook is a social site that is open to all and closely integrated into the daily experience of most undergraduate students in Malaysia. This study conducted to analyse the association between the number of Facebook friends and the amount of time spent on Facebook with life satisfaction. The purpose of the current study was to investigate what gratifications Malaysian students obtain from Facebook uses. The present study also probed to find out whether gratification obtaining from Facebook uses predicts life satisfaction. In doing so, the theory of the uses and gratification and the theory of the life satisfaction were adopted as theoretical frame work. Our findings of 798 participants, conducting a factor analysis, explored respectively the following gratifications behind Facebook uses: entertainment, communication, social investigation social attention, shared identity and information seeking. Furthermore, using the regression equation, this study failed to find direct association between number of Facebook friends and amount of time using with life satisfaction. The number of Facebook friends while controlling by Facebook motivations could predict life satisfaction. So, it is propounded the view that general uses of social networking sites don’t meet the psychological effects, but the type of certain interaction is the matter. Finally, the findings of this study detected shared identity and social attention as two obtaining gratification that predicted students’ life satisfaction

An Exploration Of In-Person And Online Social Interaction: Examining The Effects Of Two Domains Of Social Behavior

Social interaction is a core dimension of a fulfilling life. At present, the study of social interaction has focused largely on online social interaction due to the prevalence of this behavior in modern society, and the large impact of this manner of interaction on the psychological health of individuals. In terms of online behavior, both positive and negative effects may be experienced. Better understanding predictors and outcomes of online behavior would thus be a timely and valuable contribution to literature. The present study examined anxious and avoidant attachment style as predictors of social intimacy, levels of both in-person and online intimate disclosure, a negative attitude toward technology, and problematic internet use. It was then examined whether these variables in combination predicted social well-being. Participants were collected online using Amazon Mechanical Turk. The present sample of 314 participants was restricted to those that are currently young adults, which for the purpose of this study was defined as those individuals aged 18-25. A series of six total hierarchical regressions were conducted. It was found that both anxious and avoidant attachment positively predicted problematic internet use, neither predicted online intimate disclosure, and only avoidant attachment predicted negative attitudes toward technology. While avoidant attachment negatively predicted social intimacy and in-person disclosure, anxious attachment positively predicted both of these. Social well-being was positively predicted by social intimacy and network number and negatively predicted by negative attitudes toward technology, problematic internet use, and online self-disclosure. The present study demonstrated that attachment style has a strong relationship to many variables related to online and in-person behavior