Cognitive absorption and behavioural intentions in virtual health communities : a focus on posters

Abstract: Purpose - This paper aims at providing a conceptual model that elucidates the role of cognitive absorption in explaining behavioural intentions in virtual health communities. Design/methodology/approach - Data was collected from 361 contributing members of virtual health communities from Gauteng, South Africa using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling using AMOS software was used to analyse the data. Findings - The findings show that cognitive absorption has significant direct positive influence on members’ intentions to continue participating on virtual health community platforms. Cognitive absorption was also found to have indirect influence on behavioural intentions through its influence on members’ attitude. It was also found to play a mediating role on the influence of perceived usefulness and behavioural intention. Research limitations/implications - The study shows the value of linking the flow theory and the technology acceptance model to provide a comprehensive understanding of behavioural intentions in virtual health community forums. Practical Implications - Managers of virtual health communities need to pay attention to experiential aspects of their sites. Success in ensuring that community members are cognitively absorbed is key to the development of positive attitude and intentions towards virtual health community forums. Originality/value - Virtual health communities play a new and growing role in the way health-related information and support is offered and accessed by those in need. Despite their importance, not much research has been done to explain the role of consumer experience on member behaviour on such forums. The study contributes to this understanding by demonstrating the value of cognitive absorption..

ROLE OF COGNITIVE ABSORPTION AND TRUST FOR COLLABORATION IN VIRTUAL WORLD

Virtual worlds (VWs) have paved a new and important channel for user collaboration and information sharing. Businesses are now considering using VWs as innovative means for collaboration and information sharing among its organizational members. Despite the huge potential of VWs for harnessing and increasing the flow of ideas among organizations, research on the subject is rather sparse. Drawing on the social cognitive theory, we re-specify the concept of cognitive absorption (CA) in the context of VWs by theorizing environmental factors in addition to the individual factors as antecedents of CA. Further, by integrating CA with ‘trust’ we develop a VW usage model. We test the specified model with data collected from 197 VW users in Singapore. Results display the important roles that both CA and ‘trust’ play in the usage of VW. Further, through a post-hoc analysis we demonstrate the imperative need for considering both CA and ‘trust’, together in the proposed VW usage model. The study also delineates a set of implications for research and practice

Cognitive Absorption and Trust for Workplace Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: An Information Processing Decision Making Perspective

Virtual worlds (VWs) are media-rich cognitively engaging technologies that geographically dispersed organizations can use as a cost effective workplace collaboration tool. Using an information processing decision making perspective and building on unique characteristics of VWs, this paper proposes a nomological net for adaptive use intention (AUI) of VWs for workplace collaborations. AUI implies intention to use a technology in a setting different from the one for which it was initially designed. We study the AUI of VWs as a workplace collaboration tool which were originally conceived as recreational gaming platforms. Decision-making literature directs us to reduction of perceived cognitive burden and minimization of risk as the two key motivations for VWs’ AUI. Building on these motivations, the paper identifies cognitive absorption and user trust in VWs as the mechanisms leading to individual-level AUI decision. Drawing on social cognitive theory and literature on trust, the proposed model not only re-specifies the concept of cognitive absorption in the context of VWs but also relates it to the level of trust and usage intention for VWs. We empirically tested the proposed model via data collected from 197 VW users in Singapore. Results demonstrate the significant roles that cognitive absorption’ and user trust play in VW’s usage as a collaboration tool. Further, through a series of post-hoc analyses, we demonstrate the imperative need for considering both cognitive absorption and user trust together in the proposed research model for theoretical parsimony. We also discuss implications for research and practice emerging out of this study

Cognitive Absorption An Empirical Examination of 3-D Immersive Virtual World Users

The purpose of this conceptual replication study is to validate the cognitive absorption construct and the model proposed by Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) in the context of 3-D immersive virtual worlds. For this the original scale items were adapted to the new context, and the model was tested with the data collected from 307 customers of a large technology firm who voluntarily participated in a knowledge sharing activity in Second Life, a 3D virtual world platform. Overall, the replication results support the original model in the new setting – customers of a service firm involved in real life knowledge sharing activity in Second Life. Similar to the original study, this study finds that cognitive absorption positively influences perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In addition, unlike the original study, this replication study also finds support for positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness

Learners’ continuance participation intention of collaborative group project in virtual learning environment: an extended TAM perspective

The aim of this study is to explore learners’ intention to return to the electronic environment through the use of wikipages. The survey is based on students’ participation in a collaborative group project over a one semester course on business information systems. A research model based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been proposed to investigate what factors will influence learners’ continuance participation in the electronic learning environment. 75% of students returned the questionnaire and the data analysis results based on the extended TAM Shows that the learners’ intention to return to the electronic learning environment was highly associated with their attitude towards the electronic learning tool and the affection associated with the tool

A Study of Antecedents of Sense of Presence in Virtual World: Virtual Presence vs. Social Presence

Virtual World as an electronic artificial environment, enables users to have an identity while interacting with others is one of the new instances of Computer-Mediated Communications environment. Our study aims to elaborate the two types of presence in virtual world and their effects on users’ satisfaction and loyalty in second life. In addition we try to elaborate the factors that affect virtual and social presence. We used survey in order to collect data from a student sample frame. Our samples are students who at least have three weeks experience with second life in order to measure our model. Results of the research suggested that cognitive absorption positively influence virtual presence and sense of belonging positively influence social presence. In addition our results suggested that sense of presence in virtual world increase satisfaction and loyalty among virtual world users

What Drives the User’s Continuous Usage Intention of OTT Video Platforms? Identifying the Role of Cognitive Absorption and Perceived Usefulness With the Impact of OTT Content on it

Purpose: This study aims to understand the user’s holistic experiences and beliefs about using OTT video platforms. The study adopts the concept of Cognitive Absorption with the impact of OTT content on it to test the user’s perceived usefulness and continuous usage intention of OTT platforms.   Theoretical Framework: The study utilizes cognitive absorption theory along with all its five dimensions in a two-stage hybrid model and tests its overall validity and reliability using partial least square-structural equation modeling.   Design/ Method/ Approach: The study employs a primary data collection methodology in which a survey has been carried out on the respondents who are already active users of OTT platforms.  Data has been collected through questionnaires from the young IT professionals working at Noida (NCR).   Findings: The results of the study confirmed that the user’s continuous usage intention of OTT platforms is strongly influenced by cognitive absorption and perceived usefulness with the impact of content on it.   Research Practical and Social Implications: The study adds significant knowledge to the academic world for utilizing cognitive absorption in the field of OTT. The findings enhance our understanding that Content is one of the most successful attributes of OTT video streaming technology in determining the user’s continuous intention. It provides valuable feedback to the OTT content creators to focus more on the user’s needs and expectations of the content.   Originality/ Value: The proposed research model is the first-ever attempt to examine the impact of Cognitive Absorption affecting the user’s perceived usefulness and continuous intention to adopt OTT.

User Self-Destruction: Theorizing Behavioral Transitions from Cognitive Absorption to Cognitive Discharge

Individual online community (OC)users sometimes withdraw their OC membership in destructive ways. In our study, we observe an interesting phenomenon in which many OC highly respected users delete all their posts when leaving the OC. Why do online community users self-destruct upon departure? In this research-in-progress paper, we propose a theoretical reversal of cognitive absorption that not only induces an individual user to participate excessively in the OC activities, but also to strongly bond with their participation. This bond is such that, upon deciding to withdraw from the OC, the user proactively removes all traces of their participation. It is a process of cognitive discharge, a reversal of cognitive absorption such that the user destroys his/her presence in the OC. In a cognitive discharge, the user works meticulously and extensively to delete all posts and user accounts. Effectively the user is firing the OC. To examine this theory, we plan to conduct a longitudinal case study of China’s biggest online automobile community – Autohome.com. The study results will have both theoretical and practical implications

Psychophysiological Measures of Cognitive Absorption

Cognitive absorption (CA) corresponds to a state of deep involvement with a software program. CA has widely been studied over the last decade in the IT literature using psychometric instruments. Measuring ongoing CA with psychometric tools requires interrupting a subject’s ongoing usage behavior to self-evaluate their level of absorption. Such interruptions may alter or contaminate the very CA state the researcher us attempting to measure. To circumvent this problem, we are investigating the effectiveness of psychophysiological measures of cognitive absorption. This paper reports preliminary results from an ongoing research project by looking at the correlation between electrodermal activity (EDA) and several dimensions of the CA construct

Specifics of Collaboration in Virtual Reality: How Immersion Drives the Intention to Collaborate

Collaborative virtual reality (VR) is increasingly receiving attention, but the effects of context- specific variables and the interplay of telepresence, interactivity, and immersion as VR’s distinctive characteristics in such settings are little understood. Besides these three VR characteristics, we investigate in a quantitative study with 102 participants the influence of social presence, i.e. the sense of community; media naturalness, or the similarity of communication to face-to-face-interaction; and trust between users. Based on partial least squares structural equation modeling, we confirm the importance of interactivity and immersion, but not of telepresence. Moreover, we find that trust is essential for collaborative VR experiences, but social presence and media naturalness seem negligible. Finally, we show that immersion is a main driver of users’ intention to collaborate. Besides providing practitioners with insights for creating VR experiences, our study highlights that findings from research on individual VR use are not readily transferable to collaborative contexts