Understanding Self-Disclosure on Social Networking Sites - A Literature Review

User-generated content is the backbone of any social networking site (SNS) and an important pillar of many business models online. While there is a growing body of research on self-disclosure on SNSs, existing insights remain scattered. To fill this gap, we undertake a systematic literature review by examining 50 studies to identify the factors behind self-disclosure on SNSs. We find that social exchange theory and its extension ‘privacy calculus’ represent a dominant theoretical perspective. Hence, we focus on perceived benefits and costs, as well as cost-mitigating factors as main areas of our investigation. Since personality traits are commonly controlled for or studied within the context of SNS disclosure, we additionally include an exploration of this factor group into our review

A Review of Information Systems Research on Online Social Networks

Over the last decade, online social networks have evolved into a global mainstream medium with increasing social, organizational, and economic impact. This paper provides a structured overview of Information Systems research on this outstanding techno-social phenomenon of the 21st century via a structured literature review. Based on our search in information systems journals and conference proceedings that resulted in 510 papers, we carve out and assess the knowledge and the research fields that have been predominantly addressed and impacted by the information systems research community so far. Moreover, we identify research gaps that future research should address. We analyze how the academic discussion on online social networks developed in the information systems literature over time, which publication outlets are most receptive to research on online social networks, which research areas have already been covered by information systems research on online social networks, and what potential future research areas exist that have not been covered by information systems research yet. We hope that our results will stimulate and guide future research in this field

When Hosts Disclose Their Private Information on Accommodation Sharing Platforms: An Information Commercialization Perspective

The proliferation of the Internet and platform economy has given rise to the sharing economy as a popular business model. While much research has focused on the economic and social benefits aspect, privacy issue in sharing economy is often overlooked. Drawing on the privacy calculus theory and the literature of information-as-a-commodity perspective, this study focuses on accommodation sharing platform Airbnb and aims to investigate the critical role of hosts’ information commercialization in leading to their private information disclosure behavior on the platform. This study fills in the research gap by theorizing the concept of information commercialization in accommodation sharing platforms and addressing its formation mechanisms and behavioral outcome

Advances in Social Media Research:Past, Present and Future

Social media comprises communication websites that facilitate relationship forming between users from diverse backgrounds, resulting in a rich social structure. User generated content encourages inquiry and decision-making. Given the relevance of social media to various stakeholders, it has received significant attention from researchers of various fields, including information systems. There exists no comprehensive review that integrates and synthesises the findings of literature on social media. This study discusses the findings of 132 papers (in selected IS journals) on social media and social networking published between 1997 and 2017. Most papers reviewed here examine the behavioural side of social media, investigate the aspect of reviews and recommendations, and study its integration for organizational purposes. Furthermore, many studies have investigated the viability of online communities/social media as a marketing medium, while others have explored various aspects of social media, including the risks associated with its use, the value that it creates, and the negative stigma attached to it within workplaces. The use of social media for information sharing during critical events as well as for seeking and/or rendering help has also been investigated in prior research. Other contexts include political and public administration, and the comparison between traditional and social media. Overall, our study identifies multiple emergent themes in the existing corpus, thereby furthering our understanding of advances in social media research. The integrated view of the extant literature that our study presents can help avoid duplication by future researchers, whilst offering fruitful lines of enquiry to help shape research for this emerging field