1 research outputs found
Use of social media: empirical comparison between Europe And Middle East
Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing IntelligenceSocial media as an amazing active and fast-moving domain, is playing an important role shaping
our lives. The purpose of this research is to understand the drivers of social media use in the
West and Arab world. Societies are incessantly changing through social media, which is helping
spreading the creation, modification and discussion of multiple contents. Yet, different cultures
might present dissimilar behaviours towards this vehicle of communication for diverse reasons
such as, among others, their access to technology and contents, or cultural influence. Studies
about social media use combining two cultures are scarce conducing us to an undiscovered
research field to explore. We developed the contents of knowledge on social media use by
proposing an innovative comparison between Europe and Middle East, which integrates
Venkatesh´s extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). An online
questionnaire was created to collect data from users within both cultures. Structural equation
modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the outcome. The results revealed a significant disparity
on what triggers social media behaviour in those two different regions. At the time that
performance expectancy influences on the European side, the effort expectancy was found to
be the most predominant trigger into use of social media in the Middle East, by affecting
behaviour intention. The results underline the importance of social media nowadays and
enriches the knowledge of the subject into different cultures. The present study contributes with
new insights into factors that might be determinant regarding acceptance and use behaviour
and continues on the discussion on why and how people engage in social media, independently
on nation or culture