Who Would Pay for Facebook? Self Esteem as a Predictor of User Behavior, Identity Construction and Valuation of Virtual Possessions

Abstract. Self-presentation is a major preoccupation in Facebook. Users carefully construct their online profile and assiduously edit postings on their wall in order to strategically shape their online persona. This study examines some psychological antecedents and consequences of such actions. In particular, we propose that users ’ self-esteem affects their sense of agency and self-monitoring tendencies, with the former leading to a fuller description of their profile and the latter contributing to more frequent customization of their wall. In turn, these behaviors are hypothesized to contribute to users ’ personal and social identity respectively, en route to affecting their valuation of Facebook as a virtual possession. Structural equation modeling analysis of survey data (N=221) largely supports this model and reveals that the personal identity reflected in one’s Facebook account is a major predictor of the degree to which one values it as a possession. We discuss the implications of “I ” vs. “Me ” in self-esteem with regard to virtual possessions in social networking environments

Electronic transport properties of helical macromolecular chains using dihedral orbital model

National Science Foundation of China [10704062]By applying the non-equilibrium Green's function method, in combination with the dihedral orbital model, we have theoretically investigated quantum transport properties of organic molecular chains, focusing on the effects of the helical rotation of the chains. The transmission coefficient, the electronic current, as well as the current shot noise were calculated. It was found that the helical rotation modifies the transport properties profoundly. It leads to a diminishing and roughly periodical oscillatory behaviour of both the current and shot noise power

Buying into motherhood? Problematic consumption and ambivalence in transitional phases

Current theory on transitional consumption seems to rest on the premises that (1) consumption facilitates role transitions; (2) consumers know how to consume their way through these transitions; (3) consumers are motivated to approach new roles; and (4) consumption solves liminality. This perspective, however, offers an incomplete picture of consumption’s role in the management of major life transitions. This article explores the ways in which ambivalence is woven through consumption experiences in times of liminality. It reviews prior research on consumption, role transitions, and ambivalence in the context of women’s transition into motherhood. Findings are presented from an international interpretive study of women’s consumption experiences during their transition to motherhood. This paper’s findings suggest that while consumption can indeed play a positive role during role transitions, it can also, at other times, make transition a complicated, complex and confusing process

Some antecedents and outcomes of brand love

Survey research is employed to test hypotheses involving brand love, a new marketing construct that assesses satisfied consumers’ passionate emotional attachment to particular brands. Findings suggest that satisfied consumers’ love is greater for brands in product categories perceived as more hedonic (as compared with utilitarian) and for brands that offer more in terms of symbolic benefits. Brand love, in turn, is linked to higher levels of brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. Findings also suggest that satisfied consumers tend to be less loyal to brands in more hedonic product categories and to engage in more positive word-of-mouth about self-expressive brands. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006Satisfaction, Delight, Love, Loyalty, Word-of-mouth, Consumer-brand relationships,