Determinants of user behaviour and recommendation in social networks. An integrative approach from the uses and gratifications perspective
| Published date | 07 October 2014 |
| Pages | 1477-1498 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-07-2014-0219 |
| Date | 07 October 2014 |
| Author | Rafael Curras-Perez,Carla Ruiz-Mafe,Silvia Sanz-Blas |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Determinants of user behaviour
and recommendation in
social networks
An integrative approach from the uses
and gratifications perspective
Rafael Curras-Perez, Carla Ruiz-Mafe and Silvia Sanz-Blas
Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of social network use behaviour
using Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study was carried out with data gathered by
personal interview using a structured questionnaire. Relationships proposed in the theoretical model
were estimated through structural equation models. In total, 811 users of social networks over 14 and
residents in Spain were part of the sample.
Findings – Results indicate that use attitude and the subjective norm, both TPB variables, directly
and significantly influence social network loyalty. Thus, network loyalty can be achieved if the
individual shows a favourable attitude towards use and receives positive feed-back (comments,
opinions, etc.) from friends, acquaintances and other individuals in their environment. Perceived
control has no influence on social network loyalty. Finally, this research highlights the importance of
socialisation and entertainment as antecedents of social network attitude.
Research limitations/implications – Social network use has been analysed globally and database
includes users with very different profiles (e.g. Facebook and Tuenti) what may skew the results.
Practical implications – Individuals access social networks to establish social links with friends/
family/acquaintances, seeking entertainment and fun, but they are never used to be fashionable or
up-to-date. Given the importance of social relations, companies should motivate par ticipation elements
in their social networks profiles.
Originality/value – The paper presents a model that explains the formation of loyal social network
customers, integrating TPB and Uses and Gratifications Theory to enable understanding of the role of
these networks in individuals’ lives.
Keywords Loyalty, Attitude, Social networks, Theory of Planned Behaviour,
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Paper type Research p aper
1. Introduction
Constant innovation in the information and communication industry has contributed
to the development of new social communication platforms known as friend social
networks. Friend social networks are spaces for exchanging information and generating
relationships. They are becoming increasingly important as they enable individuals
with common interests to interact by sharing and exchanging information, knowledge ,
experience, interests and/or needs (Chiang, 2013; Lin and Lu, 2011a, b).
Friend social network audiences have increased in recent months. Nowadays, these
web sites are a social phenomenon that attract 89.1 per cent of Spanish internet users
(AIMC, 2014), and are present in the daily activity of many internet users (IAB, 2014),
with 61 per cent of users claiming to consult such sites every day. The benefits of using
friend social networks extend not only to participants but also to comp anies that,
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 114 No.9, 2014
pp. 1477-1498
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-07-2014-0219
1477
Determinants
of user
behaviour and
recommendation
through the comments left on the sites, can find out about the tastes, desires and needs
of the persons in the networks (Lim and Palacio-Marque
´s, 2011), their uses, consumption
behaviour and origin, and the levels of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the products
and services purchased or used (Lim and Palacio-Marque
´s, 2011). The sites are also
a way of developing closer relations with customers and encouraging brand loyalty.
By way of illustration, over 70 per cent of social network users talk aboutand recommend
commercial brands (IAB, 2014) and so the study of social networks is very interesting
from a marketing perspective.
Previous studies have found that models explaining attitudes help to understand
purchase/use behaviour and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991;
Taylor and Todd, 1995) is useful for ob taining information on the deter minants of
social network behaviour. This theory has become the basic reference framework, as it
has been applied to analyse new technology acc eptance and use and vir tual social
networks can be regarded as new technology-driven communication systems (Shin,
2008). Furthermore, this theory contains the subjective norm variable that we believe
is vital in the study context because the essence of friend social networks lies in
communication between people. Previous studies on the use of blogs (Hsu and Lin, 2008),
virtual communities (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002) and social networks (Shin, 2008) have
also considered the subjective norm as a key variable.
Together with TPB, the Uses and Gratifications Theory has been considered in the
conceptual framework for the analysis. Uses and Gratifications Theor y helps us to
understand the functions of the medium for the individual (Anderson and Meyer, 1975),
furthering our understanding of why a social network is used to satisfy needs and
therefore what main motivations and gratifications stem from soc ial network use
(Dunne et al., 2010; Quan-Haase and Young, 2010). The general idea is that individuals
seek gratifications using different media and technologies based on their needs and
motivations (Lin, 1996). The Uses and Gratifications Approach in this present study
will, unlike other theories, enable the inclusion of non-utilitarian motivations and
gratifications in the analysis (Nysveen et al., 2005b). We have chosen: entertainment;
sociability and fashion/status as non-utilitarian motivations.
Thus our study enables analysis of the antecedents of behavioural intention and
recommendation in the context of friend social networks, integ rating non-utilitarian
motivations with normative influences. To achieve our objective, the work is divided
into two parts. The first, theoretical part includes the literature review, the proposed
working hypotheses and the methodology. The second part, through an empirical
study on a sample of 811 individuals over the age of 14 who participate in at least one
friend social network, examines the influence of different variables on social network
use behaviour.
2. Literature review
Below is the literature review of Uses and Gratifications Theory and the TPB
(subjective norm, attitude and perceived control). The relations in the proposed
conceptual model are then justified on the basis of the literature review.
Previous research shows social netwo rks offer gratifications on information,
entertainment and socialisation (Ch iang, 2013). The study context is friend social
networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter), which offer a unique architecture for social interaction
and diverse features different from fan pages or product-related communities
(Papacharissi, 2009). Therefore, we have chosen the gratifications identified in previous
research that better suit the special features of this type of social network.
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