Motivations of Facebook Places and store atmosphere as moderator
| Date | 07 October 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-07-2014-0218 |
| Pages | 1360-1377 |
| Published date | 07 October 2014 |
| Author | Insu Cho,Joseph Kichul Kim,Heejun Park,Sang M. Lee |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Motivations of Facebook
Places and store atmosphere
as moderator
Insu Cho
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
Joseph Kichul Kim
Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma, USA
Heejun Park
Department of Information and Industrial Engineering,
Yonsei University, Korea, and
Sang M. Lee
Department of Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to derive and empirically test a theoretically grounded model
of motivations (socializing, entertainment, self-expression, and information seeking) that lead to the
use of Facebook Places. Store atmosphere factors (ambient, design, and social factors) were also
investigated as moderators of the relationship between the motivation and use of Facebook Places.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of 504 South Korean Facebook users, this
research applies a structural equation modeling approach to test the research hypotheses.
Findings – The analysis revealed that motivations such as socializing, entertainment, and
self-expression influence the use of Facebook Places, and design factors moderate the relationship
between the motivations and the use of Facebook Places.
Practical implications – This study provide insights that can help Facebook and store owners
develop effective marketing strategies that could increase revenue. When users check-in at a location it
creates free word of mouth advertising. Thus, identifying the factors that motivate users to check-in at
a particular location will be an imp ortant way to advertise.
Originality/value – While uses and gratification theory has mainly been used to study mass
media, this study applied the theory to Facebook Places, a type of social networking sites-based
location-based services. Additionally, this study added store atmosphere elements as moderators,
which is an appropriate concept in the context of the Facebook check-in service.
Keywords Location-based services, Facebook Places, Store atmosphere,
Uses and gratifications theory
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
With the wide dissemination of smartphones and the exponential growth of social
networking sites (SNSs), firms are striving to turn this phenomenon to their advantage
(Teh et al., 2014). Facebook, the fastest growing SNS in the world, has grown with the
support of the diffusion of smartphones (Zhou et al., 2010). Further more, with the rapid
development of GPS, Facebook is implementing applications using location-based
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 114 No.9, 2014
pp. 1360-1377
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-07-2014-0218
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the
Korean Government (NRF-2012-2012S1A3A2033474).
1360
IMDS
114,9
services (LBSs), reflecting the mobility of modern life. Currently, the Facebook Places
“check-in” service is the most frequently used LBS in the world; approximately 1.8
million Facebook Places check-ins occur globally every day (Socialbakers, 2012a),
while Facebook itself has 1.15 billion active users each month (Facebook, 2013).
The use of Facebook Places constitutes a natural advertisement for the locations
from which users check-in. These postin gs are not intended as advertisements, but
locations’ names and other information are inadvertently exposed to users’ friends.
Prior reserach has used the term electronic word of mouth (eWOM) to refer to the
natural exposure of product, service, bra nd, or company that occurs when consumers
post information on the internet (Shiau and Chau, 2012).
eWOM is often preferred by small firms such as retail stores and restaurants
because it is cost-effective compared to traditional marketing strategies (Shiau and
Chau, 2012). However, we find that prior research has yet to provide practical
implications of LBS based SNSs for eWOM (Chen et al. , 2012). Therefore, our research
seeks to determine the motivations for using the Facebook check-in service and how
a store’s environment or atmosphere strengthens or weakens this relationship.
We employ uses and gratification (U&G) theory as the theoretical framewo rk for
exploring motivation in this study. Over the years, U&G theory has been very effective
in explaining the psychological and behavioral aspects of mediated communication
(Lin and Liu, 2012). In addition, store atmosphere factors were borrowed from Baker
et al. (1994), who in their study divided such factors into three specific types.
Our study will provide insights for firms in creating effective marketing strategies
and also aid Facebook in enhancing its check-in service and attracting more users.
Moreover, our study extends the application of U&G theory to the mobile-media area.
While most prior research applying U&G theor y has sought to determine the
motivations for using SNS, our research inco rporated store atmosphere elements to
provide marketing implications, thus attempting to narrow the gap betwe en theory
and practice.
2. Literature review
2.1 Facebook Places
Facebook Places, which is frequently referred to as the “c heck-in” feature using a
mobile device, is defined as a service that allows users to post their location on their
Facebook wall to let a user’s friends know where they are at the moment (Gross, 2010).
This location is shown on the Newsfeed, allowing Facebook friends to see it. Other
users, in addition to those who checked-in at the location, may “Like” or “Share” the
wall post announcing the check-in, as well as leave a comment (Facebook, 2012).
This allows friends of other users to access the chec k-in posting, as well. Moreover, the
locations to which users check-in have links that provide general infor mation about
them. Users can also upload photos, add people of their own, and leave comments while
checking-in at a location (Facebook, 2012). These actions allow not on ly the user’s
friends but also friends-of-friends to access the information.
Some research has focussed on other SNSs using LBSs, such as Gowalla or
Foursquare, to discover the underlying motivation for using such services in light of
the specific characteristics of each service (Raac ke and Bonds-Raacke, 2008). Raacke
and Bonds-Raacke (2008) suggested that values such as personal trac king, intimate
sharing at a distance, discovery of new people, running into friends, gaming asp ects,
and seeing where friends have been are impor tant factors for using LBSs. However,
these values need to be reorganized and proposed theoretically. The extant literature’s
1361
Facebook Places
and store
atmosphere
To continue reading
Request your trial