Predicting the success of Twitter in healthcare. A synthesis of perceived quality, usefulness and flow experience by healthcare professionals
| Pages | 898-922 |
| Date | 08 October 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-01-2017-0018 |
| Published date | 08 October 2018 |
| Author | Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Predicting the success of Twitter
in healthcare
A synthesis of perceived quality,
usefulness and flow experience by
healthcare professionals
Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged
Department of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to predict Twitter satisfaction by healthcare professionals through
integrating constructs of Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory, quality dimensions and usefulness.
Design/methodology/approach –Survey responses of 108 physicians from a variety of specialisations in
the United Arab Emirates have been validated and analysed by means of partial least squares-based
structural equation modelling method using smartPLS software.
Findings –Service quality has emerged as the most influential quality dimension that positively impact flow
state and perceived usefulness of Twitter, while information quality, surprisingly, does not show any effect.
The findings also indicate that flow state plays a significant role in shaping physicians’satisfaction with
Twitter. The study also enhances our understanding concerning the effects of perceived usefulness on flow
state and satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications –Understanding factors that influence Twitter satisfaction can help
healthcare managers construct appropriate intervention strategies for maximising professional benefits of
social media and minimising user resistance. This is important because top managers usually ratify
traditional practices that are only of limited effect. Also, the findings help vendors to accentuate user’s
concerns in addition to system functionalities in social media applications.
Originality/value –The paper is an early attempt to propose a model for social media success in a
professional context in general and healthcare in particular. It also one of first studies that examine social
media satisfaction through integrating contemporary information system success and acceptance models
with flow theory.
Keywords Information quality, Service quality, Twitter, Satisfaction, System quality, Flow theory
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Social media usage has become an inevitable phenomenon over the past decade. Whereas
the term “social media”is elusive and evolving, it represents internet-based networking
technologies that allow individuals and communities to create, share, collaborate or
exchange information, ideas, interests, images and other content in a social dialogue.
Social media are based on interactive Web 2.0 applications that facilitate user-generated
content in a virtual community as well as usability and the ability of the applications to
operate with other systems using web-based or mobile platforms such as smartphones and
tablets (Obar and Wildman, 2015). Social media applications underpin social networking
(e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Google Plus), professional networks (e.g. LinkedIn), media
presentations and networks (e.g. YouTube and Instagram), and platforms that produce or
aggregate content (e.g. blogs, Wikipedia). Social media has reshaped the way people share
thoughts, choices, behaviours and knowledge by making them visible, interlinked,
accessible, reviewable and searchable, whereas they were previously silent or hidden.
In the context of healthcare, the professional use of social media by physicians, nurses,
pharmacists, counsellors and caregivers can include the promotion of healthy behaviours,
patient care, student education, medical development and training, communication with
colleagues, the creation of communities and the endorsement of public wellness. Physicians
Online Information Review
Vol. 42 No. 6, 2018
pp. 898-922
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-01-2017-0018
Received 21 January 2017
Revised 18 June 2017
5 October 2017
Accepted 31 October 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
898
OIR
42,6
also join social online groups where they can share news, cases and expert views, and
discuss and disseminate medical research, consult colleagues and communicate with
patients to augment clinical care (Ventola, 2014). In a descriptive study on the managerial
implications of social media in healthcare, Aboelmaged et al. (2016) confirmed that social
media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube provide a new forum for
marketing, managing human resources, training and development, and customer service
within the healthcare context. Ba and Wang (2013) indicated that health-related online
networks are starting to provide mechanisms to enhance people’s daily lives by enabling
them to monitor their diet and providing motivation for them to change their lifestyles.
Similarly, Panahi et al. (2014) identified that social media helps physicians stay connected
with their patients, share professional knowledge, consider methods for teaching and
engagement in continuing medical education. On the patient side, research shows that social
media allows patients to enhance their physical and psychological competencies by using
social media as a forum for community dialogue to obtain essential knowledge and support
(Antheunis et al., 2013).
However, the confirmation of effective social media interventions in healthcare would
require further studies to explore the issue of acceptability and satisfaction (Welch et al.,
2016). Prior research has focussed considerable attention on users’satisfaction as a central
concept in the online context due to its role in shaping user’s loyalty and system success
(Ding and Lii, 2016). Nevertheless, less attention has been placed on the factors that
influence users’satisfaction with social media in general and within a professional context
such as healthcare in particular. This may be due to an excessive focus on the initial
adoption of social networks (Gao and Bai, 2014) rather than considering post-adoption
issues, such as user satisfaction. An exception is Krishen et al.’s (2016) study on social media
satisfaction which highlighted the role of meeting user’s virtual needs su ch as
innovativeness, belonging, affinity and interactivity in online satisfaction. Besides, the
prior literature on social media usage in healthcare is primarily technical with a medical
orientation. An understanding of factors that may influence physicians’and nurses’
satisfaction with the professional use of social media applications would be of significant
value, not only for managerial benefits but also for technology vendors since the influence of
technology investment on hospital efficiency and quality are of great interest to healthcare
executives as well as insurers (Gholami et al., 2015). Responding to this gap and being
motivated by the need to further understand social media success in healthcare contexts,
this paper synthesises the information system (IS) success model (Delone and McLean,
2004), flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) and the technology acceptance model (TAM)
(Davis, 1993) to hypothesise a new model to explain the factors that influence physicians’
satisfaction with Twitter, as an example of a social media platform, and denoting the
importance of Twitter in this context (see section 2). Accordingly, quality factors including
system quality, service quality and information quality are examined concerning their
impact on the perceived usefulness and flow state towards user’s satisfaction. Examining
the level of satisfaction with Twitter is critical for social media success since vendors have
invested great effort and resources on releasing and updating the application, and intense
competition among applications allows users to switch at a very low cost. From a practical
standpoint, understanding factors that may influence users’satisfaction with Twitter can
help administrators construct appropriate intervention strategies for maximising
application benefits and minimising user resistance in a professional context such as
healthcare. This is important because top management usually ratifies traditional practices,
consisting of software demonstrations, user training and help desk staffing, that are only of
limited effect. Further, most applications tend to accentuate system functionalities rather
than user considerations, such as perceived quality dimensions, the usefulness of the
application, and user’s immersion and engagement behaviour.
899
Predicting the
success of
Twitter in
healthcare
To continue reading
Request your trial