Gratifications and social network service usage the mediating role of online experience

Gratifications and social network service usage:Lan-Ying Huanga, Ying-Jiun Hsiehb, Yen-Chun Jim Wuc,* a Department of Business Administration, National Changhua University of Education, C

Gratifications and social network service usage:

Lan-Ying Huanga, Ying-Jiun Hsiehb, Yen-Chun Jim Wuc,*

a Department of Business Administration, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua 500, Taiwan, ROC

b

Institute of Technology Management, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC

c

Graduate Institute of Global Business and Strategy, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC

1 Introduction

Asocialnetworkservice(SNS)isanonlineservicethataimsto

build social relations among people who share interests and

activities.Web-basedSNSsallowuserstointeractwithothersover

theInternetviae-mail,instantmessaging,digitalaudio,andother

platforms Popular SNS websites include Facebook, MySpace,

Twitter,Friendster,andWretch,amongothers.Estimatessuggest

thatFacebook,forexample,currentlyhasmorethanonebillion

users worldwide [19] Although these websites vary in their

specificfeatures,eachSNSwebsiteessentiallyconsistsofa brief

descriptionoftheuser—thatis,theirprofile,theindividual’ssocial

links,andvariousaccompanyingservices.SNSwebsitesconnect

people who share interests and activities across geographic

borders and have become a social commerce platform for

businessesinrecentyears[33,65]

Thisemergentphenomenonhasdrawnresearchattentionto

examiningSNSusers’behavior,generatingfruitfulresearchresults

inareassuchascommunication [47],information management

[84],andculturalstudies[50].Inparticular,understandingauser’s

motivationisessentialtoexplainingtheuser’svariousbehaviors

whenparticipatingin online communities [71] One frequently

endorsedapproachtoexplorethosemotivationalfactorsforSNS

usersisbasedonusesandgratifications(U&G)theory[68].Assuch,

scholars commonly agree that fulfilling users’ social needs is crucial for SNS adoption and often presume a direct effect Nonetheless,there is stillmuchtolearn abouttheinfluence of socialgratificationsonSNSusers’experientialstatesandbehaviors

[10] Tworesearch gaps are notable First, research addressing importantissues,suchaswhySNSuserscontinuetousetheservice andwhethertheymisusetheservice,remainsscarce[38,46,79] This issue merits research attention for several reasons For example,Facebookobservedacontinuousdeclineinactiveusage between2011and2013.Specifically,fewerthan45%ofFacebook subscriberswereactiveusersin2012,downfrom50%in2011[19] ManySNSsites(e.g.,MySpace)havealsoexperiencedadeclinein activeusage[22].Namely,althoughthebaseofSNSsubscribersis constantlyexpanding,thenumberofactiveusersdoesnotincrease accordingly,highlightingtheurgencyforSNSproviderstopromote users’continuousparticipation.Incontrast,activeSNSusersare spendingmoretimeonSNSwebsites,suggestingariseinpotential online social network addiction, which causes mental health problems[36,41,45]

Second,researchisneededtoexaminethemediatingeffectsof SNSusers’onlineexperientialstatesontherelationshipbetween social gratifications and the behaviors noted above It seems ambitioustoattribute SNSusers’behaviors,suchasrevisitsand misuse,directlytosocialityinthatexistingSNSresearchreveals inconsistent findings,signifying possible mediatorsin the rela-tionship between sociality and SNS use behaviors [37] When mediators arefoundto significantly affectthese behaviors,the significantrelationshipbetweensocialityandsuchbehaviorsmay

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 25 February 2011

Received in revised form 22 April 2014

Accepted 3 May 2014

Available online 12 May 2014

Keywords:

Social network services

Uses and gratifications

Flow theory

A B S T R A C T

* Corresponding author Tel.: +886 7 5251005.

E-mail address: wuyenchun@gmail.com (Y.-C Wu).

ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect

j our na l ho me pa ge : w ww e l se v i e r com / l oca t e / i m

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2014.05.004

0378-7206/ß 2014 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

researchindicates thatfulfillingInternetusers’needsisa distal

necessarycauseofbehaviors;however,users’experientialstateis

a catalyst for the developmentalprocess of behaviors, suchas

problematicInternetuse[15]

AimingtoclosethetwogapsinSNSresearchnotedabove,the

current study posits that fulfilling SNS users’ social needs is

conducivetotheaforementionedbehaviorsbecauseSNSusersare

deeplyengrossedintheprocessofusingsuchservices.Namely,the

degreetowhichSNSusersmayrevisitormisuseaservicedepends

largelyon how theyexperience theprocess ofengaging in the

onlinesocialactivity.Thisstudyadoptsflowtheorytoexaminethe

potentialmediatorsinthepresentcontextfortworeasons.First,

the behavioral outcomes considered in the study (i.e., revisit

intentionsandproblematicuse)stronglyrelatetothehedonicor

experientialaspectofSNSbytheirverynature[52],indicatingthat

flowtheoryisappropriateforinvestigatingthemediators.Second,

this postulation concurswith flow researchers’ suggestion that

consumers’ online experiences affect and facilitate the use of

onlineservices[58,75]andU&Gresearchers’speculationthatthere

existsanimmediatetheoreticalcorrespondencebetweenonline

flowandtheU&Ggratificationconstructs[77]

Collectively,Fig 1 demonstrates the conceptualframework,

proposingthatparticularonlineflowelementsserveasmediators

intherelationshipbetweensocialmotivationstouseSNSsandtwo

behavioraloutcomes:revisitintentionsandproblematicuse.The

contributionsofthisstudyaretwofold First,SNSproviderscan

benefitfrommanipulatingtheseonlineflowelementstoachieve

variousbehavioraloutcomesamongusers.Second,SNSuserscan

benefit from the results by becoming more conscious of the

cognitiveandaffectivefactorsshapingtheirusebehaviors

This paper is organized as follows Section 2 provides the

theoreticalbackgroundforthisresearch,theconceptual

founda-tion of the empirical model, and the corresponding research

hypothesesbasedonanextensivereviewoftherelevantliterature

Next,Section3explainstheresearchmethodindetail,followedby

theresultsofthestatisticalanalysisinSection4.Finally,Section5

summarizes the results, concludes with a discussion of the

theoreticalandmanagerialimplicationsoftheresearchfindings,

andoutlineslimitationsandfutureresearchdirections

2 Theorydevelopment

2.1 Usesandgratifications

U&Gtheorypositsthatusersseekgratificationsfrommediaand

technologyusebasedontheirindividualneedsormotivations;if

theseneedsaregratified,thenindividualsarelikelytorepeatsuch

an experience [61] U&G theory has helped researchers to

understand thevarious needs of users in mediaadoption [77]

Inparticular,recentgratificationsresearchextendsthescopeto

explore the psychological motivations that lead individuals to

acceptSNSs,consideringtheuseof SNSsasanemerging social

media.Forexample, Krisanic[43]findsthat entertainmentand

connectionrepresenttwopivotalmotivationsforFacebook use

RaackeandBonds-Raacke[69]revealthatthemainreasonsfor

using Facebook and MySpace are tomeet friends and to seek information Likewise, Brandtzæg and Heim [8] propose four primary motives for using popular SNSs, such as Underskog, Nettby,HamarUngdom,andBiip inNorway:information, enter-tainment,social interaction,and personalidentity.Furthermore, Kimetal.[39]positthatthemajormotivesforusingsocialnetwork sitesaretoseekfriends,socialsupport,entertainment, informa-tion,andconvenience.Kuetal.[44]identifyfivemotivesforusing Facebook and MySpace: amusement,relationship maintenance, informationgathering,sociality,andstyle.Althoughgratifications researchreveals that SNS users’ motivationsare notlimited to social factors and should encompass other intrinsically and extrinsically related motives [77], researchers commonly agree that fulfilling users’ social needs (e.g., seeking friends, social interaction,enhancement, presence,support)is fundamental to SNSadoption[21].Thisstudythusbuildsonthispivotalfactorby exploring its role as an antecedent of SNS users’ revisit and problematic behaviors.Specifically, social needs in the present context range from developing to maintaining various social relationshipswithotherSNSusers

2.2 Mediatingconditions

Asnotedpreviously,understandinganindividual’s psychologi-calmotivationisessentialtoexplainhis/herattitudeandbehavior

[12,39].Theuseofmedia,suchasSNSs,however,isanintricate process that should merit greater research attention to the mediatingconditions[10,53].AshortcomingofusingU&Gtheory alonetoexplainSNSusers’behaviorsisthatthistheoryhasbeen primarilyusedtoexplainusers’motives,whichislikelytoproduce incomplete causal modelsand togenerally ignore theeffect of thirdvariables,suchasmediators.AmongthefewSNSuserstudies investigating mediators,Lin andLu[52]considerthemediating roleofperceivedbenefitsbasedon motivationtheory(i.e.,with usefulnessastheextrinsicbenefitandenjoymentastheintrinsic benefit).AlthoughtheabovetheoryhasmeritsinexplainingSNS users’continueduse,thisapproachisdeficientindescribingSNS users’ overuse ormisuse, which researchers claim are strongly correlated withusers’ experientialstate when using an online service[9].AsagrowingnumberofresearchersarguethatSNSs emergeaspleasure-orientedinformationsystemsthatindividuals becomeincreasinglywillingtouseasmorefriendsorpeersjoin

[1,49,67,74,78],itisrationaltoassumethatwhetherandtowhat extent fulfilling SNS users’ social motives leads to revisit and problematic behaviors is largely determined by how users experiencetheprocessofusingSNSs(i.e.,theexperientialstate) Hence,thisstudyexpectsthatSNSusers’psychologicalexperience (oronlineexperientialstate)playsafacilitatingroleinshapingthe influenceofsocialgratificationsontheabovebehaviors 2.3 Onlineflow

Researcherscharacterizeflowasbeingfacilitatedbyatypeof conscientiousness that causes individuals to enter a specific experientialstatethatissodesirablethattheywishtorepeatit

asoftenaspossible[14].Earlyflowresearchlinksflowwithvarious typesofleisureactivities,suchasgaming,dancing,andplaying chess, in which an individual becomes so engrossed with the activity as tocreate a pleasurable experience (e.g., [2,13]) TheemergenceofInternet-basedactivities,however,leadstothe conceptualization of online flow, namely a cognitive state experiencedduringnavigationthatischaracterizedbyaseamless sequenceofresponsesthatarefacilitatedbymachineinteractivity, intrinsically enjoyable, and accompanied by a loss of self-conscientiousnessandself-reinforcing[58].Underlyinga compel-ling online experience (e.g.,[32,35]), online flow opportunities

Motivation s Onli ne flow elements Behavioral ou tcomes

Uses and gratifications Flow theory

Social gratification s l Interactio n

l Arousal

l Intention to revisit SNS websites

l Proble matic SNS use Fig 1 Conceptual framework.

build on the following elements: skill, control, interaction,

importance,challenge,arousal,timedistortion,andtelepresence

[58] Furthermore, the importance of these flow elements is

contextdependentandvariesacrossactivities.Assuch,controland

importanceare more correlated withutilitarian activities (e.g.,

work,informationsearch),whereas skill,challenge,time

distor-tion, and telepresence are primarily associated with hedonic

activities (e.g., online gaming, watching TV) Interaction and

arousal, however, relate to activities with both utilitarian and

hedonicnatures,suchaschatandnewsgroups.Consideringthe

dualnatureofSNSs,this studythus concentrateson thesetwo

onlineflow elements(i.e.,interaction andarousal) in exploring

theirassociationwithusers’socialgratificationsandusebehaviors

2.3.1 Socialgratificationsandinteraction

Interaction refers to a user’s interactive behavior with an

artifact(e.g.,anInternethuman-computerinterface).Specifically,

interaction may refer to the mapping of interaction (i.e., how

natural and intuitive an interaction is perceived to be by a

participant), the range of interaction (i.e., the number of

possibilities for action at a particular point in time), the

personalizationofinteraction(i.e.,theprocessoftailoringcontent

to individual users’ characteristics or preferences), or the

responsivenessofinteraction(i.e.,thequalityofbeingresponsive,

reactingquickly,involvingrespondingwithemotiontopeopleand

events)[55,83,86].Asnotedabove,SNSusersproduceandshare

with others their own content for self-expression and

self-actualization over the Internet SNS users also expect prompt

feedback from others, thus obtaining mutual benefit or social

rewards, such as reputation, expected relationships, and trust

Hence,SNSinteractionmanifestsitselfprimarilyinthe

personali-zationofcontentandservices,responsivenessfromthesiteowner,

navigationcuesandsigns,andpersonsinthesocialnetwork.As

such,interactionallowsSNS userstoactivelyparticipatein the

processthroughthecontentaswellasthroughcontinuousand

immediate feedback from others, fulfilling both utilitarian and

hedonicpurposes

SNSsofferusersaneffectivewaytocommunicatewithother

people.Throughtheprocessofcommunication,SNSusersengage

ina variety ofadditional social networkingactivities[11].This

peculiarfeaturemakesSNSsquitesociallyrelevant,becomingthe

locus for extensive social interaction Furthermore, each social

relationshiphasafocusorasharedcircumstancearoundwhich

interactionoccurs[60].Lackofawarenessofwhatisoccurringin

theonlineworldlikelyimpliesmissingoutonalargeportionof

whatisoccurringinone’speergroup.Thus,SNSuserswhoadopt

theservice tomeet peoplewithsimilarinterestsanticipate the

sharingofusefulthingsontheSNSwebsite.Likewise,SNSusers

whousesuchaservicetoseekrelationshipsorromanceexpectto

receivepromptresponsesfromothersoreventoengageinlive

interactionwiththem.Accordingly,SNSuserswhoaremotivated

bysocial needs(i.e.,gratifiedbythesocialbenefitsofSNSs)are

moreapttorecognizethevalueofonlineinteractionwithother

SNSusers[62]

H1 SNSusers’socialgratificationsarepositivelyrelatedto

inter-action

2.3.2 Socialgratificationsandarousal

Bycontrast,arousalreferstoaphysiologicalandpsychological

stateofbeingawake orreactivetostimuli.Thesestimuliarise

fromtheuseofSNSasameanstofulfillvarioussocialneeds.The

presentstudyemphasizesthephysiologicalaspectofarousaland

regardsthisonlineflowelementasameasureofstimulation,for

example, in forming a potential relationship with others or

meetingpeoplewithcommoninterests.SNSusersmaybecome

engrossed in using SNSs to create pleasurable experiences resultingfromarousal[62].Thestateofheightenedphysiological activity when using SNSs is apparently associated with their utilitarianandhedonicfunctions

IndividualsarelikelytoseekarousalviaanSNS,owingtoits potentialtooffervarioussocialstimuli,suchasbuilding relation-shipsorsharingideas,activities,events,andinterestswithintheir individual networks [17] Forming social bonds with others generallyproducespositiveemotions[4].Furthermore, gratifica-tions research clearly indicates that media use provides an enjoyableexperience[72].Assuch,users’affectivestate,suchas feelingstimulatedorexcitedwhenusingsuchmedia,reflectstheir motivation[54].Thus,SNSshavetheadvantageofcultivatingone’s socialmotivewithinhis/hersocialgroup,whichisimportantforan individualtoexperiencepositiveemotionorenjoyment[48].For example,asusersperceivemorememberswithcommoninterests joininganSNS,theyexpandtheirconnections,anddesiredarousal levelscanbemaintainedthroughthefulfillmentofthissocialneed

[52] Likewise,obtaining a sense of community helps create a greater sense of pleasure [67,78], which is associated with increased arousal (i.e., arousal boosts) [6,48] In particular, individuals who are motivated by relationship seeking will, if theirneedisgratified,likelyexperienceaheightenedphysiological stateofarousalwhenusingSNSs.Hence,SNSuserswhosesocial needs are fulfilled are likely to immerse themselves in a heightenedstateofarousalwhenengaginginsuchservices H2 SNSusers’socialgratificationsarepositivelyrelatedto arous-al

2.4 IntentiontorevisitSNSwebsites

As noted previously, the percentage of active users of a particular SNSdoesnot growas morepeople subscribe tothe service This trend alerts SNS marketers to opportunities for retainingandencouraginguserstorevisittheirwebsites Flow research indicates that onlineflow elements (e.g., interaction and arousal) create a compelling online experience (i.e., the state of flow), which in turn generates favorable consumer behavioraloutcomes,suchasintentionstovisitthewebsiteand makepurchases[42].Additionally,informationresearch demon-strates that social interaction is crucial to the process of knowledgeandinformationexchange[80].Inparticular,online participants who arecentral toa networkandconnected toa largenumberofotherparticipantsaremorelikelytocontinueto contribute to the collective activity through interaction with others[7,25].Furthermore,researchonthetheoryofcognitive integration[70]indicatesthatthevaluationandintegrationof knowledgesharing elicit continuanceintentions[29].As such, when SNSusersshareknowledgeviainteractions withothers, theyproducevaryinglevelsofinformationalvalueorintegrate different knowledge to form new knowledge, leading to continuanceintentions[29]

Emotionresearchalsorevealsthathumanemotionsorstatesof excitement influence an individual’s decision making [87] In particular,anindividual’s intensestateof arousal(i.e.,affective response)leadstofocusedattentiononspecifictargetsandmay thereforeinfluencehis/her ongoing behavior[63].For example, arousal plays an important role in continued blog usage [73] Likewise,whenFacebookusersexperiencearousal,thisaffective responsemayinducethemtoengageincontinuedbehaviors[34] Hence,thestudycontendsthatinteractionandarousalrelateto users’intentionstorevisitSNSwebsitesasfollows:

H3 Both(a)interactionand(b)arousalarepositivelyrelatedto theintentiontorevisitSNSwebsites

2.5 ProblematicSNSuse

Researcherscommonlyusesuchtermsaspositiveaffect,fun,

playfulness, arousal, heightened involvement, and pleasure to

describe the value obtained from compulsive Internet use [9]

ConsideringtheInternet’shedonicvalueandrelatedcompulsions,

there is clear potential for misuse of the Internet Indeed,

researchersuseseveraltermstorefertomisuseoftheInternet

SomeresearchersregardsuchbehaviorasInternetaddiction(e.g.,

[16])orpathologicalInternetuse[9,57],whereasothersrefertoit

asproblematicInternetuse[56].Despitethevarioustermsusedto

describe the central concept, Internet misuse is generally

associated with depression, anxiety, higher impulsivity levels,

andothernegativeconsequences[16],largelyresultingfromthe

overuseoftheInternet.Obviously,individualsmayalsomisuse

SNSs,asisthecasewiththeInternet.Thisstudy,however,adopts

theterm‘‘problematic SNSuse,’’which isconceptualized as(a)

maladaptivepreoccupationwithSNSuse,experiencedas

irresist-ibleuseforperiodsoftimelongerthanintendedand(b)distressor

impairment resulting from such behavior Notably, people

generallyabusetheapplicationsthatareavailableontheInternet

(e.g.,SNS)ratherthantheInternetitself.Furthermore,problematic

SNSuserepresentsmoderatelydisturbedpatternsofSNSuseandis

distinctfromseverepsychiatricdisorders[81,85].Typical

symp-tomsofproblematicSNS useinclude thefailuretofulfillmajor

obligations,guilt,cravings,andthefearofmissingimportantsocial

information[82].Researchindicatesthatthestateofflowservesas

a precursor to compulsive behaviors [18], leading to potential

sociallynegativeconsequences.In particular,users’experiential

states of arousal can influence Internet use, resulting in an

uncontrollable desire and preoccupation with the use of the

Internet[5].Namely,thereexistsaconnectionbetween

problem-aticInternetuseandtheperceptionofahighlevelofarousal[57]

Researchersalsofindthisconnectioninonlineshopping[9]and

videogaming[23,24,72].Thestudythuspostulatesthat arousal

leadstoproblematicuseofSNSs

H4 ArousalispositivelyrelatedtoproblematicSNSuse

Althoughresearchgenerallyfindsdirecteffectsofvarioustypes

ofgratificationsonconsumerbehavioraloutcomesinWeb-based

services[62,69],theabovehypothesessuggestthatSNSuserswho

aregratifiedbyanSNS’ssocialbenefitsparticipateinmoreonline

interactionwithotherSNSusersandaremoreapttobearoused

when engaging in SNS use, which in turn engenders different

behavioralconsequences.Namely,thesehypothesessuggestthat

the online flow elements of interaction and arousal serve as

mediatorsintherelationshipbetweensocialmotivationsandthe

intention to revisit SNS websites, whereas arousal serves as a

mediator in the relationship between social motivations and

problematicSNSuse(Fig.2

H5 (a) Both interaction and arousal mediate the relationship

between social gratifications and the intention to revisit SNS

websites,whereas(b)arousalmediatestherelationshipbetween

socialgratificationsandproblematicSNSuse

3 Method 3.1 Datacollectionandsample

Thisstudyemployedpersonalinterviews(Phase1)andmailed survey(Phase2)tocollectdata.Thefocalresearchtopicdemandsa populationofindividualswhoarefairlycomfortableusingSNSs ConsideringtheprevalenceofFacebookuseforsocialnetworking anditsexplosivegrowthinrecentyears[19],theauthorschose FacebookasanexemplarySNSandtargetedFacebookusersasthe informantsforthepresentstudy.Theinterviewswereconducted

in Taiwan during annual Information and Communication Technologies(ICT)showsfortworeasons.First,oneofthemain themes for 2012 ICT shows wassocial mediaapplications and networking technologies Assuch, the shows wereexpectedto attractmanyexistingSNSusers.Second,theshowswereheldin threemetropolitanareas(i.e.,north,central,andsouthernTaiwan) overaperiodofthreemonths.Collectingdatafromthreemajor metropolitanareasensuresthatthecollecteddataare representa-tiveacrossgeographicalregions.Inparticular,theinformantswere selectedrandomlyduringtheexhibitions.Toreducetheeffectof commonmethodbias,thedatacollectionprocessconsistedoftwo phases;this approachisamongthosesuggestedforovercoming methodbias[66].Thatis,theparticipantsneededtocompletetwo questionnaires: oneforsocial gratifications, onlineflow experi-ence, and demographicinformation in Phase1 and anotherfor behavioraloutcomesinPhase2thatwascompletedapproximately twoweeksafterPhase1.Phase1andPhase2questionnaireswere matchedbyname,resultingin405usablequestionnairepackets and representing an overall response rate of 21% Table 1

summarizes the profile of the respondents In particular, the calculated F- and t-statistics for the intention to revisit SNS websites for different ages (F=1.05, p=.35), genders (t=.57,

Motivation s Onli ne flow elements Behavioral ou tcomes

Uses and gratifications Flow theory

Social gratification s

Interactio n

Arousal

Inte ntion to revi sit SNS website s

Problematic SNS use

Table 1 Demographic profile.

Experience of using SNS

Duration of using SNS each time

Duration of using SNS per week

ofthesedemographicfactorsarenegligible

3.2 Measures

Allresponseswererecordedeitheron5-pointLikert-typescales

anchoredby1(stronglydisagree)and5(stronglyagree)oron

5-point semantic-differential scales, unless otherwise noted To

measuresocialgratifications,afive-itemscalewasadoptedfrom

Stafford[76].Fortheconstructsofinteractionandarousal,both

five-item measures were drawn from the items developed by

Novaketal.[58].Regardingthebehavioraloutcomes,intentionsto

revisitSNSwebsiteswereassessedusingfour-itemscalesbasedon

Hausmanand Siekpe[28].Finally, thestudygenerateda listof

items to assess problematic SNS use based on Widyanto and

McMurran [82]: the items measured were academic, work, or

personalself-controlproblems;excessSNSuse;andmood-altering

behaviors The study used the summed responses to these

symptomstoindicateeachrespondent’stendencyforproblematic

SNSuse.AlltheitemswereinitiallypreparedinEnglish,translated

intoChinesebyindependenttranslators,andthenback-translated

into English to ensure accuracy and to follow appropriate

guidelines [27] When necessary, the items were adjusted to

maketheir wordingaspreciseaspossible.Theabovemeasures

were pretested in a pilot study with 22 participants and two

expertsin theresearcharea of informationsystems Responses

fromthepretestsensuredtherelevanceandequivalenceof the

final measures All of the measures are described in the

thesectionpresentingtheanalysisandresults

4 Analysisandresults

Whilethestudydrawstheabovemeasurementitemsfrompast

studies, researchers commonly recommend exploratory factor

analysis(EFA)aspartofinitialeffortsforscaledevelopment.This

studythusfirstperformedEFAonalltheitemsandthenfollowed

Kline’s[40]two-stepapproach(i.e.,ameasurementmodelanda

subsequentstructuralmode)andusedAMOS(version7)toanalyze thedata.Employingtheprincipalaxisfactoringanalysisforfactor extraction,theinitialfactor analysisbasedon Varimax rotation using SPSS 18.0identified fivefactors witheigenvalues greater than one for further evaluation Table 2 displays the rotated loadingmatrixforthesefactors.Itemsloadingat.5oraboveare highlightedinbold.Thetotalvarianceexplainedbythefivefactors was 62.49% Accordingly, the study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood estimation to assessthemeasurement model.AsTable3depicts,thelevel of internal consistency in each construct is acceptable, with Cronbach’salphaestimatesrangingfrom0.79to0.89[59].Allof thecompositereliabilitiesoftheconstructssurpassthevalueof 0.79,ensuringadequateinternalconsistencyofmultipleitemsfor each construct [20] Furthermore, convergent validity is also satisfied,asallconfirmatoryfactorloadingsexceed0.70exceptfor one,whichis0.69[26],andallaresignificantatthe0.05level[30] Additionally, the average variance extracted (AVE) for all constructsexceedstheminimumcriterionof0.50,indicatingthat

a largeportion ofthevarianceis explainedbytheseconstructs

[20,26].Furthermore,Table3revealsthatthecorrelationsbetween theconstructsrangefrom0.08to0.70andarethusunder0.90[26] Indeed,thesquarerootoftheAVEforeachconstructislargerthan the construct’s correlations with other constructs, which also indicates good convergent and discriminant validity [20] It is noteworthythatthex2

valuewith179degreesoffreedomwas 401.18(p<0.05).Giventheknownsensitivityofthex2statistic test tosample size,several widely usedgoodness-of-fitindices demonstratedthattheconfirmatoryfactormodelfitsthedatawell (NFI=0.92,CFI=0.95,IFI=0.95,SRMR=0.05,andRMSEA=0.06)

Inthenextstep,theproposedstructuralmodelwasestimated

statistics: x2=517.65, df=184, p<0.05, NFI=0.90, CFI=0.93, IFI=0.93, SRMR=0.06, and RMSEA=0.07 The model’s fit as indicated by these indices was deemed satisfactory; thus, it providesagoodbasisfortestingthehypothesizedpaths.AsTable4

shows,fivepathsaresignificant.Themodelexplains49%ofthe varianceintheintentiontorevisitSNSwebsitesand22%ofthe variance in problematic SNS use In summary, H1–H4 are supported

Toexaminethemediatingeffectsoftheonlineflowelements, thestudyestimatedmodelsconsistentwithBaronandKenny[3]

andHolmbeck[31].Fourconditionsformediationwereexamined Thefirstconditionissatisfiediftheindependentvariable(social gratifications)affectsthemediators(interactionandarousal).The second condition checks to determine whether the mediators affectthedependentvariables(revisitintentionandproblematic SNS use) Bothof theseconditions are metas indicated in the hypothesizedmodelofTable4.Thethirdconditionissatisfiedif theindependentvariableaffectsthedependentvariables.Thus,the study estimated a model with only direct paths from social

Table 2

Exploratory factor analysis results for all items.

Items Factors (eigenvalue)

Arousal

(7.73)

Interaction

(3.21)

Social gratifications (1.99)

Problematic SNS use (1.55)

Intention to revisit SNS websites (1.08) S1 a

Note: Items loading at 5 or above are highlighted in bold.

a

Table 3 Means, standard deviations, correlations, reliabilities, and confirmatory factor analysis properties.

Social gratifications (S) 3.46 (0.81) 1.00

1.00

0.47 a 1.00 Intention to revisit

SNS websites (R)

3.42 (0.84) 0.59 a

0.70 a 0.40 a 1.00

Problematic SNS use (P) 1.88 (0.92) 0.08 0.38 a

0.48 a 0.23 a 1.00

a

p < 001.

model (x2=75.64, df=42, p<0.05, NFI=0.97, CFI=0.98,

IFI=0.98, SRMR=0.06, and RMSEA=0.05) Both direct paths

(socialgratifications!revisitintention; social gratifications!

-problematicSNSuse)aresignificant(p<0.05)withstandardized

coefficientsof0.59and0.19,respectively,thussatisfyingthethird

mediatingcondition.Inparticular,thedirectmodelexplains35.2%

(0.8%)ofthevarianceinrevisitintention(problematicSNSuse)

Thefourthmediatingconditioncheckstodeterminewhetherthe

directpathsbecomeinsignificant(i.e.,fullmediation)orreduced

(partialmediation)whentheyareincludedinthemodel(i.e.,the

fullmodelinTable4 Indeed,thefitofthefullmodel(x2=471.08,

df=182, p<0.05, NFI=0.91, CFI=0.94, IFI=0.94, SRMR=0.06,

andRMSEA=0.06)isbetterthanthefitofthehypothesizedmodel

(x2

diff¼46:58, df=2, p<0.01), indicating that the online flow

elements do not fully mediate all of the effects of social

gratifications on revisit intention and problematic SNS use

Notably, a closer inspection of these models reveals that the

coefficientofthedirectpath(socialgratifications!problematic

SNSuse) becomes insignificant,thussupportingfull mediation,

andthecoefficientofthedirectpath(socialgratifications!revisit

intention) is diminished, thus supporting partial mediation

Therefore, H5 is partially supported The study then removed

theinsignificantdirectpathfromthefullmodelandestimateda

partially mediated model The partially mediated model

(x2=473.05, df=183, p<0.05, NFI=0.91, CFI=0.94, IFI=0.94,

SRMR=0.05, and RMSEA=0.06) fits as well as the full model

(x2

diff¼1:97, df=1, p>0.10) and is better fitted than the

hypothesizedmodel(x2

diff¼44:61,df=1,p<0.01).These analy-sescollectivelyindicatethatarousalfullymediatesthe

relation-ship between social gratifications and problematic SNS use,

whereas both interaction and arousal partially mediate the

relationship between social gratifications and the intention to

revisitSNSwebsites

5 Discussionandconclusions

AlthoughmanystudieshaveaffirmedthatfulfillingSNSusers’

socialneedsisanecessaryantecedenttousers’adoptionofsuch

services,thecurrentstudyrevealsthatsocialgratificationaloneis

notsufficienttotriggerusers’revisitandproblematicbehaviors

Furthermore,SNSusers’onlineexperientialstatesserveasakey

mediatoroftherelationshipbetweensocialgratificationsandthe

above behaviors As such, this investigation highlights the criticalityofcognitive(i.e.,interaction)andaffective(i.e.,arousal) experiences versus the more general and utilitarian-based technology acceptance factorswhenexaminingtheadoption of socialnetworkingservices

5.1 Theoreticalimplications The theoretical implications are fourfold First, the present studysupportstheintegrationofU&Gandflowtheoriestoexplain SNS useand reinforcesthespeculationregardinganimmediate theoretical correspondence between online flow and the U&G gratificationconstructs [77].The empiricalresultsindicate that SNSusersbuildassociationsbetweentheirsocialgratificationsand experiential states Thus, the manner in which SNS users experiencetheusageprocessisasimportantasthegratification

oftheirsocialneeds;together,thesefactorsdetermineconsumers’ intentions to make further visits to an SNS website and their problematic use behavior Second, this study shows that it is possibleforbothsocialgratificationsandarousaltohaveadirect effect on problematic SNS use if both effects are examined independently of one another Nonetheless, as the mediating effectsreveal,theeffectofsocialgratificationsonproblematicSNS use becomes insignificant when both the effects of social gratificationsand arousalareconsideredsimultaneously;hence, theseresultssuggestthatresearchersshouldapplyanintegrative approachtoexplainproblematicSNSuse.Thestudythusextends the work of researchers such as Pempek et al [64] by demonstratingthattheeffectofsocialgratificationson problem-aticSNSuseis fullymediatedbythepresenceofarousalinthe onlineexperience

Third, the study observes both direct and indirect (via interactionandarousal) relationshipsbetweenSNSusers’social gratificationsandrevisitintentions.Assuch,fulfillingSNSusers’ social needs appears to be fundamental when users consider whethertorevisitaparticularSNSwebsite.Namely,gratifyingSNS users’ social needs is essential to an individual’s continued participation Should interaction and/or arousal arise during a visittoanSNSwebsite,theseonlineexperientialstatesarelikelyto playaroleindeterminingwhetherarevisitoccurs.Evenifthese onlineexperientialstatesdonotoccur,socialgratificationsmight stillaffectusers’revisitintentiondirectly

Fourth,althoughtheempiricalresultssuggestpartialmediating effectsofinteractionandarousalonusers’intentionstorevisitSNS websites, the model built on theoretical parsimony indeed generatesfavorablepredictivepower(hypothesizedmodel:49%; partiallymediatedmodel:59%)overothermodelsthatconsider intention-basedtheories(e.g.,[51]).Comparedwiththe hypothe-sized model, the partially mediated model generates a 10% increase in explanatory power in the intention to revisit SNS websites andexplainssimilaramountofthevariance(i.e.,both 22%) in problematic SNS use Furthermore, the hypothesized modeloutperformsthedirectmodelinexplanatorypowerby14% (i.e.,49% versus35%)and 21% (i.e.,22%versus0.8%)for revisit intentionsandproblematicSNSuse,respectively,thus emphasiz-ingtheimportanceoftheproposedmediatorsinpredictingSNS users’revisitintentionsandproblematicbehavior

5.2 Managerialimplications Understandingthemediatingroleofusers’experientialstates, suchasinteractionandarousal,canprovideSNSdeveloperswitha competitiveedgeinthesocialmediabusiness.Although manipu-latingSNSusers’experientialstatescanincreasethelikelihoodof revisittoawebsite,SNSproviders shouldalsofocusonthekey

‘‘flow-building/maintaininglever’’thattheycancontrol,namely,

Table 4

Structural model results.

mediated H1: Social gratifications ! Interaction 0.46 b

0.44 b 0.44 b H2: Social gratifications ! Arousal 0.35 b

0.35 b 0.34 b H3a: Interaction ! Intention to

revisit SNS websites

0.67 b

0.52 b 0.52 b

H3b: Arousal ! Intention to

revisit SNS websites

0.13 a

H4: Arousal ! Problematic

SNS use

Social gratifications ! Intention

to revisit SNS websites

0.36 b

Social gratifications ! Problematic

SNS use

R 2

R 2

a

p < 05.

b

p < 001.

severalfeaturestohelpgratifyusers’socialneeds.Forexample,

SNSdeveloperscanaddanewfunction,suchasatickerboxthat

showsreal-timeupdatesorthemostrecentupdatesbyfriends

Integrationwithothersocialappscanfurtherallowuserstolisten,

watch,orreadwithfriendsinalivestreamwithoutleavingtheSNS

website.Theseeffortsalsoleadtotheexperienceof‘‘serendipity’’

Likewise, SNS designers may incorporate the capability of

exportingpersonalnewsfeedsandfanpagelinksandimporting

emailorexportingSNSmessages.Buildinganall-in-onesolution

fulfillsusers’desiretomonitoremailandmakesthemaccessible

from external interfaces These approaches help gratify users’

social needs and thus contribute to users’ experiences of

interactionandarousal,whichinturnleadtorevisitintentions

While this studyunderlines theimportance of

gratification-experienceconcurrenceasafundamentalprincipleofSNSwebsite

managementandstrategyandemphasizesthepivotalroleofsocial

gratificationsindrivingusers’experientialstates,thereareseveral

other ways to elicit SNS users’ experiences of interaction and

arousal.OneapproachforSNSproviderstoenhanceinteractionis

toameliorateservicemobility,giventhatmorethan680million

activeusersworldwidecurrentlyaccessFacebookthroughmobile

devices,suchascellularphones[19].Asaresult,thedevelopment

ofan‘‘SNSphone’’aswellasitsintegrationwithlocation-based

service(LBS)maybecomeafuturetrendandpavethewayformore

prompt and live connections between users Likewise, SNS

providers mayenrich their service contentto fosterarousal in

users,for example,by integrating with otherdating or

friend-makingservices.Specifically,SNSproviderscanbetterdifferentiate

usersandusergroupsbytheirusebehaviorsandbrowsingrecords

viadatamining totailortheir services.Thisapproachnot only

improves content usability but also engenders a sense of

excitementandserendipity

The findings also explain a mechanism through which SNS

users’ problematic behavior is engendered Understanding this

mechanism provides valuable information for practitioners to

understandthefactorsdrivingSNSusers’problematicusetohelp

preventmisuseoftheservice.Thefullmediatingroleofarousal

indicatesthatfulfillingcustomers’socialneedsprovidesabasisfor

experiencingarousalinSNSuse,anditisthelevelofarousalthat

eventuallydeterminesproblematicSNSuse,implyingthatsocial

gratificationsarenecessarybutnotsufficientconditionstoensure

SNSusers’problematicbehavior.Namely,anSNSuserwhohashis/

hersocialneedsgratifiedstillmightnotmisusetheserviceifhe/

she does not experience arousal As such, SNS users’ social

gratificationisadistalnecessarycauseofsymptomsof

problem-aticuse.Asacontributoryfactor,SNSusers’experienceofarousalis

acatalystforthedevelopmentofproblematicbehavior

5.3 Limitationsandfutureresearch

AlthoughthefindingshelpbroadentheunderstandingofSNS

use,severallimitationsexist.First,perhapsthemajorlimitationof

the study is the breadth of the sample Although the sample

includesabroadswathofinformants,thestudyfocusessolelyon

FacebookusersinterviewedatICTshows.Thus,furtherresearchis

requiredtoestablishwhetherthepatternsofeffectsareglobally

generalizableacrossdifferenttypesofsocialnetworkservicesand

users Second, SNS users may not begratified solely by social

benefits.Indeed,researchrevealsthatagrowingnumberofSNS

websites serve marketing or other business purposes [33]

ExploringothertypesofgratificationsasantecedentstoSNSuse

ispotentiallycontributive.Third,theresultshighlightinteraction

and arousal as partial mediators affecting SNS users’ revisit

intentions.Furtherstudiesthat examineothermediatorswould

thusbevaluable.Likewise,furtherresearchmayconsiderfactors

suchasprivacyandsecurityasmoderators.Finally,thisstudyis alsolimitedbyitsconcentrationonthetwodependentvariables (i.e.,intentiontorevisitSNSwebsitesandproblematicSNSuse).In fact,theuseofanSNSisacomplexprocessthathasnumerous effects on behavioral outcomes Hence, further research can investigateabroaderscopeofSNSusageconsequences,suchas advertising effects and enhanced social and/or commercial activities.Evidently,arangeofresearchquestionswarrantfurther examinationforSNSusefromperspectivesofchanging informa-tion technology, consumer expectations, and new business models

Acknowledgements

The authorswould liketo thankthe anonymousreviewers who provided insightful and constructive comments on the paper.ThisworkisjointlysupportedbyMinistryofScienceand Technology,Taiwan(MOST102-2410-H-018-021)andby‘‘Aim for the Top University Plan’’ of the National Sun Yat-Sen University,Taiwan

AppendixA

Measurement items a Social gratifications [76]

[S1] I use SNS to seek relationships with others [S2] I use SNS to meet people with my interests [S3] I use SNS to chat with others

[S4] I use SNS to get a sense of community [S5] I use SNS to keep up with what’s going on c Interaction [58]

[I1] Live interaction with friends via SNS websites is great [I2] Communication on SNS websites is prompt [I3] People on SNS websites are responsive [I4] Useful things are shared on SNS websites [I5] I receive timely feedback from others on SNS websites Arousal (I feel .when using SNS) [58]

[A1] Relaxed—Stimulated [A2] Excited—Calm b [A3] Sluggish—Frenzied [A4] Inattentive—Alert [A5] Tranquil—Agitated Intention to revisit SNS websites [28]

[R1] I will revisit the SNS websites within 30 days [R2] It is worth participating in SNS again [R3] I am likely to return to the SNS websites in the future [R4] I am encouraged to revisit the SNS websites in the future Problematic SNS use [82]

[P1] I often think about SNS when I am not using it [P2] I have gotten into trouble with my employer or school because of using SNS

[P3] I become anxious when not using SNS [P4] When I use SNS, I tend to lose track of time

a Items were originally stated in Chinese.

b Reverse-coded items.

c Items deleted from pretests.

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Lan-Ying Huang received her Ph.D degree in interna-tional management from Nova Southeastern University

in 2003 Currently, she is a Professor with the Department of Business Administration at National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan Her research interests lie in the areas of marketing and user behavior Dr Huang has co-authored several chapters in books as well as articles in journals such

as Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Internet Research, Service Business, International Business Research, Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, and Marketing Review She teaches innovative marketing, international business strategy, international market-ing strategy, and other marketing related courses.

Ying-Jiun Hsieh received his Ph.D degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2001 Currently, he is a Professor with the Institute of Technology Management at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan His teaching and research interests focus on innovations adoption and performance evaluation of the general supply chain problems Dr Hsieh has published papers in journals such as Supply Chain Management – An International Journal, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Service Business, Internet Research, Omega-The Interna-tional Journal of Management Science, International Journal of Production Research, IIE Transactions, and European Journal of Operational Research.

Yen-Chun Jim Wu (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is Professor of Graduate Institute of Global Business and Strategy at National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan His papers have appeared in Academy of Management Learning and Education, Sloan Management Review, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Supply Chain Management, Management Decision, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, International Journal of Logistics Manage-ment, European Journal of Operational Research, Interna-tional Journal of Production Economics, Computers in Human Behavior, Transportation Research Part A, D, & E, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change His research interests include supply chain management, technology management, and entrepreneurship education.