An Empirical Investigation into the Perceived Usefulness of Socio-technical Exchange in India: Social Identity, Social Exchange, and Social Vicinity

Abstract

Socio-technical networks are based on knowledge building and information sharing. The power and alternative to control over self-representation on social networking Web sites brings certain autonomy to an individual and, as a result, has an impact on the style of the exchange. Some of the specific objectives of the study are to study the emerging style of socio-technical exchange and to identify the characteristics of an emerging socio-technical society. This study found that social identity, social exchange, and social vicinity are the key characteristics of the emerging socio-technical exchange. A gradual paradigm shift from traditional societies to knowledge-based societies was observed. While, on one hand, a high dependency and usage of social networking Web sites was observed, on the other hand, the level of trust and dependency between the community members was found to be diminishing.