Disentangling the factors driving users' continuance intention towards social media: A configurational perspective

Abstract

Building on perceived value theory, this study employs fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to derive configurational models that embody causal conditions for predicting users' continuance intention towards social media. From reviewing extant literature, we advanced four value dimensions to be gained from social media usage, namely hedonic value (enjoyment), information value (information documentation and information sharing), media value (media appeal), and social value (social interaction), which are measured via a survey questionnaire. Our findings reveal seven distinct configurations of causal conditions for inducing continuance intention towards social media among Chinese users. Particularly, the frequency of social media usage combined with perceptions of enjoyment were found to be core conditions reinforcing users' continuance intention towards social media. In turn, the existence of multiple configurations implies that social media service providers could concurrently pursue differentiated strategies for retaining users.