Examining telegram users' motivations, technical characteristics, trust, attitudes, and positive word-of-mouth: evidence from Iran

Abstract

The objectives of this research are to examine the effects of psychological motivations (entertainment, sociality), technical characteristics (ease of use and convenience), perceived usefulness and trust on telegram user's attitudes and to assess the influence of user's attitudes and their trust on positive word-of-mouth. The research model was tested using data randomly collected from students of Azad University in Tehran City. The numbers of valid observations were 300. Structure equation modelling was used to verify and validate the research model. The results revealed that the psychological motivations entertainment, sociality has a positive and significant impact on telegram user's attitudes. In addition, perceived usefulness and trust has a positive and significant impact on telegram user's attitudes. Convenience as a technical characteristic through perceived usefulness has a positive and significant impact on telegram user's attitudes. Finally, telegram user's attitudes and their trust have a positive and significant impact on positive word of mouth.