Gravitating towards Facebook (GoToFB): What it is? and How can it be measured?

Abstract

In its current state, the Facebook literature speaks very little about metrics developed specifically for this important social networking service. This study tries to fill part of this gap by conceptualizing, developing and validating a new Facebook use construct, “Gravitating towards Facebook” (GoToFB). Unlike traditional Facebook usage views that have focused on lean usage measures, the one presented in the current study offers a broader conceptualization of the same by taking into account the interaction among three elements: the user, Facebook features, and task. This investigation has put extensive efforts to validate the new Facebook instrument using a series of exploratory and confirmatory scale development techniques and found that it exhibits adequate measurement properties. The resultant scale consists of eight dimensions: connecting, sharing, relaxing, organizing, branding, monitoring, expressing, and learning. The instrument would be useful for businesses looking for deeply understanding how potential customers use Facebook and for researchers seeking to develop and test Facebook success models.