Perceived Network Size Research Articles

Which type of information’s quality in live streaming commerce captures consumers’ attention the most? Considering the moderating role of network size

PurposeThis study aims to identify which types of information quality influence purchase intentions the most in live streaming commerce and to examine the role of network size in this context.Design/methodology/approachWe propose a model to investigate the correlation among the quality of different information in live streaming commerce, consumer trust, network size and purchase intention. An empirical analysis of 505 questionnaires was conducted by constructing a structural equation model.FindingsThe empirical findings indicate that information quality can directly enhance purchase intention and exert an indirect influence through the mediating factors of trust in products and streamers. Perceived network size positively moderates the relationship between information quality and trust in products. Of the five types of information, the quality of bullet-screen comments information is most important to consumers.Originality/valueThis study represents the first systematic analysis of how the quality of multiple types of information in live streaming commerce influences consumer trust and purchase intention, integrated within a unified framework. It uniquely introduces network size as a moderating variable, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for balancing information quality with network size in live streaming commerce environments.

Do consumers continue to use O2O food delivery services in the post-pandemic era? Roles of sedentary lifestyle

Online-to-offline food delivery (O2OFD) services have become popular worldwide, and consumers' O2OFD usage and sedentary behavior have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, whether consumers will continue to use O2OFD in the post-pandemic era is uncertain, and the relationship between sedentary lifestyle and O2OFD usage is poorly understood to date. Therefore, this study aims to investigate consumers' continued intention to use O2OFD in the post-pandemic era and their subsequent use behavior, as well as to explore the roles of sedentary lifestyle. A research model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2), integrating network externalities and including sedentary lifestyle, was proposed. A two-stage online survey was conducted in China, with 409 eligible responses used in the data analysis. The results indicate that habit, perceived network size, and perceived complementarity were the main predictors of continued intention, whereas habit and continued intention were the primary determinants of use behavior. Sedentary lifestyle was positively related to O2OFD use behavior and moderated the effects of habit and continued intention on use behavior. In addition to its theoretical contributions, this study has implications for public policies, marketing strategies, and consumer well-being.

Influencing factors of users' shift to buying expensive virtual gifts in live streaming: Empirical evidence from China.

The market size of live streaming on the Internet, in which the streamer earns profit by prompting users to give virtual gifts through emotional labor, is getting bigger and bigger. However, most users will only buy cheap virtual gifts in live streaming, therefore exploring how to promote users to buy expensive virtual gifts is a valuable topic in live commerce research. Based on social presence theory and information overload theory, this study used the PLS-SEM method to investigate the factors influencing live streaming users to shift from buying cheap virtual gifts to buying expensive virtual gifts, and analyzed the moderating role of information overload in these relationships. The results show that immediate interaction anxiety, verbal intimacy, and virtual physical intimacy positively influence users' shift to purchasing expensive virtual gifts, and that perceived network size and perceived financial risk are negative factors in users' shift to purchasing expensive virtual gifts. Information overload has a moderating role in the relationship between immediate interaction anxiety and switch intention, and it also plays a moderating role in the relationship between perceived network size and perceived financial risk on users' switch intention.

To shop or not: Understanding Chinese consumers’ live-stream shopping intentions from the perspectives of uses and gratifications, perceived network size, perceptions of digital celebrities, and shopping orientations

Live-stream shopping is experiencing unprecedented growth. However, research in live-stream commerce is in its infancy. The current study integrates uses and gratifications, perceived network size, perceptions of digital celebrities, and experience-focused shopping orientation to clarify motivations for live-stream shopping. Accordingly, the current study used a questionnaire to collect data from 339 Chinese consumers and structural equation modeling to analyze data in AMOS 24. In this study, individuals were motivated by gratifications that were (1) hedonic (perceived enjoyment), (2) utilitarian (self-presentation), and (3) social (social presence and interaction). Moreover, perceived network size significantly predicted perceived enjoyment, social interaction, social presence, and utility. In addition, experience-focused shopping orientation mediated the relationships among perceived enjoyment, self-presentation, social interaction, and live-stream shopping intentions. Finally, the mediating roles of the perceptions of digital celebrities in the relationships of perceived network size with perceived utility, perceived engagement, social interaction, social presence, and self-presentation were confirmed.

Why do people switch mobile payment service platforms? An empirical study in Taiwan

Although an increasing number of studies have recently investigated mobile payment service (MPS) platform user behaviours, the majority of these studies have focused on user adoption. However, user switching behaviour has been paid limited attention as yet. The current study investigates critical antecedents of user switching intention of MPS platform drawing on the perspective of the push-pull-mooring framework. The proposed model was empirically tested with 612 valid responses collected using on-line questionnaire survey in Taiwan. The results of this study revealed that user regret, alternative attractiveness, perceived complementarity of the alternative, and perceived network size of the alternative positively relate to user intention to switch. The most critical push effect driving MPS platform users to switch is user regret caused by dissatisfaction with system quality and information quality, especially in terms of system stability and visual attractiveness. In terms of pull effects, the improvement of alternative attractiveness and perceived network size of the alternative should be paid more attention, so thereby expanding their provision of complementary resources can be considered as an effective tactic. Furthermore, inertia is also negatively associated with user switching intention. Of all of the sources of inertia, uncertainty costs are a major crucial mooring effect. The performance of sunk costs still leaves much to be increased because of the insufficient user use and investment in the incumbent MPS platform. The findings will be helpful for MPS platform practitioners when fully comprehending users’ switching behaviour and formulating appropriate strategies to retain existing users while still attracting potential new users.

Effects of network externalities on user loyalty to online B2B platforms: an empirical study

PurposeGiven a product or service, the number of its installed user base has a significant positive effect on the existing users’ loyalty and new users’ conversion. This effect is conceptualized as network externalities in economics. Network externalities are supposed to be particularly striking in nowadays online business-to-business (B2B) platforms, but yet the mystery behind their effects on user loyalty to online B2B platforms remains to be delicately unraveled. The purpose of this paper is to discover the factors driving users’ loyalty, especially buyers’ loyalty, to online B2B platforms, by highlighting the impacts of network externalities on loyalty and other mediating factors.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model of buyer loyalty under network externalities is elaborated. The reliability and validity of the instruments of the latent model constructs are assessed by confirmatory factor analysis, and the hypothesized causal relationships among the constructs are tested by structural equation modeling, on 710 valid buyer samples collected from a famous online B2B platform in China.FindingsThe analysis demonstrates that: perceived value, user satisfaction and switching costs are the major predictors of buyer loyalty to online B2B platforms characterized by network externalities; network externalities positively account for buyer loyalty by contributing to perceived value, user satisfaction and switching costs; and direct network externality (measured by perceived network size and perceived external prestige) has a significant effect on indirect network externality (measured by perceived compatibility and perceived complementarity).Originality/valueThe findings allow the authors to conclude meaningful managerial implications for online B2B service providers to build up loyal user bases through improving users’ perceptions of network externalities, switching costs and value.

Investigating Sustained Participation in Open Design Community in China: The Antecedents of User Loyalty

Understanding what drives user loyalty is a central theme in the research fields of open design community (ODC) and sustained innovation. Drawing on theories of network externalities and expectation disconfirmation, this paper develops a theoretical model reflecting the effect of determinants on user loyalty. The model is tested utilizing survey data amassed from 389 users of a typical ODC, Xiaomi Corporation’s forum, in China. The major findings of our work as follows: First, satisfaction plays the most important role in explaining the user loyalty to ODCs, and disconfirmation of fan care is the most critical factor influencing user satisfaction. Second, the perceived network size exerts negative impact on user loyalty to an ODC. Third, impacts of different factors on user loyalty vary due to gender difference. This research advanced the knowledge in Open Design by demonstrating the antecedents of participant’s loyalty towards ODC, and highlighting the motivations of individual’s open design participation behavior.

Understanding social networking sites continuance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model to investigate the determinants of continuance intention toward social networking sites (SNSs) by integrating the perspectives of the uses and gratifications theory, perceived interactivity and network externalities.Design/methodology/approachData collected from 255 Facebook users in Taiwan were used to test the proposed model. The partial least squares method was used to test the measurement model and the structural model.FindingsThe findings reveal that emotional gratifications and social gratifications are the key predictors of users’ continuance intention toward SNSs. Further, the results indicate that perceived network size, perceived complementarity, machine interactivity and person interactivity influence information gratifications significantly, while perceived complementarity, machine interactivity and person interactivity exert positive effects on emotional gratifications. Finally, the results show that machine interactivity and person interactivity impact social gratifications positively, whereas perceived network size and perceived complementarity affect machine interactivity and person interactivity significantly.Originality/valueThis study is one of the earliest research inquiries to examine the effects of various types of gratifications on continuance intention. It is also one of the earliest studies to identify the antecedents of gratifications from social factors and technological attributes simultaneously.

The effect of platform characteristics on the adoption of smart speakers: Empirical evidence in South Korea

The emerging market for smart speakers is growing rapidly. Unlike conventional information technology (IT) devices, smart speakers are becoming a major platform that access many types of information through a voice interface. This study examines the factors related to the adoption of smart speakers from the platform perspective. More specifically, our study investigated how the product related characteristics (e.g., functionality, design, brand, and price), platform related characteristics (e.g., perceived service availability, perceived network size, perceived complementarity) and privacy concerns affect the perceived value and intentions to adopt a smart speaker. The results indicate that platform related variables have a bigger impact on the customer adoption of the smart speaker, whereas product related variables, such as functionality, have less of an impact.

Enhancing customer loyalty to mobile instant messaging: Perspectives of network effect and self-determination theories

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps are popular information and communication technologies (ICTs). As known for ICTs, network effect variables such as perceived network size and perceived complementarity are important for determining user loyalty. However, there is insufficient research on why they are determinants, i.e., knowing the underlying mechanism. Grounded in network effect and self-determination theories, we study such underlying mechanism. Based on an analysis of responses from an online survey of 292 participants using structural equation modelling, we find that the network effect variables of perceived network size and perceived complementarity are positively related to three user-perceived values, namely user-perceived functional, self-expressive, and social values. They are, in turn, positively related to satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, respectively, that further leads to user loyalty. This study contributes to the MIM literature by being the first to use the three user-perceived values and satisfaction of the three needs as novel process variables to construct a model for explaining the impacts of network effect variables on user loyalty to MIM apps. This study provides the insight that MIM providers can more effectively enhance user loyalty by providing the three values that users appreciate and satisfying the three needs, when increasing and advertising their network sizes and availability of complementary offerings.

Restaurant Information Sharing on Social Networking Sites

Since information sharing is achieved in cooperation with others, not just by oneself, social networking sites (SNSs) based on extensive social networks are an ideal environment for sharing information. In particular, SNSs’ network externalities are crucial to the success of the information and communication technologies industry. Thus, this study investigated how SNSs’ network externalities affect users’ perceptions of benefits, satisfaction, and restaurant information-sharing intentions. This study found that perceived network size and perceived complementarity significantly influenced perceived usefulness. Furthermore, perceived referent network size, perceived complementarity, and perceived compatibility significantly influenced perceived enjoyment. In addition, perceived benefits significantly influenced satisfaction, which in turn significantly influenced restaurant information-sharing intentions on SNSs. These findings have considerable implications for understanding the role of SNSs’ network externalities in sharing information.

Continuance usage of corporate SNS pages: A communicative ecology perspective

This study develops a research model that explains the continuance of corporate social network service (SNS) pages. In order to find antecedents that influence end users’ continuance intention, this study adopts communicative ecology theory from media and communication studies. Results indicate that the quality of social interaction is the most salient feature, as indicated by the fact that it has the highest impact on perceived usefulness and enjoyment. Moreover, content quality also increases both perceived usefulness and enjoyment, while SNS platform quality and service quality increase perceived usefulness only. In addition, perceived network size moderates the impact of social interaction quality on perceived enjoyment.

Effects of platformization strategy on continuance intention of mobile messaging apps

As mobile messaging apps e.g., WhatsApp are becoming increasingly popular with the widespread adoption of smart phones, competition to gain a larger user-base gets more intense among app providers. To win the competition by leveraging their user bases, messaging app providers pursue a platformization strategy through which they offer a variety of services e.g., games, shopping, etc. to their messaging app users. The main objective of this study is to gauge the effect of the platformization strategy on the messaging app users. To do so, we first identify several factors e.g., perceived network size, innovativeness, service variety and convenience to locate services that can characterise the platformization strategy. We then develop a research model that focusses on the effects of the factors on users' intention to continue to use messaging apps. This research model is tested with data collected from 148 users through an online questionnaire survey. The results of data analysis using structural equation modelling through partial least square PLS approach suggest that perceived network size and perceived innovativeness of services have significant effects on the users' continuance of intention to use mobile messaging apps.

모바일 인스턴트 메신저 이용자의 만족도, 충성도와 전환의도에 영향을 미치는 요인 연구

ABSTRACT Purpose: The Purposes of this study are (1) to examine why users are communicating through MIM (2) to understand what factors impact these users’satisfaction and loyalty. Methods: We use a questionnaire survey to collect 256 data on users’per ceptions of Kakaotalk. We also use a structural equation modeling method by using AMOS 18.0. Results: Company trust, communication voice, connectedness, and perceiv ed network size are found to be statistically significant factors affecting. Also, satisfaction influence on word of mouth and intention to switch. Conclusion: This study develops a research model from the MIM context. We suggest three points of view as company characteristics, device interactivity, and social fa ctor. We examine the determinants of users’sat-isfaction and loyalty. The results can offer valuable insights for future mobile services research. Key Words: Mobile instant messenger, Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Word of mouth, Intention to switch Received 27 October 2015, 1st revised 22 November 2015, accepte d 23 November 2015Corresponding Author(suhy@khu.ac.kr)ⓒ 2015, The Korean Society for Quality ManagementThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits u nrestricted non-Commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase and children’s perceptions of their social networks

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of social network analysis in biobehavioral research. Despite the well-established importance of social relationships in influencing human behavior and health, little is known about how children’s perception of their immediate social relationships correlates with biological parameters of stress. In this study we explore the association between two measures of children’s personal social networks, perceived network size and perceived network density, with two biomarkers of stress, cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase. Forty children (mean age = 8.30, min age = 5, and max age = 12) were interviewed to collect information about their friendships and three samples of saliva were collected. Our results show that children characterized by a lower pre-interview cortisol concentration and a lower salivary alpha-amylase reactivity to the interview reported the highest density of friendships. We discuss this result in light of the multisystem approach to the study of children’s behavioral outcomes, emphasizing that future work of this kind is needed in order to understand the cognitive and biological mechanisms underlying children’s and adolescents’ social perceptual biases.

Psychological determinants of online disclosure on Facebook: Differences between Indonesian and Polish users

Objective - The present study was designed to compare online self-disclosure between Polish and Indonesian Facebook users. We expected that Need for Popularity (NfP), Collective Self-Esteem (CSE), perceived network size and diversity, as well as controlling accessibility, will influence online self-disclosure in both countries. Furthermore, we examined the differences in privacy issues. Methodology/Technique - Pearson's correlation and hierarchical regression analysis were performed to address the differences of online self-disclosure regarding independent variables. An Independent t-test was conducted to compare the control of accessibility of profile information between the two countries.Chi-square analysis was carried out to observe the differences in perceived privacy. The sample of this study consisted of 280 Indonesians and 284 Poles. Findings - Indonesians and Poles showed significantly different results when it comes to online self-disclosure, with consideration to psychological determinants. Poles exhibited a higher need to control the accessibility in their profile information, except for information on instant messaging accounts, which was deemed more sensitive for Indonesians. Poles showed a higher level of perceived privacy regarding almost all personal information on their profile page. Novelty - It was very few articles discussing the comparison of the psychological determinants of online self-disclosure and privacy issues between Polish and Indonesian. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords : Online Self-Disclosure, Need For Popularity, Collective Self-Esteem, Perceived Privacy.

MIM서비스에서 지각된 네트워크외부성과 경험가치가 지속적 사용의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

Mobile Instant Messenser (MIM) Market With the market is enlarging and attracting more and more companies. With the market expanding and number of users increasing, the competition in this area will be fierce. In order to gain competitive advantage, it is important to develop a strategy to maximize user value and to grasp the continuous usage intention of users. However, there are currently not enough researches done in this field. Therefore, this paper to study the effects of network externalities and perceived experiential value on perceived usefulness, user satisfaction, and continuous usage intention. The research results showed that the perceived experiential value and vertical compatibility significantly affected user satisfaction, but the perceived network size did not. The perceived network size and vertical compatibility did not affect the perceived usefulness. Also, the economic value, which is a sub-factor of the perceived experiential value, did not affect the perceived usefulness, but the functional value and hedonic value did significantly. The perceived network size significantly affected continuance usage intention, but the perceived network compatibility did not.

Exploring individuals’ subjective well-being and loyalty towards social network sites from the perspective of network externalities: The Facebook case

This study aims to investigate users’ subjective well-being and loyalty towards social network sites (SNSs). Despite the growing role of network externalities in SNS continuance decisions, the SNS usage literature has paid scant attention to the relationship between network externalities, SNS identification, and users’ subjective well-being. In this study, we identify four components of network externalities: perceived network size, external prestige, compatibility, and complementarity. In the research model, both network size and external prestige are hypothesized positively to affect SNS identification. Perceived compatibility and perceived complementarity are hypothesized positively to affect user satisfaction. Satisfaction and SNS identification are hypothesized positively to affect user subjective well-being and loyalty towards the SNS. Users’ subjective well-being is hypothesized positively to affect their loyalty towards the SNS. Data collected from 615 valid users of Facebook provide strong support for most of these hypotheses. The findings indicate that perceived network size negatively affects users’ SNS identifications. Other components of network externalities have positive effects on SNS identification and satisfaction, which in turn have positive effects on users’ subjective well-being and loyalty towards SNS. Implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Purchasing behavior in social virtual worlds: An examination of Habbo Hotel

Spending real money on virtual goods and services has become a popular form of online consumer behavior, particularly among teenagers. This study builds on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the role of motivation, social influence, measured with perceived network size as well as user interface and facilitating conditions in predicting the intention to engage in purchasing in social virtual worlds. The research model is tested with data from 1045 users of Habbo Hotel, world's most popular virtual world for teenagers. The results underscore the role of perceived network size and motivational factors in explaining in-world purchase decisions. The study shows that virtual purchasing behavior is substantially influenced by the factors driving usage behavior. Hence, virtual purchasing can be understood as a means to enhance the user experience. For virtual world operators, reinforcing the sense of presence of user's social network offers a means to promote virtual purchasing.

Social support and trait personality are independently associated with resting cardiovascular function in women

Social support is thought to positively influence appraisals of stressors and coping resources, thereby attenuating the harmful effects of stress. Notably, perceived available support (rather than actually received support) is believed to benefit well-being independent of the sense of obligation or threats to self-esteem that receiving support may entail. This study examined whether perceived support levels were associated with reduced cardiovascular levels, an important predictor of cardiovascular disease risk, independent of broad trait personality variables frequently reported to overlap with perceived support. In doing so, we sought to determine whether the effects of perceived support are independent of links between personality and social support. A cross-sectional design was employed. Resting cardiovascular levels were measured using a Finometer in a sample of healthy women (N = 145). The Short-Form Social Support Questionnaire and the Revised Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire were used to assess support levels and personality. Regression was used to compare associations with psychometric indices of support (namely, perceived network size and perceived satisfaction with support) and personality (psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism). Support independently predicted systolic blood pressure (SBP; p = .03) and HR (p = .02) when personality was controlled for, while personality also predicted SBP (p = .01) and DBP (p = .02). Support effects were not mediated by personality. The findings corroborate previous research indicating links between support and resting cardiovascular levels and additionally demonstrate these to be independent of associations between support and personality.