U NDERSTANDING C ONTINUANCE U SAGE OF S OCIAL N ETWORKING S ERVICES : A T HEORETICAL M ODEL AND E MPIRICAL S TUDY OF THE C HINESE C ONTEXT

Social networking services (SNS) provide innovative online platforms for social interactions and communications. In order to understand users’ continuance intention of using SNS, we first propose a comprehensive research model based on the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) of IS continuance. Our model examines direct and indirect factors affecting users’ continuance intention of SNS usage. We then apply the model in an empirical study, in which we collect and analyze survey data from the users of a major Chinese SNS website. The results of the study reveal different effects of individual motivations such as perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment on continued usage intention (CUI) in SNS. We also find significant impact of non-individual motivation (i.e., structural embeddedness) on CUI. This research not only extends the IS continuance theory into SNS studies, but also provides IS researchers and SNS practitioners empirical insights into CUI in SNS and its underlying factors in the Chinese context.

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