User Satisfaction with Virtual Social Community: The Case of Bulletin Board Systems

Building upon expectation confirmation theory and elaboration likelihood model, this study proposed and empirically tested a research model of user satisfaction with virtual social community. An online questionnaire was posted in the Bulletin Board Systems of a local university in Mainland China. A total of 240 online questionnaires were collected, and the data was analyzed using partial least squares. The research model provided over 70 percent of variance explained in user satisfaction with virtual social community. Relevance and comprehensiveness of messages, and disconfirmations of relevance and accuracy of messages are found statistically significant. The dimensions of perceived source credibility (including source expertise and source trustworthiness) are not found significant, but their disconfirmations are found statistically significant. Implications of this study are noteworthy for both researchers and practitioners.

[1]  E. Rogers,et al.  Diffusion of innovations , 1964, Encyclopedia of Sport Management.

[2]  Jyun-Cheng Wang,et al.  An Automated Tool for Managing Interactions in Virtual Communities-Using Social Network Analysis Approach , 2004, J. Organ. Comput. Electron. Commer..

[3]  Philip J. Trocchia,et al.  Consumer perceptions of Internet retail service quality , 2002 .

[4]  E. Turban,et al.  Determinants of e‐commerce Website , 2000 .

[5]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  Marketing to and serving customers through the internet: An overview and research agenda , 2002 .

[6]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[7]  Christian N. Madu,et al.  Dimensions of e‐quality , 2002 .

[8]  Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah,et al.  HCI Research Issues in Electronic Commerce , 2002, J. Electron. Commer. Res..

[9]  Dennis Mckerlie.  Dimensions of Equality , 2001, Utilitas.

[10]  Matthew K. O. Lee,et al.  A proposed model and measurement instrument for the formation of IS satisfaction: the case of end-user computing satisfaction , 2000, ICIS.

[11]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  Toward preprototype user acceptance testing of new information systems: implications for software project management , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[12]  Anol Bhattacherjee,et al.  An empirical analysis of the antecedents of electronic commerce service continuance , 2001, Decis. Support Syst..

[13]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success: A Ten-Year Update , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[14]  Fatemeh Zahedi,et al.  The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An Expectation and Disconfirmation Approach , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[15]  Stephanie Watts,et al.  Informational Influence in Organizations: An Integrated Approach to Knowledge Adoption , 2003, Inf. Syst. Res..

[16]  R. Oliver.  Effect of expectation and disconfirmation on postexposure product evaluations: An alternative interpretation. , 1977 .

[17]  Moez Limayem,et al.  The Role of Habit in IS Continuance: Examining the Evolving Relationship between Intention and Usage , 2005 .

[18]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[19]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[20]  Andrew B. Whinston,et al.  Understanding the Service Component of Application Service Provision: An Empirical Analysis of Satisfaction with ASP Services , 2003, MIS Q..

[21]  Diane M. Strong,et al.  AIMQ: a methodology for information quality assessment , 2002, Inf. Manag..

[22]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[23]  Kenneth K. Boyer,et al.  Print versus electronic surveys: A comparison of two data collection methodologies , 2002 .

[24]  William J. Doll,et al.  The Measurement of End-User Computing Satisfaction , 1988, MIS Q..

[25]  David M. Szymanski,et al.  E-satisfaction: an initial examination , 2000 .

[26]  C. Fornell.  A Second generation of multivariate analysis : classification of methods and implications for marketing research , 1985 .

[27]  Moshe Zviran,et al.  Measuring IS User Satisfaction: Review and Implications , 2003, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..