Understanding Individual Adoption of Social Networking Services: An Empirical Investigation

 Abstract—Social networking services (SNS) have become a hot topic both in Information Systems area and research community for its powerful influence among a large number of users. People are curious about the reasons why SNS users are so passionate with SNS sites. In this study, the decision to continually use SNS is examined under an extended Technology Acceptance Model. Renren (renren.com) is the largest SNS sites in China and becomes the research object of this paper. An empirical study of Renren users (n=183) found that behavioral intention to use SNS is determined by both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment and information sharing impact perceived usefulness directly while social connection and self presentation impact perceived enjoyment directly. Some implications for theories and practice are given and limitations with directions for future research are also listed.

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