Understanding social networking sites adoption: an extended theory of planned behavior perspective

Abstract

In recent years, social networking sites have become the major media by which people develop their personal network online. The purpose of this study is to examine empirically the factors that affect the adoption of social networking site by Google Plus Users. As base model, this study applies an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model (TPB), incorporating the additions of perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment to explore factors affecting user’s intention to use social networking sites and actual use. A total of 249 valid responses collected from a web-based questionnaire. The data obtained by the survey was analyzed and commented upon using the SPSS program. In this study, the findings indicate that the extended TPB variables of attitude, perceived behavioral control, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment have significant effects on user’s intention to use social networking site, which in turn positively affect actual usage. In addition, the findings also indicate the insignificant effect of subjective norm on user’s intention to use social networking site. Overall, the findings show that the model provides a good understanding of factors that influence intention to use social networking sites and actual use. Approximately 63 percent of the total variance on the user’s intention was explained. Based on the findings, this study allows social networking service providers to develop strategies that can encourage the adoption of social networking site. Implications and recommendations are discussed.