Utilitarian and hedonic information systems in social networking sites: the effect on e-satisfaction and word-of-mouth

Abstract

The original Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) views Perceived Ease of Use (PEoU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) of utilitarian information system as the contributing factors to users behavior on technology acceptance. However, the nature of social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, which are pleasure-oriented, requires the inclusion of Perceived Enjoyment (PE) of hedonic information system as additional factor in this research framework. Therefore, this research attempts to investigate the effects of utilitarian (PEoU and PU) and hedonic (PE) aspects of information system on two important success factors of online service providers such as SNSs, which are e-Satisfaction (eSAT) and word-of-mouth (WOM). Facebook has been selected as the particular SNSs referred to in this research because of its high popularity among young SNSs users. A total of 384 respondents age between 18–24 years old have participated in this research through online questionnaire survey. The results confirmed the importance of pleasure orientation in the usage of Facebook of SNSs, which can be evidenced through the finding of the study that shows PE of hedonic information system has greater effect on eSAT, compared to PEoU and PE of utilitarian information system. In addition, the results suggest that PEOU has positive effects on PU and PE, while eSAT has been found to be positively affected WOM. Managerial and theoretical implications of the study are discussed in term of measuring and enhancing users’ eSAT in the usage of SNSs, particularly Facebook.