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Social influence process in the acceptance of a virtual community service

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Abstract

This study investigates the effect of subjective norms, tendency to social comparison, and social identity on behavioral intention to use an Avatar service. Use of a virtual community service can be regarded as social behavior or a behavior affected by social factors. This study relies on the link between subjective norms and behavioral intention in the theory of reasoned action, social identity theory, and social comparison literature. The proposed model was tested using survey data with the results lending support for the proposed model. The implications from this study are expected to contribute to the literature by shedding light on the social influence process in two ways. First, this study unveils how social factors including subjective norms, social identity, and tendency to social comparison affect behavioral intention to use a specific service from virtual communities. Second, this study will aid managers and academics to further understand the social nature of customer behavior with regard to using virtual community services and thus provide insight for the development of technology driven e-commerce.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409

    Jaeki Song

  2. School of Management, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902

    Yong Jin Kim

Authors
  1. Jaeki Song
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  2. Yong Jin Kim
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Correspondence to Yong Jin Kim.

Additional information

Jaeki Song is Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Quantitative Sciences at the Rawls College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University. His research interests include electronic commerce, web design, information systems strategy, and technology adoption. His work has appeared in Management Science, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Information & Management, and International Journal of Information Management. He also has published book chapters on Global Information Technologies and Electronic Commerce.

Yong Jin Kim is Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the School of Management at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He holds a Ph.D. in MIS from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has 10 year industry experience. His research interests are in knowledge management, technological innovation, IS success, e-business, and information technology valuation. He has published papers in outlets such as MIS Quarterly, Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, International Journal of Information Management, JITTA, and Knowledge and Process Management. He also has published book chapters on IS Success and e-learning.

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Song, J., Kim, Y.J. Social influence process in the acceptance of a virtual community service. Inf Syst Front 8, 241–252 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-006-8782-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-006-8782-0

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