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Recommendation sources on the intention to use e‐books in academic digital libraries

Chiun‐Sin Lin (Department of Business and Entrepreneurial Management, Kainan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC)
Gwo‐Hshiung Tzeng (Department of Business and Entrepreneurial Management, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC)
Yang‐Chieh Chin (Department of Management Science, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC)
Chiao‐Chen Chang (Department of International Business, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan, ROC)

The Electronic Library

ISSN: 0264-0473

Article publication date: 16 November 2010

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Abstract

Purpose

Few library studies have investigated recommendation classifications for e‐book (electronic book) usage, while none have directly compared what recommendation sources (word‐of‐mouth, advertising, and expert recommendation) might influence e‐book usage intentions. To fill this gap in the literature, the main purposes of this study are to: examine how users perceive the influence of recommendations on the intention to use e‐books for academic purposes; and to measure the level of the perception of trust and perceived risk when users receive e‐book recommendations from peers, advertisers, and experts.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected from 382 academic digital library users between the ages of 18 and 25. A multiple regression analysis was then conducted to identify the key causal relationships.

Findings

The comparison of three recommendation sources (word‐of‐mouth, advertising, and expert recommendations) revealed that word‐of‐mouth (WOM) played a more important role than other recommendations in determining the intention to use e‐books in an academic digital library. In addition, enhancing the perceived trust and reducing the risk towards the use of e‐books can mediate the relationship between recommendation sources and the behavioural intentions to use e‐books.

Research limitations/implications

This study assessed self‐reported behavioural intention as part of its survey and, as a result, could have introduced unintentional inaccuracies.

Practical implications

Librarians should emphasise e‐book advantages (e.g. easy searching, easily accessible index) to get positive recommendation if users follow all of the recommendations of the source. They can also create online discussion forums to provide usage intention discussions, which can influence users' perceptions of trust and risk and increase the willingness of potential users to read e‐books.

Originality/value

Little has been written on the intentions of using e‐books. Therefore, this conceptual model is novel. This model is also useful in explaining how recommendations stimulate the intentions of using e‐books by enhancing the perceived trust and reducing the perceived risk; these findings may generally be applicable to librarians, current users, and potential users.

Keywords

Citation

Lin, C., Tzeng, G., Chin, Y. and Chang, C. (2010), "Recommendation sources on the intention to use e‐books in academic digital libraries", The Electronic Library, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 844-857. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471011093534

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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