University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Communication

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Technology Degree in Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / Social computing researchers are devoting efforts to understand the complex social behaviour of people using social networking platforms, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, so as to inform the design of human-centered and socially aware systems. This research study investigates the factors of perceived trust, user satisfaction, social norm and perceived behavioural control, to develop a model for predicting the continuance intention of people to use online social networking for business transactions. In order to validate the predictive capability of the model developed, an online survey was used to collect 300 useable responses from people who have used LinkedIn and Twitter social networking platforms for business transactions at least once. The Partial Least Square (PLS) mathematical analysis tool was thereafter used to perform confirmatory factor analysis, analysis of measurement and structural models. The study results provide significant evidence in support of the factors of perceived trust, social norm and user satisfaction, as determinants of the continuance intention of people using online social networking platforms for business transactions. Perceived trust was found to exhibit a strong relationship with social norm and explains a variance of (R2=0.47). In addition, social norm explains a variance of (R2=0.44) and user satisfaction explains a variance of (R2=0.42), resulting in the model predicting (R2=0.56) continuance intention. In addition, the research model was tested for the moderating effects of usage habit, which were found to significantly moderate relationships between continuance intention and perceived trust, PBCand social norm, resulting in an improved predictive capability of (R2=0.89). The moderating result indicates that a higher level of habit increases the effect of perceived trust, Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and social norm on continuance intention. This result confirms the theoretical argument that the strength of user satisfaction to predict continuance, is strengthened by usage habit. The results of this research study generally have practical implications for individuals who desire to offer commercial services on online social networking technologies, to seriously consider building trust and maintaining user satisfaction to sustain their businesses. They should also think of strategies embedded in peer pressure, to attract, retain and establish trustworthy relationships with customers.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Technology Degree in Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / Social computing researchers are devoting efforts to understand the complex social behaviour of people using social networking platforms, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, so as to inform the design of human-centered and socially aware systems. This research study investigates the factors of perceived trust, user satisfaction, social norm and perceived behavioural control, to develop a model for predicting the continuance intention of people to use online social networking for business transactions. In order to validate the predictive capability of the model developed, an online survey was used to collect 300 useable responses from people who have used LinkedIn and Twitter social networking platforms for business transactions at least once. The Partial Least Square (PLS) mathematical analysis tool was thereafter used to perform confirmatory factor analysis, analysis of measurement and structural models. The study results provide significant evidence in support of the factors of perceived trust, social norm and user satisfaction, as determinants of the continuance intention of people using online social networking platforms for business transactions. Perceived trust was found to exhibit a strong relationship with social norm and explains a variance of (R2=0.47). In addition, social norm explains a variance of (R2=0.44) and user satisfaction explains a variance of (R2=0.42), resulting in the model predicting (R2=0.56) continuance intention. In addition, the research model was tested for the moderating effects of usage habit, which were found to significantly moderate relationships between continuance intention and perceived trust, PBCand social norm, resulting in an improved predictive capability of (R2=0.89). The moderating result indicates that a higher level of habit increases the effect of perceived trust, Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and social norm on continuance intention. This result confirms the theoretical argument that the strength of user satisfaction to predict continuance, is strengthened by usage habit. The results of this research study generally have practical implications for individuals who desire to offer commercial services on online social networking technologies, to seriously consider building trust and maintaining user satisfaction to sustain their businesses. They should also think of strategies embedded in peer pressure, to attract, retain and establish trustworthy relationships with customers. / M

Old Spice cleverly used a handsome actor to play the Old Spice Man character for a Super Bowl commercial in 2010. After the game, this Old Spice commercial was viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube, a social media video-sharing site. This viral marketing campaign, also known as electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM), propelled the Old Spice brand into the forefront of consumers’ minds, increased brand awareness, and inspired people to share the video links with their family, friends, and co-workers. The rapid growth of E-WOM is an indication of consumers’ increased willingness to convey marketing messages to others. However, despite this development, marketing academics and practitioners do not fully understand this powerful form of marketing. This dissertation enriches our understanding of E-WOM and how e-servicescape may lead to E-WOM. To that end, stimulus-organism-response theory and the network co-production model of E-WOM are applied to investigate the relationships between e-servicescape, trust, E-WOM intentions, customer loyalty, and purchase intentions. Two forms of E-WOM were examined, namely emails and social network postings. E-servicescape is defined as the online environmental factors of a marketer’s website. E-servicescape is composed of three main dimensions, including aesthetic appeal, financial security, and layout and functionality. This study used cross-sectional customer data from a single e-tailer. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the responses. Customer reviews was added as an additional sub-dimension of e-servicescape. The findings suggest e-servicescape positively impacts trust, which in turn positively influences E-WOM and customer loyalty. Moreover, two groups of customers were compared using multi-group analysis, where one group of users received emails and the other group received social network postings from the same e-tailer. Overall, the results indicated emails had a stronger impact on e-servicescape, E-WOM, and customer loyalty. Social networking site postings had slightly greater influence on trust, and two sub-dimensions of e-servicescape, i.e., interactivity and ease of payment. These findings contribute to the marketing research on E-WOM theory and electronic commerce shopping behavior. In particular, the sub-dimension of customer reviews is added to e-servicescape. This study yields practical implications for marketers in understanding consumers’ perceptions of websites and how to better design sites. In addition, these findings add to knowledge on how to engender consumers’ trust and customer loyalty online. Finally, this research provides suggestions for firms wanting to create marketing campaigns that will lead to E-WOM.

In recent years, craft fairs, shows and markets where crafters sell their handmade goods such as pottery, jewelry, handmade clothes and needlework have grown in popularity across the United States. A common intent among individuals in this community echo political statements made by the turn of the century Arts and Crafts movement, while there are political aspects of the community that can also be seen as an extension of the third wave feminist do-it-yourself (DIY) ethic of the late 1990s. This newly enlarged community of crafters that congregates in person also has a strong online presence. Etsy.com plays a large role in this community. The introduction of websites such as Etsy.com to the communities they serve has widespread impacts. The aim of this study is to analyze how Etsy.com impacts the lives of women who use the website to earn income. Following ethnographic traditions, the researcher interviewed five community members. The focus was on thick description of the DIY community and thematization of interview narratives. To meet participant observation criteria, the researcher also volunteered at the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC) in Portland, Oregon for 4 months. Additionally, the researcher conducted a textual analysis of blogs, websites, artwork, and other sources of data collected from the online hand crafting community. The study presents and discusses the themes that emerged from the data, including women's work, feminism and technology, the crafters' political statements, the crafters as owners of legitimate businesses, and Etsy.com's impact on local economy. The results paint a picture of the community (both on and offline) and how Etsy.com helps to shape this. The researcher then discusses how to assess the impacts tools such as community websites will have on the communities they serve.