Sharing Behavior in Social Networking Websites: The

Two DimensionsMohammad SalehanDepartment of ITDS

University of North Texas

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Introduction Literature review Research model and hypotheses Methodology Discussion Conclusion

Overview

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Social networking sites (SNS) are communication channels

Recent concern about trust in SNSs Previous work on the effect of trust on SNSs

◦ TAM-based◦ Subjects are the outsiders◦ Concentrated on the intention to use

What’s the effect of trust on the insiders?

Introduction

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Two dimensions from the perspective of the degree of information sharing ◦ Sharing regularity

The width dimension The frequency of sharing information

◦ Sharing density The depth dimension The degree of private information shared by a SNS

user

Sharing Behavior in SNSs

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Dimensions of Sharing behavior

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Propose a research model describing two dimensions of sharing behavior in social networking sites

Empirical validation of the proposed research model using data collected from SNS users

Provide insights regarding SNS users’ sharing behavior and its antecedents

Objectives

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Study FindingsBoyd and Ellison (2007); Brown et al. (2007)

SNS research focus: impression management and friendship performance, networks and network structure, online/offline connections, privacy issues, and online marketing

Boyd and Ellison (2007);

Privacy concerns regarding SNSs especially concerning the safety of younger users

Young and Quan-Haase (2009)

Three privacy concerns of SNS users: their misused, sold, or observed by unintended audiencesEffect of profile visibility and network size on information disclosure

Lewis et al. (2008); Gender and privacy concernsSNS intensity and privacy concerns

Literature Review

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Study FindingsTufekci (2008) Age and information disclosure

Gender and privacy concernsFogel & Nehmad (2009)

Gender and privacy concerns

Pavlou (2011) Trust is a central variable associated with information privacy

Doney et al., (1997) Study of trust in different disciplinesTrust as “the perceived credibility and benevolence of a target of trust”

Mayer et al. (1995) the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party

Literature Review

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Study FindingsValenzuela et al. (2009)

Effect of Facebook intensity on social capital dimensions (life satisfaction, social trust, and political and civic participation)

Ellison et al. (2007); Steinfield et al. (2008)

FaceBook usage and social capital

Pavlou (2003) Trust as an important part of web-based systems

Gefen et al. (2003) Integrity, benevolence, ability, and predictability of e-vendors

Gefen (2004) Role of trust in e-commerce

Literature Review

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Study FindingsGefen (2000, 2004), Pavlou (2003), Basso et al. (2001), Suh & Han (2003), Corbit et al. (2003), Salisbiury et al. (2001)

The effect of trust on purchases over the internet

Chai & Kim (2011) Effect of ethical culture, sense of belonging to the SNS, and social ties among members on knowledge sharing

DiMicco et al. (2008) Knowledge sharing on SNS as an instrument for career advancement and convincing the others to support ideas and projects

Ardichvili et al. (2003) Security and confidentiality considerations cause some employees to use old techniques of knowledge sharing

Literature Review

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Theory of Reasoned Action

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Research Model

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Survey 7-item Likert scale Social trust: Valenzuela et al. (2009) Trust in SNS: Fogel & Nehmad (2009) Attitude toward sharing and subjective

norm: Bock et al. (2005) Sharing density and sharing regularity:

Young & and Quan-Haase (2009)

Measurement

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126 undergraduate students Final sample count: 117 Usable sample rate: 93% 67% male

Subjects

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Reliability Analysis 

Attitude toward Sharing

Sharing Density

Sharing Regularity

Social Trust

Subjective Norm

Trust in Website

ATS1 0.901594          ATS2 0.896013          ATS3 0.853036          ATS4 0.825145          ATS5 0.780765          SD1   0.611509        SD2   0.890345        SD3   0.817227        SN1         0.664875  SN2         0.902359  SN3         0.852769  SN5         0.631667  SN6         0.598947  ST1       0.739771    ST3       0.765602    ST4       0.784561    ST6       0.689338    ST8       0.839131    ST9       0.873862    TS1           0.832338TS2           0.896086TS3           0.884813TS4           0.854109SR1R     0.852222      SR2R     0.882970      

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 Composite Reliability

Cronbach’s Alpha

Attitude toward Sharing 0.929884 0.905468

Sharing Density 0.821890 0.677973Sharing Regularity 0.859034 0.672763Social Trust 0.905116 0.875103Subjective Norm 0.855077 0.811941Trust in Website 0.923788 0.889938

Reliability Analysis

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Analysis & Results

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Identification two dimensions of users’ sharing behavior in SNS context

Application of a well-known theory (TRA) to determine SNS users’ sharing activity

Use both social trust & trust in website simultaneously to predict SNS users’ sharing behavior

Implications for Theory

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Finding different trust-making mechanisms to increase SNS users’ trust

Working toward improving attitude toward sharing in SNS users

Increase SNS activity to increase information disclosure

Implications for Practice

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Undergraduate student sample Single major students 67% of respondents were male Low cultural diversity sample New constructs with low Cronbach’s alpha

Limitations

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Using better sample◦ Different age and education groups◦ Different cultures and countries

Check the effect of demographic attributes Factors affecting trust in website Factors affecting attitude toward sharing Incorporation of privacy in the model

Future Research

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The study of sharing behavior of user in SNS environment

Two dimensions of SNS sharing behavior

The effect of social trust, trust in SNS, and attitude on two dimensions of SNS sharing behavior

The Effect of sharing regularity on sharing density

Conclusion

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