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Building upon studies of value theory and social psychology literature, the purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model that incorporates antecedents of value (mobile convenience, service compatibility, security risk, and cognitive effort) and mobile value (utilitarian and hedonic value), and social influence (social norms and number of peers) to examine factors affecting user intention toward mobile social networking sites (SNSs).

The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 318 users on their perceptions of mobile SNSs. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationships of the research model.

The results revealed that mobile convenience, service compatibility, security risk, and cognitive effort have a significant and indirect impact on the user acceptance of mobile SNSs through their respective paths on hedonic value and utility value.

Mobile SNSs practitioners should focus on enhancing users’ mobile value through perceived benefits, lower perceived costs, and simultaneously developing social influence to further boost users’ intention to use for mobile social networking services.

This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’ intention to use the mobile SNSs.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a mobile social networking service (SNS) addiction scale to measure respondents’ addiction levels.

Drawing on the existing literature on the components model of addiction by Griffiths (2005) and mobile SNS addiction, an initial scale in a five-point Likert-format was developed. It was refined through the pilot study with 100 participants and the main study with 423 participants utilizing factor analysis and Rasch analysis.

Mobile SNS addiction as a behavioral addiction, demonstrated six addiction symptoms: modification, salience, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse, which were interrelated with each other. The mobile SNS addiction scale developed in this study was found to be psychometrically robust and unidimensional.

The mobile SNS addiction scale consists of nine items, thus making it easier and more convenient to be applied to academic research and clinical practice.

The combined use of factor analysis and the Rasch model could largely reduce potential negative effects associated with limitations of classical test theory and improve the chance of developing a psychometrically robust instrument. The mobile SNS addiction scale covers a range of types of SNSs, thus being more generic. The items in the scale are unidimensionally loaded on the latent construct of mobile SNS addiction and demonstrate measurement invariance across respondents of different demographics.

The phenomenon of mobile social networking site (SNS) addiction has become increasingly severe nowadays and brings adverse outcomes to users’ daily life and work efficiency. However, there are relatively few research probes into the formation process of mobile SNS addiction behavior, and how demographic factors (e.g. gender and age) influence users’ addiction behavior. Adopting the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) framework, this study examines the effects of three types of technological functions (enjoyment, sociability and information value) on flow in relation to mobile SNS addiction. The authors further proposed gender and age as moderators, which play important roles in influencing the formation of mobile SNS addiction behavior.

This study examines the formation of mobile SNS addiction with a particular focus on the WeChat app. The authors use a field survey study conducted in China with 351 subjects of WeChat app users to examine thestudy model.

The results demonstrate that addictive behavior is determined by users’ flow states of using mobile SNS. The flow states, in turn, are influenced by three types of technological functions (enjoyment, sociability and information value). In addition, gender and age act as vital moderators in the model.

First, the authors empirically examine the formation of SNS addiction on the mobile device by adopting the S–O–R framework, which may enrich the addiction literature. Second, the authors reveal the moderating roles of age and gender in affecting the formation process of addiction behavior further. The findings of this research deepen our understanding of users’ addiction behavior. Third, the findings also offer rich insights to prevent mobile SNS addiction.

This paper aims to explore the factors that influence Generation Y’s positive or negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior via social media and mobile technology in the foodservice sector. Three types of dining experiences were examined: positive and negative customer experiences and negative customer service followed by a satisfactory recovery package.

A survey was adopted to test the factors posited to influence Generation Y consumers in these service contexts. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk , and multi-group structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data.

Active use of social media and peer influence had a sweeping influence on Generation Y’s intentions to engage in eWOM about their service experiences. Technological sophistication with mobile technology influenced Generation Y to spread positive or negative service experiences, rather than satisfactory recovery experiences. Family influence had a mixed influence on Generation Y subgroups (21-24 years old vs 25-35 years old) to engage in eWOM about their satisfactory or poor service experiences. In satisfactory recovery experiences, family influence showed no significant influence on Generation Y’s eWOM behaviors.

This study enriches online reviews and eWOM marketing theories, adds to service failure and recovery literature and enhances understanding of consumer behavior expressed by Generation Y through the empirical investigation of Generation Y consumers’ behavioral motivations to engage in eWOM through social media and mobile technology.

Engaging Generation Y consumers with social media campaigns and mobile technology development is not merely sufficient in eWOM marketing strategies. Instead, it is essential to create integrative peer communities to motivate Generation Y consumers to engage in eWOM marketing. Marketers need to pay attention to the mixed effects of family influences on the eWOM behaviors of subgroups of Generation Y in positive or negative service experiences.

Given the scarcity of consumer behavior research into Generation Y as an emerging market segment, this paper makes an incremental contribution by developing and validating a model of factors that influence Generation Y consumers’ eWOM intentions through social networking and mobile technologies in three major service contexts: positive, negative and recovery following a service failure.

The latest mobile technology may shape consumers' motivations by allowing them to order a variety of foods using smartphone apps. Following the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework and using a mixed methods approach, this study investigates the impacts of different components of mobile dining on customers' perceived value, which leads to actual purchase intentions. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating effect of the restaurant type.

Data were collected via an online questionnaire survey from 351 individuals in the city of Jakarta (Indonesia) who actually used mobile apps to order food online. Data analysis was carried out using structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that source credibility, review valence, the navigation system, food quality and service quality significantly impact customers' perceived value. Customers' perceived value, in turn, positively affects their purchase intentions. The findings also reveal that the impacts of review valence, the navigation system, food quality and service quality on customers' perceived value depend on the different levels of restaurants.

This study is among the first in the mobile commerce research that studies the impacts of mobile electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), system quality and overall restaurant image on dining choices by considering actual mobile shoppers. Second, this study extends the SOR model to examine the impact of the mobile environment-based characteristics on the perceived value that leads to purchase intentions. Third, the current study examines whether the relationships that are discussed early on differ based on the restaurant type. The findings of this study could help practitioners achieve a deeper understanding of diners' behaviors due to the perceived benefits of mobile dining.

Mobile Facebook (m-Facebook) creates many business opportunities for brands and firms while increasingly drawing interest in scientific literature. However, research is scarce on the immersive experiences prompted by m-Facebook, and how these experiences facilitate users’ engagement, their positive attitude towards Facebook and their continued use of it. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper theoretically and empirically analyses m-Facebook users’ immersive experiences, along with their affective and behavioural effects.

The results reveal the important role of imagery, presence and flow in the context of m-Facebook; the interplay between these three immersive phenomena; and the influence the user’s optimum stimulation level has on them.

The investigation offers a foundation for understanding users’ immersive experiences on m-Facebook, and informs practitioners who aim to enhance users’ engagement with, attitude towards, and continued use of m-Facebook content.

The aim of this study is to explore, identify and understand the impact of technology affordance in the context of social networking sites (SNSs). Moreover, this study incorporates user experience as a moderator, in order to explore behavioral differences between veterans (high-experience users) and newbies (low-experience users).

A research model was developed to examine the influences of three technology affordances: interactivity, information and navigation on user satisfaction and SNS stickiness. Totally 266 data were collected from a famous college in China using an online survey, and structural equation modeling technique was used to examine the proposed research model.

The empirical research findings indicated that the three technology affordance attributes exhibited different degrees of influence on user satisfaction, which in turn facilitated SNS stickiness. Particularly, high-experience users were more likely influenced by interactivity and information affordances, while low-experience users are more susceptible to navigation affordance.

This study can provide guidelines to the platform administrators to design SNSs from the aspects of interactivity, information and navigation attributes and pay attention to the preference differences between high-experience users and low-experience users.

This study uncovers the significant antecedents of SNS stickiness from a technology affordance lens and reveals the moderating effect of user experience on the relationship between three technology affordance attributes and satisfaction.

Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of this paper is to study factors that urge Facebook users to switch to Instagram to reveal how latecomers in the SNSs circuit can win the hearts of users.

This study proposes an SNS switching framework that is adapted from the demographic Push-Pull (PP) migration model to investigate users’ switching intention. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data collected from 260 Instagrammers who all had experience using Facebook before moving on Instagram.

Results show that socializing and system quality of the SNS negatively affect users’ switching intention, while attractiveness of the alternative, peer influence and critical mass do the opposite. Surprisingly, enjoyment is not associated with switching intention.

SNSs switching may not mean a complete abandonment of previous SNSs. In many occasions, users simply become less active in one SNS and more active in other SNSs. The PP migration model provides a useful tool to understand the patterns as well as competing forces that influence the migration of SNS users, pushing them away or pulling them to new alternative sites. Specifically, pulling demonstrates to be a stronger influence than pushing.

This study suggests that SNS operators should satisfy users’ needs for socializing, maintain high system quality, provide peer influence tools and create their own attractive features, in order to retain existing customers or induce new users to switch.

This is one of the earlier empirical studies to investigate users’ switching intention from Facebook to Instagram with a valid sample. In addition, the present study approaches pull and push effects by multiple constructs, providing a clearer picture of what constitutes the pull and push forces.

Previous research has linked upward social comparison on social network sites (SNSs) to depressive symptoms; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of envy and self-efficacy in the relationship between upward social comparison on SNSs and depressive symptoms.

Based on the social comparison theory and previous related literature, a moderated mediation model integrating upward social comparison on SNSs, depressive symptoms, envy and self-efficacy was developed and empirically examined based on the data collected from 934 Chinese high school students.

The structural equation modeling analysis shows that envy partially mediates the relationship between upward social comparison on SNSs and depressive symptoms, whereas self-efficacy moderated both the direct effect of upward social comparison on SNSs on depressive symptoms and the mediating effect of envy in the relationship between upward social comparison on SNSs and depressive symptoms.

The findings offer interesting implications for guiding adolescents to use SNSs properly. This study found that envy and self-efficacy act as a mediator and moderator, respectively, between upward social comparison on SNSs and depressive symptoms, indicating that reducing envy and enhancing self-efficacy should be feasible to alleviate the negative effect of SNSs use.

In order to alleviate the negative effect of SNSs use, parents and educators should direct adolescents to view others’ achievements and happiness properly and manage to improve self-efficacy among adolescents with poor self-efficacy through effective training.

Through building and examining a moderated mediation model integrating envy and self-efficacy into the relationship between upward social comparison on SNSs and depressive symptoms, the present study advances our understanding of how and when upward social comparison on SNSs augments the risk of depressive symptoms among adolescents.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and assess the awareness and extent of the use of social networking sites (SNSs) by the students and research scholars of universities of North India.

The study is a questionnaire-based survey on the usage of SNSs among the students and research scholars of the universities of North India. The data of the study were collected through questionnaires, which were personally distributed to the identified population, i.e. undergraduate students, postgraduate students and research scholars, by the authors. The survey was based on a sample of 610 questionnaires; of which, 486 questionnaires were received, having a response rate of 79.67 per cent.

The study showed that all the respondents were found to be aware of and making use of such applications in their academic affairs. It was revealed from the study that Facebook is the most popular SNS by all categories of respondents. To determine the purpose of SNSs, it emerged that SNSs are mostly used for entertainment and communication. The study also found that the majority of respondents were aware about the security aspects of SNSs. It signifies that excessive time consumption and fear of misusing personal information were the major hurdles in the way of accessing SNSs.

The study covers the students and research scholars of select universities of North India. It also signifies the use of SNSs in their research and academic environment.

The paper provides reliable and authentic data. The study is worth, justifiable and enlightens the salient findings on the topic, which will be very useful for researchers in this area.