ABSTRACT
Digital space continues to be a popular venue for meeting new people. However, little is known about who uses mobile context-aware social networking apps to initiate new relationships. This study investigates the roles of individual core traits and surface characteristics in the adoption of social discovery features on WeChat, a mobile social networking app in China. Analysis of survey data collected from 213 WeChat users finds the core traits of agreeableness and neuroticism to be negatively related to the use of these social discovery features. The surface characteristic of sensation seeking is positively related to the use of social discovery features, while the surface characteristic of loneliness is not. Based on the findings, directions for future research and implications for app developers and marketers are suggested.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Lixuan Zhang
Lixuan Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Goddard School of Business & Economics at Weber State University. She received her PhD in Management Information System at University of North Texas. Her research interests are social media, online privacy and security and sharing economy. She has published in International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Computers in Human Behavior, CyberPsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, and many other journals.
Iryna Pentina
Iryna Pentina is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Toledo. Her research interests are in the areas of Internet marketing and retailing, social media marketing, and online consumer behavior. She has authored over 80 scientific publications and taught classes in over 15 marketing subjects. Dr. Pentina was a Fulbright Research Scholar for the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 academic years. During her career in academia, she has served as journal guest editor, conference track and session chair, and reviewer for various journals.
Wendy Fox Kirk
Wendy Fox Kirk is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Goddard School of Business & Economics at Weber State University. Her research interests include gender, power, leadership, and identity, aiming to address issues of disadvantage with a particular focus on women’s careers and the gendered organization. In addition to a BSc in Human Psychology and an MSc in Work Psychology & Business from Aston University in England, she holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She was previously deputy director of the MBA program at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where she also completed her PhD in Business. She has published in such journals as the Journal of Strategic Management Studies and Advances in Developing Human Resources and acts as a consulting editor for the Journal of Education for Business. She teaches management courses with a focus on leadership and people development. She also worked for a number of years in commercial social research and management consultancy supporting the public service and not-for-profit sectors in innovative service delivery and organizational development.