A moderated mediation model of political collective action in Hong Kong: examining the roles of social media consumption and social identity

ABSTRACT

Adopting a communication mediation approach, this study explores the role of overall social networking service (SNS) use in facilitating people’s participation in collective political action through the mediation of online and offline political discussions. The study also underscores the moderating effect on the mediation process of both social identity and geographical origin. Moderated mediation analyses reveal that the positive impact of overall SNS use on participation mediated by offline discussion is stronger for people with higher Hong Kong identity and for people from Hong Kong. This moderated mediation model specifies the socio-psychological mechanism of participation in collective political action in an immigrant society such as Hong Kong.

KEYWORDS:

• Social networking service
• political discussion
• social identity
• moderated mediation
• collective political action

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Yingru Ji is a doctoral student in School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Yanmengqian Zhou is an MPhil student in School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Sora Kim (Ph.D.) is an associate professor in School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Notes

1. From a course list that contained all required courses for both undergraduates and postgraduates, we randomly selected only one required course per each year from each department to generate a short-list of required courses. In this fashion, we ensured that each student was registered for only one class in the short-list. Afterward, we categorized courses based on size – small, medium, and large – to secure similar numbers per size. Then, using a random number generator, the study selected courses from each.