An investigation of the impact of cognitive absorption on continued usage of social media in Taiwan: the perspectives of fit

ABSTRACT

Information processing view explains the fit between information processing need and information processing capability to achieve optimal performance. This research observes that the model of users’ needs-functional capabilities fits by two perspectives of holistic and reductionistic in the context of social media usage. Through an online survey of 310 Facebook users in Taiwan, the findings provide the holistic and reductionistic perspectives of the fit between users’ needs and functional capabilities as having a significant impact on users’ cognitive absorption. Thus, social media providers must emphasise managing the fit between users’ needs and functional capabilities for their products and services development.

KEYWORDS:

• Information processing view
• fit
• social media
• cognitive absorption
• continued usage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Social media applications allow for classification into specific categories depending on their functional characteristics (Chu 2011), including social networking sets (e.g. Facebook, MySpace and Weibo), micro blogging (e.g. Twitter), content communities (e.g. YouTube), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life); they have grown in popularity and use.

2 This study used an online questionnaire tool provided by Google Forms to build our survey and created a hyperlink to the Facebook page so participants can be directed to the survey website, and distributed the questionnaires from February to April in 2014.

3 Users’ needs = γ1 (SR) + γ2 (IAS) + γ3 (RB) + γ4 (CC), Users’ needs = 0.760 (SR) + 0.668 (IAS) + 0.697 (RB) + 0.650 (CC); Functional capabilities of social media = γ1 (AC) + γ2 (IC) + γ3 (SC) + γ4 (EC), Functional capabilities of social media = 0.710(AC) +  0.821 (IC) + 0.828 (SC) + 0.718 (EC). Here: SR, social relationship; IAS, information acquisition and sharing; RB, reputation building; CC, commercial contact; AC, access capability; IC, interactivity capability; SC, social capability; EC, expression capability.

4 The absolute value of the deviation |X–Z| presents the lack of fit between X and Z. Moreover, Y is a function of the fit between X and Z. Based on this perspective, the deviation score is integrated into regression equations and the performance implications of fit are examined by testing the impact that this difference score variable has on performance. The regression equation is as follows: Y = α0 + α1X + α2Z + α3 (|X–Z|) + e. Venkatraman (1989) also stated that when the coefficient α3 is statistically significant in the hypothesis, presenting the performance effects of fit, the hypothesis is supported.

5 In this research, the performance factor initially was regressed on four variables of users’ needs. Next, the four variables of functional capabilities of social media were added to estimate their incremental contribution to the performance factor. Finally, users’ needs-functional capabilities of social media fit variables were added to the prior regression equation for testing users’ cognitive absorption.