really do university students believe that facebook is a useful tool to mobilizing people both...
DESCRIPTION
The use of information and communication technologies pervades our lives. A specific type of social media that is playing a crucial role in this upsurge of participation in cyber-collective social movements (CSMs) is the social networking sites (SNS). We employ an extended model from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as our theoretical framework to understand student perceptions of SNS use expectations (performance expectancy and effort expectancy), social acceptance (social influence), and their perceptions about resource availability (facilitating conditions) for expressive social participation. This extended model introduces social variables (SNS mobilization effort and offline civic participation) that researchers have identified as important in explaining behaviors. In doing so, it advances a model of how activities in the online domain can ‘spill’ over to the offline domain. We have provided empirical support for the applicability of UTAUT to the expressive participation in CSMs via a survey of 214 SNS users. Our results confirm that expectancy and social influence significantly affect student intentions to use SNS for expressive participation in CSMs. Likewise, SNS mobilization effort emerged as a strong significant predictor of both intention and the use of SNS for expressive participation, but not for offline civic participation. Last, the use of SNS for expressive participation was a significant predictor for offline civic participation, which suggests that users who publicly express their socio-political opinions in SNS are more likely than others to participate in demonstrations.TRANSCRIPT
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Really do university students believe that Facebook is a useful tool to mobilizing people both online and
offline around social causes?
1st European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN)July 1-July4, 2014 ● Barcelona, Spain
Shumaila Yousafzai, [email protected](Cardiff University, UK)
Juan D. Borrero, [email protected](University of Huelva, Spain)
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Why this paper?UTAUT
Venkatesh et al. (2003) integrated predictability capabilities from different existing models of technology acceptance into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model.
BehavioralIntention
UseBehavior
Age
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
Gender
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
Experience Voluntarinessof Use
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Why this paper?Proposed research framework
Extended model of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).
BehavioralIntention
Use of Facebookfor Civic
EngagementSocial
Influence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
OnlinePolitical
Participation
MobilizationEffort
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Why this paper?Facebook is a popular and relatively autonomous
medium of social interactions
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/7372/9-Reasons-Why-Your-Social-Media-Strategy-Isn-t-Working.aspx/
Becomes important resources for the mobilization of collective action
And the subsequent creation and organization of social movements around the world both inside and outside the virtual world
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Why this paper?Proposed research framework
• No are many studies with the UTAUT model that considered Facebook as technology
• Little has been written about the beliefs that influence how and why university students use Facebook for both civic engagement and offline political participation
• E.g., Wojcieszak, 2009
• This papers aims to fill the gap
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Context and Topic of StudyFacebookUniversity studentsMobilization
Objective
Research Model and Hypotheses
MethodParticipantsMeasuresData Analysis
ResultsMeasurement ValidationStructural Model
DiscussionTheoretical ImplicationsLimitations and Future Research
Really do university students believe that Facebook is a useful tool to mobilizing people both online and offline around social causes?
Outline
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Context and Topic of StudyFacebookA free and popular social networking sites
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Context and Topic of StudyYoung adultsThey are heavy users of SNS: hyper-SNS users (Ellison et al., 2007)
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Context and Topic of StudyMobilization The growing popularity of social media platforms is transforming the ways in which people communicate and demonstrate (Castells, 2012)
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Objective
To know if Facebook could promote civic engagement and offline political participation amongst young adults -university students
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H1: Intention to use Facebook for civic engagement will significantly predict its use.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
H1 (+)
the user's motivation to adopt a behavior
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H2: The performance expectancy of Facebook will positively influence the intention to use Facebook for civic engagement.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
PerformanceExpectancy
H2 (+)
H1
the extent to which university students believe that Facebook provides benefits in civic participation
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H3: The effort expectancy of Facebook will positively influence the intention to use Facebook for civic engagement.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
H2 H3 (+)
H1
the extent to which university students believe that Facebook use is easy and effortless
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H4: The social influence surrounding the use of Facebook will positively influence the intention to use Facebook for civic engagement.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
H2 H3
H1
H4 (+)
the extent to which university students give importance to the opinion of others about their Facebook use for civic engagement
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H5: The facilitating conditions in using Facebook will positively influence the intention to use Facebook for civic engagement.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
H2 H3
H1
H5 (+)
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
H4
the extent to which university students believe that there is available support for Facebook use
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H6: The use of Facebook for civic engagement will be positively related to offline political participation.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
H2
Offline PoliticalParticipation
H3
H1
H5
H6 (+)
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
H4
the extent to civic engagement on Facebook is a precursor of other forms of participation in the offline domain
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Research Model and Hypotheses
H7: Facebook mobilization effort will be positively related to (a) behavioral intention to use Facebook, (b) the use of Facebook for civic engagement and (c) offline political participation.
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
H2
Offline PoliticalParticipation
H3
H1
H5
H6
FacebookMobilization
Effort
H7a (+)
H7c (+)
H7b (+)
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
H4
the extent to which university students believe that their effort to mobilize their friends around Facebook can "spill" over the offline domain
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MethodParticipants
209 valid responses to an on-line surveyconducted in 2013 byspanish undergraduated studentsFacebook users of
• Huelva, Spain• Gender
• Men = 82 (n = 39.23%)• Women = 127 (n = 60.77%)
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MethodMeasures
• Adapted from UTAUT model (Venkatesh et al., 2003)• Performance expectancy• Effort expectancy• Social influence• Facilitation conditions• Intention to use
• Use Behavior• Degree of frequency of use (Rojas and Puig-i-Abril, 2009)
• Social variables adapted from Rojas and Puig-i-Abril (2009)
• Facebook mobilization• Degree of frequency that students mobilized their social network
contacts for social or political causes• Offline political participation
• Individuals’ participatory behaviors in the offline realm
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MethodData analysis
• Structural equation modelling (SEM)
• Software• SPSS 19.0• M-Plus 5.21
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ResultsMeasurement Validation
• The model is assessed in terms of validity and reliability• The measurement model is completely satisfactory for
our model• Convergent validity
• Item reliability• Construct reliability
• Discriminant validity
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ResultsStructural Model
BehavioralIntention
The Use of Facebookfor Civic
Engagement
SocialInfluence
EffortExpectancy
PerformanceExpectancy
FacilitatingConditions
H2(+): 0.36**
Offline PoliticalParticipation
H3(+): 0.27*
H1(+): 0.28**
H5 (-): 0.25
H6(+): 0.25*
FacebookMobilization
Effort
H7a(+): 0.13*
H7c(+):0.01
H7b(+): 0.44**
H4(+):0.51**
Total sample (n = 209)
** p<0.01 (Significant at 0.01 level)* p<0.05 (Significant at 0.05 level)
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ResultsStructural Model
Total sample (n = 209)
Effects on (Hypothesized path) Direct effectPerformance Expectancy → Behavioral intention (H2) 0.36**Effort Expectancy → Behavioral intention (H3) 0.27*Social Influence → Behavioral Intention (H4) 0.51**Facilitating Conditions → Behavioral Intention (H5) -0.25Behavioral Intention → Use of Facebook for Civic Engagement (H1) 0.28**Facebook Civic Engagement → Offline –Political– participation (H6) 0.25*Facebook Mobilization Effort → Behavioral Intention (H7a) 0.13*Facebook Mobilization Effort → Use of Facebook Civic Engagement (H7b) 0.44**Facebook Mobilization Effort → Offline Political Participation (H7c) 0.01
** p<0.01;* p<0.05
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DiscussionTheoretical Implications
• This study replicates an extension of the UTAUT model• We have provide empirical support for the applicability of
UTAUT to civic engagement• Develops a understanding of the role of Facebook on
civic engagement• We illustrate the need to start looking more deeply into SNS
usage to civic engagement• The results from the direct model show
• Social Influence is the most important predictor of Intention of Use
• Performance Expectancy is the second strongest determinant of Intention of Use
• Facebook Mobilization Effort emerged as a strong significant predictor of Use but not for offline political participation
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DiscussionLimitations and future research
• We have not include the moderating variables described in the UTAUT model.
• We propose future research considering the gender as moderating variable and to do a multi-group analyses
• Our study is limited to a single point in time• Longitudinal study
• Our study is limited to a specific SNS: Facebook• Future research should consider others mediated
communication practices• We can not generalize results to other groups
• psychograhic and demographic, and to• other groups where incultural and lifestyle habits may
differ (cultures, counties and demographics)