The effects of trust on life satisfaction in the context of WeChat use

Interpersonal Relationship Stress Brings on Social Networking Sites Addiction Among Chinese Undergraduate Students

The adverse effects of life stress on social networking sites addiction are increasingly recognized, but so far there is little evidence on how and which specific types of life stress are conducive to the addictive behavior. Interpersonal relationship stress being the main source of stress for undergraduates, the purpose of the current paper is thus to delve into whether perceived stress in interpersonal relationships significantly leads to WeChat addiction and, if so, how this type of stress drives the excessive use of WeChat. The data was collected from self-report questionnaires completed by 463 Chinese undergraduate students and then analyzed with structural equation modeling. The results revealed that the positive association between WeChat users’ interpersonal relationship stress and addictive behavior is fully and sequentially mediated by WeChat use intensity and social interaction. More specifically, accumulation of stress in interpersonal relationships gives rise to the intensity of WeChat use, which in turn fuels rising addiction to WeChat both directly and indirectly via social interaction on WeChat. These findings contribute to a more refined understanding of the pathological use of WeChat.

Propagation of information-sharing in social media: the perspective of intrinsic and extrinsic cues

Purpose

Social media has progressively upgraded an interactive domain via online sociability and information-sharing. This study aims to formulate an information-sharing intention model by identifying the decisive role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data from 508 participants were collected to examine the structural model using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results indicate that information-sharing intention is strongly promoted by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Furthermore, perceived herding, perceived crowd and intrinsic motivation boost substantially extrinsic motivation. Perceived herding is of utmost importance to extrinsic motivation, whereas emotional appeal and informative appeal are of paramount importance to intrinsic motivation. Moreover, source trust and exhibitionism are underlying motivations for intrinsic motivation.

Practical implications

The findings provide useful guidelines for practitioners to urge users into information-sharing via social media.

Originality/value

This study contributes significantly to the current literature by developing an effective mechanism of information-sharing through social media based on the motivational theory.

Exploring the Relationship Between Social Commerce Features and Consumers' Repurchase Intentions: The Mediating Role of Perceived Value

The popularity of social media, such as WeChat and Weibo in China, has provided an opportunity to develop social commerce. Although shopping through social commerce platforms is widely favored by consumers, the factors affecting consumers' decision-making behavior in the social commerce environment remain unclear. Therefore, from the perspective of the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, we construct a consumer repurchase decision model in the social commerce environment and analyze the influencing mechanism of social commerce features (interactivity, recommendations, and feedback) on perceived value (utilitarian value and hedonic value) and consumers' repurchase intention. The empirical results found that social commerce features are positively related to the generation of perceived value, which in turn drives consumers to form repurchase intentions. We also found some mediating effects of perceived value. The study's conclusions clarify the intrinsic influence mechanism of social commerce features on consumers' perceived value and repurchase intentions. In addition, it can provide some theoretical guidance for future research and business.

An Evidence of Distributed Trust in Blockchain-Based Sustainable Food Supply Chain

It is necessary to identify what factors affect distributed trust and validate their effect on distributed trust and user satisfaction in an area of the food supply chain for sustainable business. The purpose of the present study is to examine determinants of distributed trust in the blockchain-based food supply chain and test seven hypotheses derived from the structural equation model integrating distributed trust, its three determinants, and user satisfaction. Transparency, traceability, and security are suggested as three determinants of distributed trust along the blockchain-based food supply chain. Data were collected from users of Chinese firms employing blockchain-based food supply chains to validate the research model and test the seven hypotheses. The present study contributes to clarifying the significance of distributed trust and suggesting evidence of its role in the food supply chain. The present study discussed trust-free systems based on blockchain technology related to sustainability through the findings.

Influencing Factors of the Continuous Usage Intention of Consumers of Online Food Delivery Platform Based on an Information System Success Model

Online food delivery (OFD) has gradually become a development trend in the catering industry. However, the homogenization of the principal OFD platforms is becoming increasingly obvious, and there is an urgent need to explore the continuous usage intentions of consumers of the OFD platform. Unlike previous studies, this study employs DeLone and McLean's information system (IS) success model as the theoretical framework and constructs the influencing factors model of the continued usage intentions of users of the OFD platform from three aspects, namely, service, system, and information quality. Participants (N = 361) completed a questionnaire assessing their continuous usage intentions of the OFD platform, and the results were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). Service worker, platform quality, and content consistency have significant positive effects on the trust in the platform and satisfaction of consumers. Both the trust in the platform and satisfaction of consumers have a positive impact on their continuous usage intentions. We also explored the mediating effect of the trust in the platform and satisfaction of consumers. This study adds to the academic literature and practical implications for the continuous usage intention of consumers. This study discusses the influencing factors and formation mechanism of the continuous usage intention of consumers and proposes a model of the continuous usage intention of consumers of OFD platforms. Moreover, OFD platforms can make differentiation strategies more targeted and eliminate the dilemma of homogenization competition of OFD platforms.

What links to psychological needs satisfaction and excessive WeChat use? The mediating role of anxiety, depression and WeChat use intensity

Background

Excessive online social network sites (SNSs) use, such as Facebook or WeChat overuse, has become a severe problem and have caused negative consequences. It is especially important to examine what causes excessive WeChat use in the Chinese population. This study explored the critical role of affective states and WeChat use intensity in the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction and excessive WeChat use based on the self-determination theory and the emotional motivation theory.

Methods

952 Chinese college students aged 18 to 25 completed an online survey that measured psychological needs satisfaction, depression, anxiety, WeChat use intensity, and excessive WeChat use.

Results

Path analysis demonstrated that anxiety, depression, and WeChat use intensity mediated the effect of psychological needs satisfaction on excessive WeChat use. More importantly, the chain mediation model indicated that psychological needs satisfaction could influence excessive WeChat use through the “anxiety—WeChat use intensity” path, but not the “depression—WeChat use intensity” path.

Conclusion

The current study could not only contribute to theoretical development, but also guide mental health practice by showing that improving psychological needs satisfaction may restrain excessive WeChat use through regulating affective states and Wechat use intensity.

Comparative Analysis of Key Factors Encouraging Food Delivery App Adoption Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

This study examines and compares the crucial factors encouraging Thai customers to use food delivery apps before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of the modified conceptual paradigm of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2), including the following external factors: trust, convenience, application quality, and satisfaction. Data were collected from 220 food delivery app users before the pandemic and 250 food delivery app users during the pandemic. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling based on AMOS 23.0 to test model validity and the study hypotheses. The results indicated that satisfaction was influenced by social influence, trust, convenience, and application quality in both the before- and during-the-COVID-19-pandemic samples. In addition, price value was a significant predictor of satisfaction before the pandemic but not during the pandemic, whereas habit was found to significantly influence satisfaction before the pandemic but was found to negatively influence satisfaction during the pandemic. Additionally, the results of both samples showed that customers with a high level of satisfaction using a food delivery app were more likely to keep using it. The findings may assist marketers in developing appropriate strategies for food delivery app activities.