A two-factor theoretical model of social media discontinuance: role of regret, inertia, and their antecedents

When WhatsApp changed its privacy policy: explaining WhatsApp discontinuation using an enablers-inhibitors' perspective

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that enable and inhibit WhatsApp users' discontinuance intention (DI) following the change in WhatsApp's privacy policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the enabler-inhibitor model as a framework, a research model consisting of discontinuation enabler distrust (DT) and the DT's antecedents [(negative electronic word of mouth (NEWOM), negative offline word of mouth (NOWOM) and privacy invasion (PI)], discontinuation inhibitor inertia (INR) and INR's antecedents (affective commitment, switching cost and use habit) and moderator structural assurance was proposed and tested with data from 624 WhatsApp users using partial least square structure equational modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results show that DT created due to NEWOM and a sense of PI significantly impact DI. However, INR has no significant impact on DI. Structural assurance significantly moderates the relationship between DT and DI.

Originality/value

The paper collected data when many WhatsApp users switched to other platforms due to the change in WhatsApp's terms of service. The timing of data collection allowed for collecting the real impact of the sense of PI compared to other studies where the effect is hypothetically induced. Further, the authors acknowledge social media providers' efforts to address privacy criticism and regain users’ trust, an area that has received little attention in prior literature.

Unpacking Detrimental Effects of Network Externalities on Privacy Invasion, Communication Overload and Mobile App Discontinued Intentions: A Cognition-Affect-Conation Perspective

Recently, mobile apps are rapidly emerging as an important information instrument, with the potential to boost convenience and efficiency in everyday life. The adoption of mobile apps can exert a positive influence on individuals, but also lead to adverse perceptions in different ways. The crucial issue arising is what motivates people's discontinued use of such services. Furthermore, the roles of communication overload and privacy invasion between network externalities and discontinued use intentions have not been thoroughly examined. The primary objective of this article is to investigate if negative network externalities may result in privacy invasion, communication overload and discontinued intentions, and how the underlying mechanism operates. This current research collected and evaluated data from 696 mobile app users utilizing the structural equation model (SEM) technique. The findings demonstrate that perceived critical mass and perceived complementarity positively affect the privacy invasion of mobile app users. Particularly, it was discovered that privacy invasion and communication overload mediate the association between network externalities and mobile app discontinued use intentions. This article may not only enrich the ongoing contemporary critical discussion on new information technology usage, but also offer significant theoretical and practical implications for mobile app researchers and practitioners.

A Moderated Mediation Model Linking Excessive Enterprise Social Media Usage With Job Performance

Despite the larger interest of information systems scholars in excessive ESM usage, little is known about how excessive ESM usage is related to employee performance. This study focused on excessive ESM usage and investigated its impact on employee performance. Based on the status quo perspective with the integration of social cognitive theory, this study first proposed that excessive ESM usage has a positive and negative relationship with employee performance through ESM usage regret and ESM usage inertia. Furthermore, COVID-19 threat moderates the direct relationship between excessive ESM usage and ESM usage regret, and ESM usage inertia. Time-lagged, multi-source data collected in China support most of our hypothesis. Results reveal that excessive ESM has a positive and negative indirect effect on employee performance via ESM usage regret and ESM usage inertia. Furthermore, the COVID-19 threat moderates the positive direct effect of excessive ESM usage on ESM usage inertia. In the later section, theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

An Empirical Investigation of Virtual Networking Sites Discontinuance Intention: Stimuli Organism Response-Based Implication of User Negative Disconfirmation

The study’s prime objective is to investigate the user discontinuance intention in the shed of the negative disconfirmation of user expectation. The study has derived the theoretical structure from the expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) enacted through the stimuli organism response (SOR) framework to study the actual cause and effect relationship of human behavioral response. To investigate the user discontinuance intention behavioral response, a total of 434 correct and complete answers were shortlisted for analysis. To examine the data set, the study has used the modern partial least square method technique or simply SmartPLS service package to run the structural equation modeling (SEM). Moreover, the study has implied the 80/20 rule run the mediating analysis of the SOR framework. The statistical results show that all three stimuli make significant positive disconfirmation of the user beliefs in terms of dissatisfaction and the anxiety that ultimately leads to the discontinuance intention in virtual network users. Further, these results are validated through the six mediating relationships, which partially mediate the relationship between the stimuli and response. Besides all these findings, this study has made some practical and realistic theoretical and practical implications for both researchers and service-providing managers.

COVID-19 information overload and generation Z's social media discontinuance intention during the pandemic lockdown

While previous research highlights the benefits of social media in times of a pandemic, this research focuses on the potential dark side of social media use among Generation Z (Gen Z) in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown between March and May 2020. The study reveals that COVID-19 information overload through social media had a negative impact on Gen Z social media users' psychological well-being. Moreover, perceived information overload heightened both social media fatigue and fear of COVID-19, which, in turn, increased users' social media discontinuance intention. In addition, considering that social media is the predominant method of maintaining connectivity with others for Gen Z users during the lockdown, the fear of missing out (FoMO) buffered the impact of social media fatigue and fear of COVID-19 on Gen Z users' social media discontinuance intention. Our research adds a hitherto underexplored perspective to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people's mental health. We offer a series of practical suggestions for social media users, social media platform providers, and health officials, institutions, and organizations in the effective and sustainable use of social media during the global COVID-19 pandemic and in the post-pandemic time.