IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i22p12556-d678627.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Overload and Discontinuance Intention on Facebook: A Comparative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Chaeyoung Lim

    (Mobility Solutions—IT Program Management, Robert Bosch GmbH, 70442 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Jongchang Ahn

    (Department of Information Systems, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea)

Abstract

When users begin to feel uncomfortable about the influence of social network services (SNSs) on their lives, they react with various discontinuance behaviors. This comparative study intends to provide a comprehensive explanation of how the fatigue or regret phenomenon is related to users’ diverse reactions against SNSs. This study attempts to answer two questions: (1) How do specific types of relationships influence social overload from SNS interactions on Facebook? and (2) How does social overload threaten the free usage of services and lead to users’ dissatisfaction with SNSs, and how do these constructs influence users’ intent to discontinue usage of SNSs? To this end, we test a reactance model with Facebook users (n = 433) using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). This study found significant results of the reactance mechanism using samples from two countries, Korea and Japan, which support the generalizability of the reactance mechanism in SNS fatigue. The path of the psychological reactance mechanism in SNSs could differ by country. We also found that reactions toward persona non grata in SNSs differed by country. Our findings suggest that the specific cultural context should be considered when analyzing social overload in SNSs. In previous studies, insufficient attention has been paid to the social features or contexts of SNS. This study proposes a new categorization of relationships in the context of SNSs through the persona non grata concept. As SNSs are social platforms, emotions perceived from the social features of SNSs are an important construct that motivates people to continue using SNSs. Therefore, promoting free activities for users can be an important strategy for maintaining their motivation to use the service. It should be noted that the sample used in this study was slightly unbalanced by the inclusion of a greater proportion of young participants.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaeyoung Lim & Jongchang Ahn, 2021. "Social Overload and Discontinuance Intention on Facebook: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12556-:d:678627
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12556/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12556/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jaeyoung Park & Beomsoo Kim & Sunhee Park, 2021. "Understanding the Behavioral Consequences of Upward Social Comparison on Social Networking Sites: The Mediating Role of Emotions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Wynne W. Chin & Barbara L. Marcolin & Peter R. Newsted, 2003. "A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 189-217, June.
    3. Ran Kivetz, 2005. "Promotion Reactance: The Role of Effort-Reward Congruity," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 725-736, March.
    4. Saari, Ulla A. & Damberg, Svenja & Frömbling, Lena & Ringle, Christian M., 2021. "Sustainable consumption behavior of Europeans: The influence of environmental knowledge and risk perception on environmental concern and behavioral intention," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    5. Marko Sarstedt & Christian M. Ringle & Joseph F. Hair, 2022. "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling," Springer Books, in: Christian Homburg & Martin Klarmann & Arnd Vomberg (ed.), Handbook of Market Research, pages 587-632, Springer.
    6. Thara Ravindran & Alton Chua Yeow Kuan & Dion Goh Hoe Lian, 2014. "Antecedents and effects of social network fatigue," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 65(11), pages 2306-2320, November.
    7. Cepeda Carrión, Gabriel & Henseler, Jörg & Ringle, Christian M. & Roldán, José Luis, 2016. "Prediction-oriented modeling in business research by means of PLS path modeling: Introduction to a JBR special section," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4545-4551.
    8. Gavan J. Fitzsimons & Donald R. Lehmann, 2004. "Reactance to Recommendations: When Unsolicited Advice Yields Contrary Responses," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 82-94, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jinjing Yang & Cong Cao & Chensang Ye & Yangyan Shi, 2022. "Effects of Interface Design and Live Atmosphere on Consumers’ Impulse-Buying Behaviour from the Perspective of Human–Computer Interaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Sharma, Dheeraj & Verma, Varsha, 2014. "Psychological and economic considerations of rewards programs," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 924-932.
    3. Zhang, Hong & Zhao, Ling & Gupta, Sumeet, 2018. "The role of online product recommendations on customer decision making and loyalty in social shopping communities," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 150-166.
    4. Saari, Ulla A. & Damberg, Svenja & Frömbling, Lena & Ringle, Christian M., 2021. "Sustainable consumption behavior of Europeans: The influence of environmental knowledge and risk perception on environmental concern and behavioral intention," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    5. Trampe, Debra & Konuş, Umut & Verhoef, Peter C., 2014. "Customer Responses to Channel Migration Strategies Toward the E-channel," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 257-270.
    6. Wagih Salama & Mohamed Nor El Deen & Azzam Albakhit & Karam Zaki, 2022. "Understanding the Connection between Sustainable Human Resource Management and the Hotel Business Outcomes: Evidence from the Green-Certified Hotels of Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, May.
    7. De Vries, Eline L.E. & Zhang, Sha, 2020. "The effectiveness of random discounts for migrating customers to the mobile channel," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 272-281.
    8. Bertini, Marco & Aydinli, Aylin, 2020. "Consumer Reactance to Promotional Favors," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 578-589.
    9. Kim, Myung Ja & Lee, Choong-Ki & Bonn, Mark, 2017. "Obtaining a better understanding about travel-related purchase intentions among senior users of mobile social network sites," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 484-496.
    10. Wenxia Guo & Kelley Main, 2012. "The vulnerability of defensiveness: The impact of persuasion attempts and processing motivations on trust," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 959-971, December.
    11. Bleier, Alexander & Eisenbeiss, Maik, 2015. "The Importance of Trust for Personalized Online Advertising," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 390-409.
    12. Alicia Ramírez-Orellana & Daniel Ruiz-Palomo & Alfonso Rojo-Ramírez & John E. Burgos-Burgos, 2021. "The Ecuadorian Banana Farms Managers’ Perceptions: Innovation as a Driver of Environmental Sustainability Practices," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.
    13. Ringler, Christine & Sirianni, Nancy J. & Gustafsson, Anders & Peck, Joann, 2019. "Look but Don’t Touch! The Impact of Active Interpersonal Haptic Blocking on Compensatory Touch and Purchase Behavior," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 186-203.
    14. Tian, Jing & Chen, Rong & Xu, Xiaobing, 2022. "A good way to boost sales? Effects of the proportion of sold-out options on purchase behavior," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 156-169.
    15. Felipe, Carmen M. & Roldán, José L. & Leal-Rodríguez, Antonio L., 2016. "An explanatory and predictive model for organizational agility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4624-4631.
    16. Jia Li & Rachel McCrary, 2022. "Consumer communications and current events: a cross-cultural study of the change in consumer response to company social media posts due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(2), pages 173-183, June.
    17. Dailey, Lynn C. & Ülkü, M. Ali, 2018. "Retailers beware: On denied product returns and consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 202-209.
    18. Macario Rodríguez-Entrena & Florian Schuberth & Carsten Gelhard, 2018. "Assessing statistical differences between parameters estimates in Partial Least Squares path modeling," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 57-69, January.
    19. Debora Dhanya Amarnath & Uma Pricilda Jaidev, 2021. "Toward an integrated model of consumer reactance: a literature analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(1), pages 41-90, February.
    20. Ghaffar, Abdul & Islam, Tahir & Khan, Huda & Kincl, Tomas & Sharma, Anshuman, 2023. "A sustainable Retailer's journey to sustainable practices: Prioritizing the customer and the planet," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12556-:d:678627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.