The role of individual-social-technology fit in online social network value development: an empirical study
Authors: Wu ChienHsing , Kao Shu-Chen , Liao Hsin-Yi 
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to reveal the role of individual–social–technology fit in online social network (OSN) value development. The social software features (e.g. communication and interaction), social features (e.g. privacy and trust) and individual features (e.g. sense of belonging and self-disclosure) are considered fitting forms to describe the OSN value. Implications and suggestions are addressed.

Design/methodology/approach

– The literature review on social software, the social and individual characteristics and the research gap with respect to OSN value is presented. The research arguments are then hypothesized, and research model used to describe the proposed role is examined empirically. The research targeted mobile phone users as the subjects, and the extent of the activities of these users on OSN for both work and studies. A salient investigation explores the moderation effect of gender. The research results are obtained, and the findings are revealed on the basis of 468 social software users.

Findings

– The significant effect of individual–social–technology fit on OSN value development is presented through the satisfaction of both participation and sharing information, and knowledge about this fit is verified. The interplay of social software, social and individual features contributes significantly to individual–social–technology fit development, implying that OSN value development is not a single issue. OSN value development should be considered concurrently with technological, personal and social issues.

Research limitations/implications

– The empirical study confirms that fitness analysis produces a systematic outcome, in which all elements (e.g. social, technology and individual) are required to cooperate with one another to maximize the OSN value. An individual adopts online channels to communicate with others; thus, the benefits may be a multidimensional issue instead of only a single information service issue. They also consider building an equal social relationship to be important, as it enables diverse propositions, maintains acceptable privacy and behaves on faith to enhance the fit of technology features and individual features to value development. The subjects also likely accepted the fact that emotion generation is important for the advantage of fit of technology features and social features, thereby likely benefitting OSN value development.

Originality/value

– The OSN does not only add new values to the society but also brings new effects on social development, especially in terms of social cognition from virtual community formation, development and creation. Although existing studies in the literature present the important aspects and antecedents linked significantly to OSN value development, these studies also insufficiently discuss the effect of fit of these facets on OSN value development. This exploratory study mainly aims to propose and examine the individual–social–technology fit model through an empirical investigation. The main argument of the study is that when a positive and healthy virtual society is developed through social software, the individual and social characteristics, as well as the social software features, should be defined with a suitable fit to promote the social networking value.