Social network services are emerging as a promising IT-based business, with some services already being provided commercially such as Facebook, Cyworld and Xiaonei. However, it is not yet clear which potential audience groups will be key social network service participants. Moreover, the process showing how an individual actually decides to start using a social network service may be somewhat different from current web-based community services. Hence, the aims of this paper are twofold. First, we empirically examine how individual characteristics affect actual user acceptance of social network services. To examine these individual characteristics, we apply a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to construct an amended model that focuses on three individual differences: social identity, altruism and telepresence, and one perceived construct: the perceived encouragement, imported from psychology-based research. Next, we examine if the users’ perception to see a target social network service as human relationship- oriented service or as a task-oriented service could be a moderator between perceived constructs and actual use. As a result, we discover that the perceived encouragement and perceived orientation are significant constructs that affect actual use of social network services. 

(a) Identify the research background and main research question addressed by the authors. 

(b) What is the novelty indicated by the authors? 

(c) What are the main results? 

(d) What type of research methodology would the authors have used in conducting the research? Justify your response. 

(e) Based on your answer above describe the design you would use; provide sufficient details about data collection, model or hypotheses, statistical data analysis and justification of the conclusion indicated in the abstract. Also comment on the internal and external validity of the research.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

a Research background and main research question The research background for this study is the growing popularity of social network services SNSs and the lack of understanding of which factors influen... View the full answer