MOTIVATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ADOPTION ALONG THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE By DENNIS DIPASQUALE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Dennis DiPasquale To both of my parents, for all the reasons, but especially for the support and patience as I forged a path in life different from anything either may have expected when I was born, and for the patience I suspect I inherited and that allowed me to persevere when this task became frustrating in ways it was never meant to be ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This document represents work well beyond the research toiled over to create it. It should go without saying that the patience and mentorship of my advisor Dr. Amy Jo Coffey was instrumental not only in creating this body of work, but helping me find my path as a researcher as she truly polished a rough and rusty academic. I would also like to thank Dr. Gregory Webster for sitting on an idle committee for the better part of the past five years, as well as his assistance with some of the statistical questions in forging this work. I also need to acknowledge Dr. Richard Lutz and the Marketing Department of the Warrington College of Business Administration for taking me in as one of their own and creating a new professional path that I did not expect yet absolutely relish. Finally, to the many friends, coaches, and family for being a supporting element in my life, acting as a counterbalance to the sweat and stress involved with pursuing this path. This achievement is not the act of one man, but the village that collected around him. Funding for this project was made possible through grants from the JCPenney Company and the College of Journalism and Communications. It is with gratitude that I acknowledge the support of those funds for completion of this project in a timely manner. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 10 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 Social Media ........................................................................................................... 12 Study Objectives ..................................................................................................... 15 Contribution ............................................................................................................ 15 Outline of the Dissertation ....................................................................................... 16 2 BACKGROUND AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................. 18 Theoretical Foundations ......................................................................................... 18 The Theory of Reasoned Action ....................................................................... 18 Criticisms and extensions of TRA .............................................................. 23 Rationale for TRA over TAM ...................................................................... 25 Uses and Gratifications Approach .................................................................... 25 Diffusion Theory and the Product Lifecycle ...................................................... 28 Stages of the standard diffusion curve and product life cycle strategy ....... 30 PLC and adoption measurement ............................................................... 38 Other theoretical elements to diffusion and the PLC .................................. 39 Players in the word of mouth communication process, as it relates to the PLC ................................................................................................... 42 Factors affecting the rate of diffusion and the shape of the adoption curve ....................................................................................................... 44 Perceived attributes of innovations ............................................................ 45 Perceived risk as a factor affecting diffusion rate ....................................... 46 Other variables affecting adoption rate ...................................................... 48 Criticisms of the PLC ................................................................................. 49 Social Media ..................................................................................................... 49 Evolution of social media ........................................................................... 50 Social media defined .................................................................................. 53 Individual differences with social media habits ........................................... 54 Summary ................................................................................................................ 56 Research Questions and Hypotheses..................................................................... 56 5 Method Overview .................................................................................................... 61 Justification of Method ...................................................................................... 62 Population of Interest ....................................................................................... 64 3 STUDY 1: INNOVATIVENESS AS A MEASURE OF LIFECYCLE AND MULTIPLE DIFFUSION CURVES .......................................................................... 70 Method .................................................................................................................... 70 Survey Instrument and Rationale ..................................................................... 70 Reliability of Scales .......................................................................................... 74 Variables .......................................................................................................... 74 Sample ............................................................................................................. 75 Results .................................................................................................................... 75 Pretest .............................................................................................................. 76 Description of the Sample ................................................................................ 78 Measurement Issues with the Product Lifecycle ............................................... 78 Absolute Social Media Innovativeness and Age ............................................... 80 Relative Innovativeness Construct ................................................................... 81 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 82 4 STUDY 2: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADOPTION ...... 86 Method .................................................................................................................... 86 Results .................................................................................................................... 87 Description of the Sample ................................................................................ 87 Social Media Use ............................................................................................. 88 Gratifications Sought ........................................................................................ 88 Theme 1: interpersonal relationships. ........................................................ 90 Theme 2: escape/diversion ........................................................................ 91 Theme 3: personal identity ......................................................................... 92 Theme 4: surveillance ................................................................................ 92 Theme 5: curiosity/novelty ......................................................................... 93 Theme 6: social capital .............................................................................. 94 Theme 7: achievement .............................................................................. 94 Themes of non-adoption ............................................................................ 95 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 96 5 STUDY 3: A QUANTITATIVE EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADOPTION MOTIVATIONS ACROSS THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE ...................................... 101 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 101 Method .................................................................................................................. 101 Survey Instrument .........................................................................................