Understanding Individuals’ Attachment to Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Investigation of Three Theories by Eric T. K. Lim M.Sc. (Information Systems), National University of Singapore, 2007 B.Comm. (Hons.), Nanyang Technological University, 2003 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Segal Graduate School Beedie School of Business Eric T. K. Lim 2013 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2013 Approval Name: Eric T. K. Lim Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration) Title of Thesis: Understanding Individuals’ Attachment to Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Investigation of Three Theories Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Tom Lawrence Professor, Academic Director, PhD Program Dr. Dianne Cyr Senior Supervisor Professor Dr. Andrew Gemino Co-Supervisor Professor Dr. Leyland Pitt Internal Examiner Professor Dr. Matthew Lee External Examiner Chair Professor Department of Information Systems College of Business City University of Hong Kong Date Defended/Approved: March 27, 2013 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are a pervasive phenomenon in today’s society. With greater connectivity and interactivity enabled via web technologies, SNSs provide communication platforms for individuals to bridge geographical and temporal differences when making friends, sharing experiences, socializing with others and much more. This thesis therefore endeavors to shed light on this problem by decomposing members’ motives for participating within SNSs into identity-based, bond-based and comparison- based attachments. Each of these forms of attachment in turn affects members’ cooperative and competitive mentality towards participation within SNSs. In addition, it is further posited in this thesis that members’ identity-based, bond-based and comparison- based attachment within SNSs can be induced through the presence of deindividuation, personalization and tournament technologies respectively. From this premise, a theoretical model of members’ attachment within SNSs is constructed with testable hypotheses. The model is then empirically validated in two stages. In the first stage, content analysis was performed on contemporary SNSs to elicit technological features that can be readily categorized as deindividuation, personalization and tournament technologies. In the second stage, an online questionnaire was administered on a sample of 787 active members of SNSs to solicit their responses on the extent to which these elicited technological features drive members’ communal attachments within and mentality towards SNSs. Theoretical contributions and pragmatic implications to be gleaned from the empirical findings are discussed. Keywords: communal attachment; social bond; social identity; social comparison; deindividuation technology; personalization technology; tournament technology v Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my beautiful and loving Grandmother and my patient and gentle Grandfather who passed away while I was in the doctoral program. I only wished I had communicated with you more. vi Acknowledgements I would like to thank my senior supervisor Prof. Dianne Cyr for her exceptional guidance, thoughtful advice and unwavering support throughout my doctoral program. Special thanks must also be reserved for Prof. Andrew Gemino and Prof. Leyland Pitt for their time and selfless effort in serving on my dissertation committee. Their experience and advice on the direction of my research have added tremendous value to its end result. I truly could not have completed my dissertation without them. I am also indebted to Prof. Daniel Shapiro and the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University (SFU) for providing me with the opportunity to embark on the doctoral program. I cannot express enough my appreciation towards Joanne Kim, who has always been there for me and the other PhD students, not only administratively but also in terms of watching out for our welfare. In addition, I have benefitted tremendously from the experience and knowledge of Prof. Izak Benbasat, Prof. Carolyn Egri, Prof. Tom Lawrence and Prof. David Thomas, whose courses are not only enlightening, but also equally entertaining. I would also like to thank my fellow doctoral students and friends in the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University (especially Zorana, Kathryn, John, Kamal, Echo, Colin, and Victor) for their kind assistance and invaluable company on this long journey. The same goes to my friends in the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (Bo, Ali, Sameh, Sase, Camille, David, Hasan and William). Special mention goes to my family – Mom, Dad, Sis and my two beautiful nieces Emma and Hanna – for their continuous encouragement and understanding. Lastly, special thanks have to be accorded to my loyal and ever-present brother and closest friend, Alden who is always there to lend his expertise and advice on any matter related to navigating this complex world. This thesis was completed with funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). vii Table of Contents Approval .............................................................................................................................ii Partial Copyright Licence .................................................................................................. iii Ethics Statement ...............................................................................................................iv Abstract ............................................................................................................................. v Dedication .........................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... x List of Figures....................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Motivation and Problem Definition ........................................................................... 2 1.2. Outline of Thesis Proposal ....................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2. Theory .......................................................................................................... 6 2.1. An Overview of Extant Literature on Social Networks: Gaps and Challenges ......... 6 2.2. Social Identity Theory, Social Bond Theory and Social Comparison Theory: An Overview ........................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1. Identity-Based Attachment in Social Networking Sites ............................... 11 2.2.2. Bond-Based Attachment in Social Networking Sites .................................. 13 2.2.3. Comparison-Based Attachment in Social Networking Sites ....................... 14 2.3. Antecedents to Social Attachments in Social Networking Sites ............................. 15 2.4. Consequences of Social Attachments in Social Networking Sites ......................... 25 2.5. Summary ................................................................................................................ 31 Chapter 3. Methodology ............................................................................................. 33 3.1. 1st Stage – Content Analysis .................................................................................. 34 3.2. 2nd Stage – Quantitative Field Survey .................................................................... 39 3.2.1. Development of Survey Measures ............................................................. 40 3.2.2. Design of Online Questionnaire .................................................................. 40 3.2.3. Sample and Data Collection Procedures .................................................... 41 3.2.4. Preparation for Data Analysis ..................................................................... 43 3.2.5. Test of Measurement Model ....................................................................... 45 3.2.6. Test of Structural Model ............................................................................. 48 Chapter 4. Discussion ................................................................................................ 58 4.1. Implications for Theory ........................................................................................... 61 4.2. Implications for Practice ......................................................................................... 63 4.3. Limitations and Future Research ........................................................................... 65 4.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 67 viii References ..................................................................................................................... 68 Appendices ...................................................................................................................