Contextual variables explaining the influence of social networking sites for information communication among library users: Cross-cultural study between China and Pakistan using Structure Equation Modeling

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the core mechanism of how social networking sites use happens in the perspective of contextual factors and then examine the cultural difference in the motives for using social networking sites between China and Pakistan university students. An instrument was designed to calculate the various aspect factors and social networking use intention by using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the information success model (ISSM). A survey was administered among university students of China and Pakistan. The purposed model was empirically tested by PLS-SEM to examine the influential factors on the use of social networking sites. To the best of our knowledge, there is no cross-cultural published study associated with contextual factors effecting use of social networking sites between China and Pakistan. Our findings show that there are indeed important learning and network factors that lead to social networking sites. This paper examines how cultural perspectives shape the use of communication technology by examining the patterns of using social network sites among university students in China and Pakistan. The results of the study show that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, perceived interaction and system use have positive and direct effect on the intention to use social networking sites for information communication. More interestingly, the use of such social networking factors varies sharply across countries with different market-based institutions.