Explaining the adoption of social networks sites for sharing user-generated content: A revision of the UTAUT2.

Abstract

Despite the outstanding growth of social network sites in recent years, more research is needed to better understand how users' intentions to share their experiences with products and brands are formed through these applications. With this in mind, this study takes the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) as a reference and develops an extended model by considering the substitution of ?price value? with ?privacy concerns?, since social network sites are free applications, with no economic cost to users but with potential problems of self-disclosure. Our model also includes the interrelations between the explanatory variables postulated in the UTAUT2, an issue that is not considered in its original formulation. This approach is empirically tested through a quantitative study in the tourism industry, where social network sites have significant influence. The results from a sample of 537 tourists show that there are three main drivers of users' intentions to use social network sites to publish content about their experiences: performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit. Additionally, our results support the existence of interrelations between the explanatory variables. Finally, three of the factors studied (i.e., facilitating conditions, social influence, and privacy concerns) do not have any influence on the intention to use social network sites to share content.