Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
6839335 Computers in Human Behavior 2014 9 Pages PDF
Abstract
Culture influences people's information processing and attitude formation. This study examined the effects of using social networking sites from a cultural perspective, based on the culture learning model in the acculturation literature. A total of 251 Chinese individuals residing in the U.S. participated in the experiment. They were randomly assigned to one of four product package conditions with different cultural symbols (either American cultural symbols or Chinese cultural symbols, or both, or neither). Their usage intensity of two social networking sites, U.S.-based Facebook and China-based Renren (“the Facebook of China”), was measured. It was found that participants' usage intensity of Facebook and Renren reflected their cultural orientation, language proficiency, and length of stay in the U.S. It was also discovered that more intensive Renren usage led to more favorable attitudes toward packages carrying Chinese cultural symbols. However, participants' willingness to pay for the products with different packages was not affected by their usage intensity of social networking sites, due to the country-of-origin effect.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Computer Science Computer Science Applications
Authors
,