Developing Trust among Chinese Social Media Users through Experience: An Abstract

Abstract

Social network sites (SNS) have become a major platform for online global communications (Brathwaite and Patterson 2011). People around the world are spending an overwhelming amount of time using SNS. In 2014, the average Chinese usage time for social media was 1.50 h per day with 88% of all social media users being active in at least one social media network (https://www.statista.com/topics/1170/social-networks-in-china/ ). Time spent on SNS is part of user experience that can potentially enhance trust in the network. SNS are service-oriented systems that emphasize community, communication, conversation, and collaboration (Murugesan 2007). In order for a SNS to thrive, its users must be engaged with the network as well as with other members (Dwyer et al. 2007). The level of engagement of SNS users is often a function of how much they trust the various sites. Therefore, in order for SNS to thrive, trust in SNS is critical. This research explored the role of Chinese user experience on SNS trust. We investigated the influence of user’s experience in terms of social network membership, length of daily usage, and perceived enjoyment. Data was gathered from students enrolled in an e-commerce course in China University of Geosciences, Beijing. Using regression analysis, we found that temporal variables such as longevity in membership and daily usage do not influence trust. However, the perceived enjoyment experienced by college-aged Chinese users had a strong influence on trusting social networks. It was surprising to find out that user experience, in terms of longevity and daily usage, was not impactful. Perhaps, this is because of user expectations in the functions performed by all social media platforms in China. That is, because SNS in China is highly integrated with e-commerce and payment solutions, the expectation of trust is common in all Chinese social media platforms regardless of temporal longevity in usage. We found that perceived enjoyment impacted trust. This finding suggests the importance of developing the appropriate content to entice Chinese users. References Available Upon Request