Gender differences in intention and relationship among factors of using Facebook for collaboration

Abstract

In Taiwan, in an effort to reduce the cost associated with educational training, enterprises have started to resolutely introduce the use of Facebook to support collaboration as part of employee training. Unlike previous studies investigating the effectiveness of conventional learning, the purpose of this paper was to discuss how various factors interconnect to affect Taiwanese employees' decisions regarding behavioral intention to use Facebook as support in collaborative learning situations. The expanded technology acceptance model (TAM) was applied. Employing structural equation modeling technology, the model was assessed using data collected from 385 participants by way of a survey questionnaire. Results show that social influence was the strongest factor influencing the use of Facebook to support collaboration and training adopting intention. Additionally, the findings also suggest that managers should anticipate that using Facebook to support collaboration in training may be perceived differently depending on the gender of the trainee, as we found that women are strongly influenced by co-workers and supervisors in these matters. Implications both in theory and practice are discussed, based on the findings. Key words: Facebook, technology acceptance model, collaboration, gender.