An empirical study of the factors affecting mobile social network service use

Abstract

This research analyses the application of Mobile Social Network Services (MSNSs) in regard to their nature of being new ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools. It is recognised that MSNSs are fast, responsive technologies centred on facilitating mobile commerce. This research aims to identify a number of the factors impacting MSNSs acceptance and usage in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In an attempt to achieve sound insight into the market of Saudi Arabia in relation to mobile communication, which is recognised as being a very valuable sector, a survey was carried out targeting a sample of 363 citizens, with a suggested conceptual model based on the UTAUT framework tested. The findings of this study indicate that performance expectancy is the most important offsetting element, with final cost and effort expense following subsequently. Nevertheless, social influence is not impacted in regard to the intention to utilise MSNSs. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.