Three Processes that Form Online Social Networking Post-Adoptive Use Intention

Not all individuals log into an online social networking (OSN) website because they have deliberately reflected on how useful and fun it will be. For some users, this post-adoptive use decision requires a less deliberate process based on past experience. For still others, the decision is automatic and requires little, if any, reflection on beliefs or prior experiences. While past research has examined these different post-adoptive thought processes, no research to date has done so in an OSN context. This study develops a research model that combines reflective, transitional, and non-reflective thought processes into a comprehensive model of post-adoptive OSN intention. We test the hypotheses with cross sectional data collected from Facebook users. We find that all three thought processes predict intention, although the effects of experience on intention during the transitional and non-reflective thought processes are strongest. Results also show that habit, enjoyment, trust, usefulness, and privacy concern predict OSN continuance intention.