Effects of Computer Self Efficacy on the Use and Adoption of Online Social Networking

Online Social Networking (OSN) systems such as Ning, MySpace, Facebook and Friendster have achieved tremendous popularity. However, little research has been conducted to determine factors motivating users with varying capabilities to use and adopt OSN systems addressing target tasks, with varying system capabilities and characteristics. The relationships between user characteristics and use/performance have not been adequately addressed. This study used a cross-sectional survey of 262 graduate and undergraduate students to examine how end user Computer Self-Efficacy (CSE) affects performance and use of OSN systems and how “fit” determines whether there are user, task and/or systems characteristics associated with the best performance and usage levels. Significant direct and indirect relationships were found between CSE, task and system characteristics as measured by performance and use, and these relationships were further significantly strengthened when there was good “fit” between the variables. Results indicate that users having high self-efficacy “fit” with task or systems characteristics produce higher performance and use.