Understanding Bloggers’Switching Toward Micro-blogging

Microblogging has acquired unprecedented development over the past few years, demonstrating potential for various applications. Concurrent with the rapid growth of emerging technologies, people have tended to leave a previously popular technology. For example, with the rise of sites like Facebook and Twitter, blogs are losing their attraction for many people-especially the younger generation. Many bloggers have lost interest and given up regular updating, as evidenced by the fact that a lot of blogs have been abandoned. Investigating online service substitution phenomenon is important because it is closely related to the survival of technologies.However, existing IT research based on the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework is insufficient to understand this phenomenon. First, most studies are concerned only with user switching within the same service, rather than across different services. Second, few research has proposed theoretical explanation for mooring effects, the exact mechanism by which the mooring effects hamper switching decisions has also not been investigated so far. Third, most studies adopt single, general constructs (e.g., dissatisfaction and alternative attractiveness) to represent the push and pull effects as well as fail to identify the factors unique to a particular research context.To fill these gaps, this thesis aims to address what unique factors entice bloggers’ to switch to microblogging, and how they impact bloggers’switching intention. Using the PPM framework as a general guideline, a preliminary research model is proposed. Specifically, low responsiveness, low writing self-efficacy, and low need for technology fit are posited to form blog’s push effects; while network size, complementarity, and relative ease of use are posited to shape microblogging’s pull effects. Furthermore, by integrating status quo bias (SQB) theory and the dedication-constraint dual model, I propose that affective commitment, switching costs, and habit are important sources of inertia. Inertia is presumed to play a key role in mooring effects:it not only negatively influence switching intention, but also attenuates the pull and push factors’main effects. More importantly, the effects of affective commitment, switching costs, and habit on switching intention are fully mediated through inertia.A sequential, evolutionary research design with mixed quantitative and qualitative methods is adopted. This thesis is divided into two stages, including three studies, In the exploratory stage, the pilot survey with210subjects (study1) offered initial judgment about the significance of switching predictors. Contrary to expectation, writing self-efficacy, responsiveness, network size, and complementarity had insignificant influences on switching intention, while habit did not significantly impact inertia. Two rounds of focus group discussions (study2) served to explain and expand the results obtained from study1, offering additional clues to understand what other factors would impact bloggers’ switching decision.Study2found that the insignificant paths (i.e., writing self-effcacyâ†'switching intention, responsivenesâ†'switching intention, network sizeâ†'switching intention, complementarityâ†'switching intention) can be attributed to changing use context, insignificant weight, and inappropriate measurement. However, interviewees held different attitudes toward habit’s role in switching process. In addition, herd behavior was found to be an important factor in switching decision, which had been missed in original consideration. In the context of this thesis, the need for sense of belonging is a key motivation behind herd behavior, and sense of belonging is added as a predictor of switching intention.In the theory confirmation stage, the updated research model was tested using survey method with175subjects (study3) to further demonstrate the inference derived from study2. Study3confirmed that referent network size and sense of belonging had significant influences on switching intention; inertia fully mediated the relationships between switching costs and switching intention; and inertia negatively moderated the relationship between referent network size and switching intention. However, the predicting power of habit on inertia was still insignificant. Theoretical and practical contributions of this thesis are discussed. Limitations and directions for future research are offered.