Research On Influence Factors Of Microblog Users’ Forwarding Intention

According to the31st Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, at the end of2012, the number of MicroBlog users in China has reached to309million, MicroBlog has become the fastest growing and most popular Internet social media. Nowadays with the surge of the number of MicroBlog users, most MicroBlog sites has begun to flourish and has started to explore new developmental patterns. At the same time, major media, enterprises and organizations have also entered the field of micro-blog and trying to use the MicroBlog platform which has a large number of users to carry out the MicroBlog marketing or government propaganda exchange. But the phenomenon that genuine emergency information which is valuable spread not as fast as rumors often exists. Forwarding is the main way to disseminate the MicroBlog information and is also an important sign to measure the influence of MicroBlog. Therefore, analyzing MicroBlog users forwarding behavior and its’factors should be an effective way to solve the existing problems in the spread of MicroBlog. Exploring why users will be forwarded MicroBlog forward subjective shape and dissemination of law has important practical significance.This dissertation follows the action research paradigm, using the method of combining theory and practice research. Firstly, from traditional media to social media to MicroBlog, a literature review and summary about the factors of media information dissemination (sharing, forwarding) in different periods is discussed; the previous work of the model framework and the relevant laws about the influence of MicroBlog forwarded are also summarized. Then,based on communication uses and gratifications theory and media richness theory, and in reference to the basis of previous studies, the MicroBlog forwarding theoretical models and research hypotheses are proposed from the combined perspective of communication and behavior to the use of the media in the process of subjective demand as a starting point, By referring to the previous mature research scale and measurements, a formal survey and data recovery are carried out, and then the data reliability and validity are tested. After that, a structural equation model verifying the assumptions of this study is used to analyze the relationship between the variables.The study found that:entertainment satisfaction has a very significantly positive correlation with the user’s intention of MicroBlog forwarding among the four basic needs of user’s satisfaction; satisfaction of status seeking and socializing satisfaction to a certain extent will positively affect the user’s MicroBlog forwarding wishes; and information seeking satisfaction has a little effect on user’s MicroBlog forwarding intention. On the other hand, the media richness has a very significant effect with the needs of the user’s information seeking, entertainment and socializing and thus indirectly affects the user’s forwarding intention. For this consequence, this dissertation gives a practical suggestion that to optimize the use of MicroBlog service and intention to promote user forwarding is based on three aspects, including raising interest, strengthening incentives and preventing regulatory.There are still some shortcomings in this study, including the inadequate consideration of the characteristics of information objects, insufficient samples and certain limitations of the the sample structure, which need to improve in the future research. This dissertation is the achievement of research on Internet-Mediated Social Participation and Mass Collaboration supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grand No.l0ATQ004).