Personal innovativeness in IT and reciprocity in the domain of social networks

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of personal innovativeness in Information Technologies (IT) as a specific trait and the effects of reciprocity on community support (their perception) and social integration in the domain of social network site innovation. A review of the literature reveals that scarce studies analyze the effects of personal differences on social integration. Structural equation modelling is proposed to assess the relationships between the constructs, along with the predictive power of the research model. The results demonstrate that increasing reciprocity, community support, and assisting members’ personal innovativeness are relevant initiatives that promote users’ wellbeing, and their social integration. This research therefore improves the explanatory power of existing theoretical frameworks, and suggests to marketers several strategies that improve the social integration and enduring success of social network site.