Title: Examining the role of perceived social benefit and trust matter in sustainability of online social networking community - social exchange theory perspective

Authors: Soo Il Shin; Kyung Young Lee; Dianne J. Hall

Addresses: Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University, Room 2306, 585 Cobb Ave. NW, MD 0405, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA ' Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University, Room 5106, 6100 University Ave., Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H-4R2, Canada ' Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, 405 W. Magnolia Ave., Auburn, AL 36849, USA

Abstract: Based on social exchange theory (SET), the current study examines how perceived social benefit from social networking community (SNC) activities influences community members' affective commitment to the SNC via satisfaction. Additionally, we investigated how SNC members' trust defined as securing personal privacy and information in the community moderates the relationships between satisfaction and affective commitment. Analysing survey data collected from Facebook users, our findings reveal that SNC members' perceived social benefit and trust play salient roles in explaining members' affective commitment to SNCs. Moreover, trust plays an important role in moderating the relationships between SNC members' perceptions. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge on social networking, web-based communities and social exchange theory literature. Detailed implications and limitations are discussed.

Keywords: social exchange theory; SET; affective commitment; satisfaction; social networking community; SNC; trust; Facebook.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2022.124758

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2022 Vol.18 No.2, pp.109 - 129

Received: 11 Jan 2021
Accepted: 21 Oct 2021
Published online: 08 Aug 2022 *

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