Title: Factors impacting the adoption of social network sites for emergency notification purposes in universities

Authors: Wencui Han; Serkan Ada; Raj Sharman; Robin Hattersley Gray; Anand Simha

Addresses: Department of Management Science and Systems, School of Management, University at Buffalo, 325 Jacobs Management Center, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA ' Department of International Trade and Business, Selçuk Üniversitesi, Konya 42700, Turkey ' Department of Management Science and Systems, School of Management, University at Buffalo, 325 Jacobs Management Center, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA ' Campus Safety Magazine, Bobit Business Media, 3520 Challenger Street, Torrance, CA 90503, USA ' Department of Management Science and Systems, School of Management, University at Buffalo, 325 Jacobs Management Center, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA

Abstract: The increasing number of campuses incidents has kindled a realisation among university officials of the need for better communication with students at such trying times. This study uses the technology, organisation and environment (TOE) framework and the theory of channel complementarity to develop an insight into the factors that contribute to social network adoption intention and to examine the relationship between traditional channels and social network sites in the context of emergency response. The findings suggest that the intention to adopt social network sites for emergency notification purposes is influenced by two factors: the rate of critical incidents on campus, and the number of traditional notification channels deployed on campus, indicating that traditional channels and social network sites complement each other. The insights presented here will aid both school authorities and business firms in making informed decisions regarding the deployment of notification technologies.

Keywords: social networks; emergency notifications; campus emergency response; channel complementarity; TOE framework; technology organisation environment; social networking sites; SNS; higher education; universities; ICT adoption; information and communications technology; information technology; critical incident rates; traditional channels; decision making; notification technologies; social media; emergency management; university campuses; critical incidents.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2015.066129

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2015 Vol.18 No.1, pp.85 - 106

Published online: 28 Mar 2015 *

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