Examining social capital on mobile SNS: the effect of social support
Program: electronic library and information systems
ISSN: 0033-0337
Article publication date: 6 September 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of social support on social capital in mobile social networking sites.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the 234 valid responses collected from a survey, structural equation modelling was employed to examine the research model.
Findings
The results indicated that social support, which includes informational support and emotional support, has a significant effect on social capital that consists of structural, relational and cognitive capital.
Originality/value
Although previous research has found the effect of social capital on user behaviour, it has seldom identified the determinants of social capital. Thus, how to build and develop social capital remains a question. This research examined the effect of social support on social capital.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71371004), NSFC-Zhejiang Joint Fund for the Integration of Industrialization and Informatization (U1509220), and the Research Center of Information Technology & Economic and Social Development in Zhejiang Province.
Citation
Zhou, T. (2016), "Examining social capital on mobile SNS: the effect of social support", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 367-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/PROG-12-2015-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited