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Cross-generational analysis of information seeking behavior of smartphone users

Maayan Zhitomirsky-Geffet (Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel)
Maya Blau (Department of Information Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel)

Aslib Journal of Information Management

ISSN: 2050-3806

Article publication date: 20 November 2017

3951

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predictive factors of information seeking behavior of smartphone users from the cross-generational perspective. Based on existing literature, the two most popular types of information seeking behavior of smartphone users were determined: social information seeking behavior; and functional/cognitive information seeking behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire comprising 66 questions was administered online to 216 smartphone users of three age groups according to three generations: generation X, Y (millennials) and Z. Several predictive factors were examined for each of these information seeking behavior types: generation, gender, personality traits (the Big Five), daily usage time, period of ownership, various application utilization and the level of emotional gain from smartphones.

Findings

There is a trade-off between the two types of information seeking behavior. Also, men exhibited significantly more functional/cognitive information seeking behavior than women, and younger generations reported significantly higher emotional gain and social information seeking behavior than older generations. Interestingly, significant differences in smartphone apps’ utilization, information seeking behavior types and their predictive factors were found among users from different generations. Extraversion was positively related to social information seeking behavior only for generations X and Y, while WhatsApp usage was one of the strongest predictive factors only for generation Z.

Practical implications

This research has practical implications for information system design, education, e-commerce and libraries.

Originality/value

This is a first study that systematically examines predictive factors of the two prominent types of information seeking behavior on smartphones from the cross-generational perspective.

Keywords

Citation

Zhitomirsky-Geffet, M. and Blau, M. (2017), "Cross-generational analysis of information seeking behavior of smartphone users", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 69 No. 6, pp. 721-739. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-04-2017-0083

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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