Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

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Information & Management

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Understanding How People Select Social Networking Services: Media Trait, T

Social Influences and Situational Factors
Shiu-Li Huang*, Chih-Yu Chang
Department of Business Administration, National Taipei University, No. 151, University Rd., San Shia District, New Taipei City 23741, Taiwan, ROC

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Social networking services (SNSs) have become very popular, and many Internet users use two or more SNSs.
Social networking service However, little research has been done to understand how and when users select multiple SNSs in series. This
Media repertoire study investigates Internet users’ SNS selection behavior in daily life. We adopt the notion of media repertoire to
Uses and gratifications explore how Internet users select SNSs in combination, and we adopt uses and gratifications theory to identify
Media selection
the values that drive these users to choose specific SNSs. We interviewed 40 Taiwanese people to explore the
media traits, situational factors and social influences that affect users’ SNS selection behavior. The findings of
this study can help SNS companies to improve SNS functions, and help marketers devise marketing strategies for
target audiences and find suitable SNS platforms on which to communicate with consumers.

1. Introduction small subsets or “repertoires” of their preferred platforms. Our study

A social networking service (SNS) is a virtual community in which
people can construct profiles, share a list of users with whom they are
connected, and view and track individuals’ information to establish and
maintain relationships via interactions between individuals and groups
[3]. Based on their functions, SNSs can be divided into two types: social
networks and messenger apps. Recent years have seen a great surge in
the number of SNS users [51]. More than 50% of Internet users use two
or more SNSs [34]. Marketers need to use multiple SNSs to integrate
their marketing message into peoples’ consciousness. A cross-platform
social media marketing strategy must be developed based on where
target audiences spend time and how best to communicate with that
audience [5]. Therefore, understanding how and when people select
and use a combination of SNSs is important to marketers.
Many studies have investigated media choice behavior in the or-
ganizational context [7,13,29,41]. These studies considered this choice
from the perspective of different types of media, such as electronic
media and face-to-face communication. Taking a “media repertoire”
perspective is useful when exploring the complexities of selecting a
combination of media [50]. A media repertoire is a collection of com-
munication channels and identifiable usage routines for specific com-
munication purposes. This perspective can also help marketers choose
the right platforms on which to reach target audiences. Although many
SNS platforms exist, people do not generally use all of them. Instead,
people cope with the abundance of choices by relying upon relatively
focuses on general Internet users, rather than on companies, to in-
vestigate their SNS repertoire selections as they go through their daily
lives.
User behavior on individual SNS platforms is driven by different
motivations [16]. Uses and gratifications (U&G) theory has been widely
adopted to understand the motivations that drive people to use specific
media. This theory postulates that people select and use media in order
to satisfy specific needs and achieve gratification [23]. It has been
commonly used to explore SNS usage motivations [20,31,40,52]. In
order to understand how and why people select a specific collection of
SNSs, we integrate U&G theory with the concept of media repertoires to
identify SNS repertoires and compare the motivations for using specific
SNSs within those repertoires.
Our study focuses on users’ selection of a series of SNSs as opposed
to a single SNS. We adopt the concept of media repertoire to discover
the regular rules or patterns of SNS usage developed by Internet users.
With U&G theory as its basis, this study also explores the values people
pursue when choosing different SNSs, and the key SNS attributes that
can lead to those values. We adopt an interview approach to identify
SNS media repertoires, and the trait, social and situational factors that
drive Internet users to use these repertoires. This paper addresses the
following research questions: (1) Why do users choose specific combi-
nations of SNSs? (2) What are the distinct traits of different types of
SNSs and the values that drive users to use a given SNS? (3) What are
the social and situational factors that determine which of the various

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: slhuang@mail.ntpu.edu.tw (S.-L. Huang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103323
Received 22 July 2019; Received in revised form 3 May 2020; Accepted 5 May 2020
Available online 27 May 2020
0378-7206/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
SNSs users select?
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The second
section reviews relevant literature. The research methodology and in-
terview protocol are described in the third section. Data analysis results
are described and discussed in the fourth section. The paper concludes
with the model of SNS selection behavior.
2. Literature review
2.1. Media selection
Previous studies on media selection focused mainly on the selection
of email, teleconferencing, and traditional communication media in the
context of the organizational environment. The factors that influence
media selection can be divided into three categories: (1) media traits,
(2) situational factors, and (3) social influences [4,50]. Media richness
[6], media synchronicity [8], and social presence [4] are the media
traits that determine the selection between traditional media and
computer-mediated media (e.g., face-to-face vs. email). However, since
our study focuses on SNSs that have similar media traits (e.g., high
synchronicity and social presence capability), such traits might not be
sufficient to explain users’ SNS selection behaviors. A new set of SNS
traits must be identified.
In addition to media traits, there may be certain situational factors
that determine the media selection. Media choice is a process of elim-
ination, limiting media repertoire to fit the particular situation [44].
For SNS users, the message topics they want to talk about, the receivers
of the messages, the urgency of the communication, and user char-
acteristics may significantly affect their media choices. According to
previous studies on media selection, there are three types of situational
factors: individual differences, facilitating factors, and direct con-
straints [11]. The variables of individual differences include cognitive
style, computer experience, and the individual’s age [1]. One of the key
facilitating factors is medium expertise. This refers to the user’s famil-
iarity with and willingness to use new communication technologies. In
fact, a lack of the skill required to use the medium can decrease the
user’s perception of the medium’s richness [43]. Individual usage is
enhanced by other facilitating variables such as document protection
and pricing policies, and the reliability, flexibility, and compatibility of
the technology [11]. Direct constraints on media use include such
variables as distance, expediency, time pressure, system access, con-
fidentiality, accountability, social interaction, and so on [32,48].
Social influence theory postulates that an individual’s selection of a
media channel is subjectively and socially influenced by the opinions of
coworkers [43]. A salient individual’s opinions, information, and be-
havior are factors that influence the selection behaviors of coworkers of
that salient individual. Social influence theory has three dimensions
that are different from those in theories related to media traits [12].
First, the media traits perspective focuses on the capabilities of the
medium, which are objective attributes that can affect media selection.
In contrast, the social influence perspective focuses on others’ attitudes,
statements, and behaviors, which are subjective factors. Second, the
media traits perspective postulates that individuals’ perceptions of
media properties and task attributes affect the salience of media
properties, while the social influence perspective emphasizes how
coworkers’ and supervisors’ assessments impact the salience of media
properties. Third, the media traits perspective suggests that the fit be-
tween media traits and task requirements is the key to determining
users’ selection behavior, whereas the social influence perspective ar-
gues that an individual selects media based on social norms and others’
past statements and behaviors.
Different SNSs have similar media traits, therefore, media trait
theories cannot sufficiently explain how users choose among SNSs.
Situational and social factors can influence media choice behavior, but
extant situational and social influence theories cannot explain why SNS
users tend to use a combination of SNSs to interact with their friends.
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
We adopt the concept of media repertoires to investigate the combi-
nations of SNSs that users commonly use in daily life, and to advance
our understanding of how and when different SNSs are selected.
Moreover, we adopt uses and gratifications theory to determine the
kinds of gratification that users are pursuing when they choose to use a
specific SNS.
2.2. Media repertoire
The concept of repertoires proposed by Orlikowski and Yates [30]
came from a collection of communication genres. The study originally
investigated how members of an organization choose communication
genres routinely, and why the selection of these genres changes over
time. Media repertoire is defined as the entirety of media that a person
regularly uses [17]. Taneja, et al. [47] investigated how users choose
different media tools (e.g., television, cellphone, website) to form their
media repertoires. They found that audience availability and individual
demographics can explain user-defined media repertoires. Hasebrink
and Domeyer [17] argued that the notion of media repertoires estab-
lishes a link between two areas of research on media use: audience
behavior, and media use as social practice. A repertoire-oriented ap-
proach to media usage research adopts a user-centered perspective,
stresses the need to consider the entire variety of media regularly used
by a person, and presents the interrelations and functions of the com-
ponents of a combination of media. Hasebrink and Domeyer [17] found
that a person’s media repertoire is a meaningful composition of dif-
ferent media contents. The composition is closely related to social
contexts, and the individual’s values and ambitions.
Extant studies on media repertoires in everyday life have focused on
a variety of media types, including mobile phones, computers, and
television. Moreover, they have mainly used content preferences and
individual demographics to explain the user’s selection behavior
[18,45,47]. In contrast, our study explores users’ regular usage of SNSs
that belong to the same type of media, and we explore users’ motives
and task purposes to determine how they choose a specific set of SNSs.
2.3. Uses and gratifications theory
Uses and gratifications (U&G) theory was proposed by Katz, who
transferred the effect of mass media from “What do the media do to
people?" to "What do people do with the media?" [23]. This theory
emphasizes that people are in the dominant position to choose the
media they want. Media usage is a mechanism by which to gratify
people’s expectations and needs. In the 1990s, U&G theory was applied
to media selection behavior in organizations and proved that social
context (e.g., media dependency, facilitation, affiliation, escapism, so-
cial learning, and role position) is an important factor that affects media
choice behavior [9]. As the Internet emerged, it represented not only a
technical change; it also introduced new patterns in communication.
Since the Internet can satisfy some of an individual’s communication
expectations, the Internet can be viewed as a new research field in
which to study the reasons behind the usage of the technology, and to
discover the gratifications pursued by the users [40].
Prior studies have shown that U&G theory is suitable for under-
standing SNS usage behavior [20,31,40,52]. Table 1 summarizes the
motivations behind SNS usage according to SNS studies that adopted U
&G theory. The SNS usage motivations (i.e., gratifications) can be ca-
tegorized into six types: socializing, entertainment, information
seeking/sharing, affection, connection, and self-status seeking. How-
ever, these studies all focused on a single, specific SNS, e.g., Facebook.
To understand why people need to use a collection of SNSs, our study
compares the gratifications of using SNSs in repertoires.
3. Research methodology
We used the qualitative approach in order to more deeply
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

Table 1
Motivations for using an SNS.
Motivation Definition Source

Socializing A person locates and keeps in touch with friends via browsing and updating his
or her friends’ information (e.g., photos, videos, texts) to maintain a social
network with others.
Entertainment A person avoids pressure and still wants to do something, thus finding an
enjoyable and exciting activity to help pass the time.
Information seeking/ A person searches for useful information about products and services, learns
sharing about events, and gets inspiration for new ideas; or a person provides his or her
own personal information or interesting events, or provides information that is
useful to others.
Affection A person expresses the emotions (e.g., anger, disappointment) to get support
and advice from others, or a person gives support to encourage and help
others, letting them know that someone cares about them.
Connection A person makes new friends via the SNS(s) and feels connected with others
rather than feeling alone, perhaps gaining a sense of belonging to a
community.
Self-status seeking A person establishes a personal identity and promotes his or her own expertise
to gain respect from others and to obtain a certain position within the group.
Bonds-Raacke and Raacke [2], Huang, et al. [19], Kim, et al. [25],
Leung [26], Park, et al. [33], Quan-Haase and Young [36], Raacke
and Bonds-Raacke [37], Smock, et al. [46], Zhang, et al. [52]
Kim, et al. [25], Leung [26], Pai and Arnott [31], Park, et al. [33],
Quan-Haase and Young [36], Smock, et al. [46]
Bonds-Raacke and Raacke [2], Kim, et al. [25], Park, et al. [33],
Raacke and Bonds-Raacke [37], Smock, et al. [46]
Kim, et al. [25], Leung [26], Park, et al. [33], Quan-Haase and Young
[36], Zhang, et al. [52]
Bonds-Raacke and Raacke [2], Pai and Arnott [31], Raacke and
Bonds-Raacke [37], Smock, et al. [46], Zhang, et al. [52]
Leung [26], Pai and Arnott [31], Park, et al. [33], Smock, et al. [46],
Zhang, et al. [52]

understand the factors that influence SNS selection. We conducted
laddering interviews based on the means-end chain model to explore
the salient traits that determine SNS selection and the gratifications that
result from the media traits. We also used a comparison approach to
investigate when and how users select between SNSs for the same
communication purpose.
3.1. Means-end chain
A means-end chain is a model that explains how consumers select a
product or service to facilitate the achievement of desired values. It
represents the linkages between attributes (the means), the con-
sequences of those attributes, and the personal values (the ends) the
consequences reinforce [38]. When the linkages between attributes and
the consequences and values caused by these attributes are identified,
such linkages create several hierarchical structures, or ladders, which
represent combinations of key perceptual elements that serve as the
basis for distinguishing among products or services [15]. This approach
allows us to more deeply understand the motivations behind people’s
selection behaviors, and to specify the rationale behind the importance
of certain attributes.
The means-end chain is formed in three steps [38]: (1) eliciting the
distinctions of the objects’ attributes from respondents, (2) conducting
an in-depth interview (aka “laddering interview”) to explore the per-
sonal consequences and values related to the objects’ attributes, and (3)
linking the attributes, consequences, and values in order to develop a
hierarchical value map (HVM). A matrix is produced in which each row
represents a respondent’s ladder (one respondent can have multiple
ladders). Next, an implication matrix is built to display the number of
times the respondents mentioned the connections between the ele-
ments. Then, an HVM is created by connecting the relationships among
elements. An HVM is a structure connecting attributes, consequences,
and values to represent the important relationships between the ele-
ments. In order to identify important chains based on the number of
linkages between elements shown in the implication matrix, a cutoff
level can be set to ensure all the relationships in the HVM are useful and
informative.
In a laddering interview, the interviewer begins by inducing the
respondent to list the attributes that distinguish particular products or
services. Second, after eliciting distinctions, the key distinctions for
building ladders can be selected by the interviewer judgmentally or
determined by relative importance rated by the respondent. Third, for
the key distinctions, asking the question: “Why is this attribute im-
portant to you?" The interviewer is on the basis of this way to explore
the reasons of respondents’ selection and climb the ladder to probe from
concrete attributes to abstract values.
3.2. Sample
To ensure the sample size was big enough to explain SNS users’
behaviors properly, we interviewed 40 people, which exceeds the
minimum requirement of 20 respondents for laddering interviews [39].
According to Taiwan’s 2016 Internet Usage Report, people between the
ages of 20 and 29 are the main users of social media (22%), and people
between the ages of 30 and 39 are close behind (20.7%). It reported
that 51.3% of social media users in Taiwan are males. Therefore, this
study focused on social media users aged between 20 and 39 and the
respondents we chose were in line with the demographics of social
media users. We invited 20 respondents who were between 20 and 29
years of age (10 males and 10 females, in accordance with the gender
proportion noted in the report). The other 20 respondents were 10
males and 10 females, all of whom were between 30 and 39 years of
age. All respondents had to meet the following qualifications: (1) at
least one year of SNS usage experience, (2) regular usage of three or
more SNSs, and (3) regular usage of each SNS for 20 minutes per day,
which is in accordance with the average time Taiwanese spend using
SNSs per day [21]. We used a snowball sampling technique to gather
respondents who met the qualifications and the requirements of age
and gender from our surroundings, who introduced their friends, who
then also became respondents.
3.3. Interview
Each interview lasted about one hour and involved one interviewee,
one interviewer, and one note taker. Interviewees used a computer to
log into the SNSs they often used, which allowed them to recall real
situations in order to answer the questions during the interview. We
followed the protocol listed in Appendix A to conduct the interview. At
the beginning, the interviewer explained the research purposes and the
definition of an SNS. A small talk was had to help the respondent feel
relaxed and open-minded, and no pressure was given during the in-
terview process. Second, the respondent was asked to list the SNSs that
he or she used for at least 20 minutes per day (for each SNS), and to
provide the communication purpose behind using each SNS. Third, for
each SNS used by the respondent, the interviewer used triadic and free
sorting techniques to elicit the key distinguishing attributes from the
interviewee. Next, the interviewee was asked to rate the importance of
each SNSs’ functions and features in comparison to other SNSs, using a
7-point scale in which 1 represented “not at all important,” and 7 re-
presented “extremely important.” If the score was greater than 4, the
interviewer asked why these attributes are important to the interviewee
(see phase 3 of the protocol). The interviewer kept asking these ques-
tions until the interviewee revealed the distinct types of value obtained

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S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
by using the SNS. The end result of this phase was a number of ladders
linking SNS attributes to values. Finally, the interviewee was asked to
identify the major communication purposes (usage percentage higher
than average) for which the SNSs were used. If two or more SNSs were
used for the same purpose, the interviewee was asked to explain when
and how the selection was made between these SNSs (see phase 4 of the
protocol). To add to the SNS attributes and personal values found in the
previous phase, this phase aimed to discover other factors (e.g., social
and situational factors) which affect the respondent’s SNS selection.
Through these phases, we discovered the media repertoires of SNSs for
each purpose. The traits, social, and situational factors identified
through these phases increase our understanding of how and when
users select among different SNSs.
3.4. Data analysis
The sample demographics are shown in Appendix A. The interviews
were recorded by a note taker and a voice recorder pen, and were then
transcribed into text. Two researchers independently inspected the
words in the sentences in order to identify attributes, consequences, and
values. Once these independent lists were complete, they were com-
pared, and any conflicts were resolved by discussion. After analyzing
the first 36 interviews, no new codes can be found. It was evident that
our categories of attributes, consequences, and values had reached data
saturation. These elements in the ladders were categorized into the
main codes and classified into the same types of attributes, con-
sequences, and values to generate the summary coding form. Each code
was assigned a unique number, allowing a ladder to be encoded via a
series of numbers. An HVM was created for each SNS by connecting the
relationships among elements. We set the cutoff level in accordance
with Reynolds and Gutman [38] and Pieters, et al. [35] to ensure that
all the relationships in the HVM were important.
The comparison phase focused on social and situational factors that
affect respondents’ SNS usage. The questions “What are the places and
situations where you use the listed SNSs?” and “Who are the people and
groups with whom you communicate? Do they influence your SNS se-
lection?” were used for eliciting situational factors; the question “Do
people who are important to you influence your SNS selection?” was
used for eliciting social factors. Two researchers analyzed the responses
collected from the interviews and identified social and situational fac-
tors that affect the selection behavior.
Key themes (e.g., media trait factors, situational factors, social
factors) and patterns of SNS usage were identified, based on the coded
files. Media traits and social and situational factors were found to in-
fluence users’ choice behaviors, depending on the usage purpose. This
analysis discovered all the factors that affect how and when Internet
users select a repertoire of SNSs for different purposes.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Media traits
Respondents identified 7 SNSs: Facebook, LINE, Instagram, WeChat,
Plurk, Dcard, and LinkedIn. Facebook and LINE were listed by 40 re-
spondents. Instagram was listed by 31 respondents. The other SNSs
were listed by 9, 3, 2, and 1 respondents, respectively. We chose three
SNSs (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, and LINE) to analyze means-end chains
in accordance with the minimum requirement of 20 respondents for the
laddering interview method [39].
We identified 14 attributes, 25 consequences, and 10 values for
Facebook. The attributes are the distinctive features of Facebook, the
consequences are the benefits of the attributes, and the values are user
needs that can be met by using Facebook. The definitions of these
elements and the HVM are shown in Appendix B. The numbers of
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
linkages between elements are displayed next to the links in the HVM.
Facebook has its own distinct attributes: “Search,” “Comment,”
“Share,” “Check In,” “A Ton of Users,” and “Instantaneousness.” When
Facebook is used with the following chain, “Search—Looking for
Someone Who Has not Been Contacted for a Period of
Time—Interaction—Warm Relationship With Others,” we see that in
order to recover a friendship, Facebook users use the search function to
look for someone who has not been contacted for a period of time. The
chains “Comment—Interaction—Warm Relationship With Others” and
“Comment—Interaction—Self-Respect” show that Facebook users use
the comment function not only to enhance their warm relationships
with friends, but also to share knowledge with others, which makes the
users feel confident about their own ability and personal value. The
chain “Share—Let Others Know Information—Self-Fulfillment” shows
that users like to forward news or information on their News Feed to
help others stay current. The chain “Share—Let Others Know
Information—Expressing Emotion—Psychological Stability” shows that
some users like to share their opinions on topics such as political issues
on their News Feed to express their emotions and reach psychological
stability. The chains “Check In—Sharing—Let Others Know
Information—Self-Fulfillment” and “Check In—Recording
Life—Retrospection” show that the users use the “Check In” function,
indicating their current location, in order to share entertainment places
with friends. The “Check In” function is also used for recording life, so
that past events can be reviewed later. The consequences of the attri-
bute “A Ton of Users” are “Keep Track of Friends,” “A Variety of
Information,” and “Easy to Search for Others,” which lead to the value
“Productivity.” This means that using Facebook is an efficient way to
contact friends and get information because of the huge user base.
“Instantaneousness” is another key attribute of Facebook. Users can
update information quickly to get knowledge from Facebook, so that
they can feel a sense of enjoyment, self-respect, and security.
As shown in the HVM for LINE, we identified 11 attributes, 12
consequences, and 6 values (see Appendix C). LINE’s unique attributes
are: “Upload Photos,” “Albums,” “Free Call,” “Video Call,” “Stickers,”
and “A Variety of Stickers.” The chains “Upload
Photos—Instantaneousness—Communication—Productivity” and
“Upload Photos—Instantaneousness—Communication—Warm Rela-
tionship With Others” indicate that users communicate with colleagues
by uploading product photos for the sake of task efficiency, and upload
photos of daily life to share with friends and enhance warm relation-
ships. LINE “albums” attribute leads to the chains “Albums—Retaining
Information—Productivity,” “Albums—Retaining Information—-
Retrospection,” and “Albums—Retaining Information—Obtaining
Information—Self-Respect.” LINE’s albums can retain images perma-
nently, whereas its “Upload Photos” feature keeps photos for seven days
only. Retaining images in perpetuity has three benefits. First, finding
earlier pictures is easy, which saves time. Second, the user has the
opportunity to recall great memories and how they felt regarding past
events. Third, it is useful to office workers who search through archived
pictures to get inspiration for new brand designs. LINE’s attributes “Free
Call” and “Video Call” are similar to telephone attributes, but they are
more beneficial to users because LINE’s free calling feature saves money
that can be used to enjoy life. Video calls have the added advantage of
allowing communicators to see each other’s body language, and gives
the feeling of being together, which helps maintain a warm relation-
ship. The two chains “Stickers—Expressing Emotion—Warm
Relationship With Others” and “A Variety of Stickers—Expressing
Emotion—Warm Relationship With Others” emphasize stickers, which
LINE users find attractive because they seem to express true emotions
more fully.
As the Instagram HVM shows, we identified 8 attributes, 11 con-
sequences, and 7 values (see Appendix D). The unique attributes are:
“Stories,” “Filter and Edit,” “Hashtags,” and “Picture Posts.” The chain
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
“Stories—Sharing the Moments Disappearing After 24 Hours—Fun and
Enjoyment of Life” shows that the “Stories” feature provides a place
where users can post and browse moments that then disappear after 24
hours. Browsing “Stories” can allows users to quickly learn about
popular attractions, which can increase the fun and enjoyment of life.
The chain “Filter and Edit—Attractive Pictures—Being Well Respected”
shows that Instagram users edit their pictures with filters to generate
attractive images that can show their personal style and establish their
sense of status. The chain “Hashtags—Centralization of
Information—Easy to Browse—Productivity” shows that “Hashtags”
can classify pictures regarding similar subjects (e.g., restaurants,
brands, artwork). Users who want to collect different pictures of similar
subjects can type keywords, which can reduce the time spent searching
on Instagram. The chain “Picture Posts—Enjoying Pictures—Fun and
Enjoyment of Life” shows that “Picture Posts” helps users to relate to
others’ posts, while also making it fun to see different kinds of beautiful
pictures (e.g., people, landscapes, food).
Prior studies on media selection paid attention to media richness,
media synchronicity, and social presence, and postulated that the fit
between those traits and task requirements determines the media se-
lection [8,28,49]. In contrast, the media traits that affect SNS selection
include the traits regarding information, instant communication, and
recreation. The benefits and values that result from those traits de-
termine SNS selection behavior. The HVMs indicate that each SNS has
its own key attributes that lead to different consequences and values.
Because of its massive user base, Facebook is the main collection place
for information. Twitter is another example of an information hub with
a large user base. LINE is an instant communication tool used for instant
messaging, voice over IP, or video chat. WhatsApp, WeChat, and Skype
also belong to this communication type of SNS. Instagram is a collection
place for pictures, mostly for recreation. Snapchat and Pinterest also
belong to this recreation type of SNS. Different types of SNSs provide
users with different attributes that can lead to the user’s required
benefits and values. As a result, people are motived to use different
SNSs. Thus, we propose the following.
P1: SNS traits (attributes) and the benefits and values that result from
these traits influence Internet users’ SNS selection behavior.
4.2. SNS repertoires
Socializing refers to interacting with friends on the SNS to maintain
relationships. Two repertoires are used for socializing: (1) Facebook
and LINE, and (2) Facebook and Instagram. The Facebook and LINE
repertoire is most common among users between the ages of 30 and 39.
In general, users post videos and pictures to interact with friends on
Facebook, but send messages to interact with friends on LINE. On
Facebook, users browse friends’ posts and learn about their lives in a
passive way, whereas they ask about friends’ status and lives directly
and proactively on LINE.
I passively read others’ posts on Facebook because many friends on it are
not so familiar, but I proactively ask for my friends’ current status on LINE
since friends on LINE are close friends. (B04)
Social activities on Facebook are more exciting, including the News Feed,
photos, videos, and other content, LINE can only send messages to achieve
the purpose of socializing. (B18)
The repertoire of Facebook and Instagram is commonly used by
those who are 20–29 years old. On Instagram, they communicate pri-
vately, and only with intimate friends of similar ages. Communication
with relatives, colleagues, and new friends is done on Facebook. When
users want to share posts, videos, and links, they select Facebook. To
share pictures, they choose Instagram.
Facebook has more users and more people with whom I can be in con-
tact. I can interact with all kinds of people. Instagram is a more private space
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
and a place to socialize with familiar friends. (A05)
Instagram is the place where pictures and photos are shared. Most friends
post statuses on Instagram. Facebook is the place where articles and videos
are shared. It has more text messages. (A06)
Entertainment is activity designed to allow an escape from pressure
and to experience enjoyment. Facebook and Instagram is the main re-
pertoire for entertainment purposes. Users watch long videos (e.g.,
music videos) and read posts on Facebook, but watch short videos (e.g.,
a video of a friend’s activity) and view pictures on Instagram. Users get
a variety of information from fan pages and groups on Facebook, but
get mainly friends’ information (e.g., where they play outside) on
Instagram. Facebook provides different kinds of information such as
business, education, and news. In contrast, the main information
Instagram provides is regarding fashion and brands, with more pictures.
Facebook users use many functions including videos, votes, and live
streaming to escape from the pressures of daily life. In contrast,
Instagram users look at friends’ news feeds and stories to have fun.
I like to watch short videos and photos on Instagram. It provides friendly
search interface. I obtain a variety of information including jokes from
Facebook. (A03)
Instagram is mainly used to check the news feeds and stories of close
friends. Facebook provides popular information, has various fan pages and
groups, and is more entertaining. I share and watch recommended videos
that many people like, and I use more features such as voting and live
broadcasting. (A15)
Information seeking refers to how users acquire knowledge and get
inspiration for new ideas, and information sharing refers to providing
useful information and announcing interesting events to others.
Facebook and LINE is the main repertoire used for information seeking
and sharing. Users searching for a variety of information use Facebook.
When searching for specific information, they use LINE groups.
Entertainment information is the most popular type of information
users search for on Facebook, and job information is the most popular
information type sought in LINE groups. To browse and collect a variety
of information, users turn to Facebook. In contrast, they use LINE to ask
specific friends for answers and suggestions. Since Facebook users’
friends lists include less-familiar acquaintances, users usually share
general information on Facebook. Other information—particularly
private information such as work or personal information—is shared
with friends on LINE, because LINE allows users to choose specific re-
cipients.
Using LINE, I seek for work-related information from work groups, ask
questions or share personal emotions via one-on-one communications. The
dialog history is easy to find. I search for and share entertainment in-
formation such as videos about children or dogs on Facebook. (A12)
The information shared on Facebook is one-to-many, and consists mostly
of public announcements. LINE messages are one-to-one messages, even one-
to-many messages in a group, are more private messages. (B10)
Affection is expressing emotions when asking for support and advice
from others. Facebook and LINE is the main repertoire used to garner
affection. When users face daily problems (e.g., how to remove grease
from T-shirts), they post requests for advice on Facebook. When users
face life problems, such as how to choose a job after graduation, they
ask for advice by sending person-to-person (one-to-one) messages on
LINE. There are two reasons for choosing one-to-one messages on LINE:
(1) it is more private than posting on Facebook, and (2) it ensures a
response from the receiver. Posting on Facebook does not necessarily
guarantee a response.
I talk about my personal affairs and release my emotions with specific
friends or groups on LINE. Facebook is more popular and public, so I use it
for sharing feelings when I do not need to be comforted such as giving my
opinions on current events, purely venting unpleasantness, or simply con-
veying happy information. It doesn’t matter if anyone responds. (B02)
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
I talk about personal affairs and life problems via one-to-one chatting on
LINE. Facebook can reach many people, so I talk about some little things in
my daily life. (B17)
Connection refers to the continuation of ongoing relationships with
old friends and the establishment of relationships with new friends via
the SNS. Facebook and LINE is the main repertoire used to achieve
connection. Since the number of Facebook users is greater than that of
LINE users, one can easily make new friends on Facebook. On
Facebook, users can add friends via account name, phone number,
email, etc. On LINE, however, they are required to add friends via a
phone number or LINE ID. Therefore, adding friends is easier on
Facebook than on LINE. Thus, users usually communicate with less-
familiar acquaintances on Facebook, but communicate with close
friends on LINE. Users prefer using LINE groups to using the group chat
rooms on Facebook Messenger. Users find the LINE group interface
easier to use, and they like stickers that can express real emotions, al-
lowing the users to feel more connected with friends. There are two
communication task subjects for connection: work and entertainment. If
users want to turn over work affairs to colleagues, they select LINE as
the communication channel. LINE informs the message sender as to
whether or not the receiver has read the message. To share humor with
new friends, users communicate via Facebook.
It's more difficult to add friends using LINE as compared to Facebook
because you must know their phone numbers or IDs. Thus, friends who are
connected on LINE are familiar friends. Facebook has many users. It re-
commends friends to you, so it is a good place to make new friends or to find
missing friends. (A02)
LINE interaction is relatively direct and one can quickly make contact
and respond. It is useful for work discussions. Friends on Facebook usually
start topics with highly entertaining content, such as funny things or different
ideas, to attract others’ attention in order to resonate with this idea or topic,
leave messages, talk and connect to each other. (B17)
Self-status seeking refers to building up one’s personal identity and
gaining respect from others. Facebook and Instagram is the main re-
pertoire used for self-status seeking. Users comment on public affairs or
post business issues on Facebook to establish a professional identity.
Users share their daily lives (e.g., food, beautiful scenery) on Instagram
to establish their identity as someone who has a rich and colorful life.
As mentioned above, Facebook is formed around acquaintances, and
Instagram is formed around close friends. Therefore, users are ac-
customed to making positive posts on Facebook and sharing negative
emotions on Instagram. Users consider Facebook as a way to create an
objective impression for friends because it includes basic information
such as one’s birthday and education, and Instagram is better used to
establish a subjective impression for friends because picture posts show
one’s style.
Instagram posts should be matched with pictures, so before posting I
think about which type of articles and pictures can present my image and
characteristics. Facebook allows users to maintain their profile, including
cover photos, birthdays, birthplaces, education, relationship status, etc. The
profile can give others an objective impression of me. (A06)
Friends on Instagram are close friends, so I share more emotional as-
pects, such as negative things, and let others see a different me. Facebook
friends are relatively unfamiliar, so I share interesting things and less ne-
gative things to keep my image. (A15)
Sharing my beautiful photos on Instagram gives people the sense that I
am good at taking photos. Because of the pictures, Instagram is more the-
matic than Facebook, and I can establish an interesting image. On Facebook,
other people can see what I'm paying attention to, which let others know
what kind of person I am. For example, I often pay attention to financial and
political content and make comments, which can let people know my position
and establish my image mostly in professional areas. (A19)
People use a combination of SNSs for specific task purposes.
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
Complementarity among SNSs is the reason why people choose specific
SNSs [14]. The use of SNS repertoires can be determined by information
complementarity, in terms of type (e.g., text, pictures, and video) and
variety. SNS repertoire usage can also be based on communication
complementarity, in terms of role (e.g., receivers and senders), type
(e.g., one-to-one and one-to-many), and task (e.g., work or entertain-
ment). SNS repertoire usage can also be based on communicator com-
plementarity, i.e., the level of intimacy between communicators, the
need for privacy and responsiveness, and the sort of identity and im-
pression the user wants to create. The complementarity of platform
features such as the size of the user base and the ease of emotional
expression (e.g., stickers) can also determine SNS repertoire usage.
Based on these findings, we propose the following.
P2: People select multiple SNSs for specific purposes because of the
complementarity of information, communication, communicators, and
platform features.
4.3. Situational factors
Six situational factors affect users’ SNSs selection behaviors: (1)
message topics, (2) communicator characteristics, (3) the individual’s
age and medium expertise, (4) task characteristics, (5) message char-
acteristics, and (6) time pressure.
Message topics: As mentioned above, users prefer to post politics,
business knowledge, and technology issues on Facebook, which has
more SNS users, and they can share each other’s opinions to expand
their view. Users prefer to post food, fashion, and sightseeing pictures
on Instagram, which aggregates a multitude of pictures under a single
hashtag. Users prefer to announce job affairs on LINE, which includes
groups of company members, and a “read” function, which allows ev-
eryone to follow the progress and schedule.
Communicator characteristics: Since users’ Facebook friends lists
may include coworkers and supervisors (e.g., colleagues, bosses, and
teachers), users may be reluctant to share their daily lives on Facebook,
and are more likely to post only positive events or express only positive
emotions on Facebook. To express negative emotions and share sensi-
tive issues, users choose Instagram and LINE, because Instagram is
formed around close friends (since there is only one way to add
friends), and LINE enables them to control who can receive the mes-
sage. The roles of Facebook friends (e.g., colleagues, bosses, and tea-
chers) are another reason why users share their daily lives on LINE
instead of on Facebook, because such sharing may give the impression
that they do not work hard or that they can take on more work.
I use Instagram to express my personal thoughts and feelings. It is a more
private space than Facebook. Facebook makes me feel stressed because my
parents and boss are on it. (A01)
Individual’s age and medium expertise: Our respondents were
20–39 years old. Based on our interviews, 97.5% of 20–39-year-olds use
Facebook to search for various kinds of needed information. Within our
sample, 80% of those aged 20–29 reduce their use of Facebook and turn
to Instagram because they can easily adapt to new technology and a
new SNS interface. Of the respondents between the ages of 30 and 39,
55% commonly used Facebook instead of the telephone to commu-
nicate. This is the result of medium expertise: users are familiar with
using Facebook to connect with each other despite Facebook’s lack of
richness compared to the telephone. Users between the ages of 20 and
39 use LINE, but they use it for different purposes. Half (50%) of the
interviewees aged between 20 and 29 years ask friends out and chat
with friends on LINE. In contrast, 45% of the interviewees between the
ages of 30 and 39 commonly used LINE to communicate with collea-
gues and bosses regarding work issues.
Task characteristics: Different task categories affect users’ selection
of different SNSs. When searching broadly for various kinds of
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
Fig. 1. Model of SNS selection behavior.
information, users choose Facebook, because of its large user base. To
search for specific information (e.g., restaurants, clothes), they choose
Instagram for its picture posts. When asking for opinions from relevant
groups (e.g., how to educate kids), users choose Facebook groups and
LINE groups.
I obtain a variety of information from Facebook, use LINE for work
discussions and chatting with friends, and find and enjoy photos on
Instagram. (B15)
Message characteristics: To communicate sensitive information
(e.g., family problems and unemployment) and negative emotions (e.g.,
anger and disappointment), users between the ages of 30 and 39 choose
LINE, and those between the ages of 20 and 29 choose Instagram, be-
cause friends on LINE and Instagram are closer than those on Facebook.
To express opinions on a formal issue (e.g., opinions on news) and to
share positive emotions (e.g., happiness and enjoyment), 20–39-year-
olds choose Facebook because they want to get praise and more feed-
back from Facebook’s large user base. When sharing the same happy
event on Facebook and LINE simultaneously, users make a short
Facebook post of the event results, and share the process of such an
event via long messages with a specific person on LINE.
I generally share the results of events on Facebook but talk about the
detailed processes of the same events with familiar friends by one-to-one
chatting on LINE. (A12)
Time pressure: Users between 20 and 29 years old select Facebook
to discuss reports. However, if the message is urgent or they need to
meet the deadline, users change their SNS choice. They usually have
both a Facebook group and a LINE group for the same members in case
they need to communicate instantly. For example, to change a plan or
fix something on a report, group members use LINE’s “Free Call”
function to have an immediate discussion on the issue. After discussing,
they update the schedule on Facebook. Users between 30 and 39 years
old choose LINE to discuss work issues. When confronting problems,
they are used to sending email or calling directly on the phone, rather
than using SNSs.
If something is urgent like suddenly changing the meeting time and place
the LINE free call and video call can instantly communicate with group
members and offer telepresence. (A19)
Similar to media selection in the organizational context, time
pressure, individual's age and expertise, and task characteristics are
important situational factors of SNS selections. More urgent commu-
nications should prompt users to select a medium that possesses real-
time response capabilities [32,48]. Younger people are less resistant to
adopt new technologies [1]. Previous medium experience is a predictor
of future media selection behavior [1,43]. Users can improve perfor-
mance by matching media characteristics to the needs of the
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
information processing tasks [32]. In addition, message topics, char-
acteristics, and receivers are influential in SNS selections for general
Internet users. Based on these findings, we propose the following.
P3: Message topics, communicator characteristics, task characteristics,
message characteristics, time pressure, and the individual’s age and medium
expertise influence users’ selection of SNSs.
4.4. Social factors
Three social factors affect users’ SNS selection behaviors: (1) net-
work externalities, (2) subjective norms, and (3) companies (official
accounts) and celebrities.
Network externalities: This term is defined as the increase in the
value and benefits obtained from products or services as a result of the
extended number of users [24]. “Large user base” is the main social
factor that drives users to choose Facebook. One benefit is that Face-
book’s large user base creates more information and more friends,
which can be easily searched by users.
I can meet more friends on Facebook because of its large number of
users. I find people with the same interests through the groups and fan pages.
For example, if I find people who are interested in investing, I can learn from
their investment views and logic so I can figure out and modify my invest-
ment methods. (A03)
Subjective norms: This term refers to how a person’s behaviors are
affected by his or her perception of the opinions and behaviors of im-
portant others such as parents, friends, and colleagues [42]. Friends are
the key social factor that influences users’ selection of Facebook. People
are encouraged by their friends to use Facebook so that they can talk
about a common topic and increase the entertainment value. Moreover,
friends tell their friends to follow stores on Facebook because they can
shop in the same stores and share shipping fees. Colleagues, customers,
and friends are social factors that influence users to choose LINE, which
is usually used for work communication. Office workers discuss issues
with colleagues in LINE chat rooms. Albums and notes can be used to
record the messages exchanged during the discussion. In addition,
customers influence office workers to choose LINE as the communica-
tion channel. Customers find searching through the message history on
LINE to be a convenient way to find information, such as a product’s
price during a specific transaction. Users are encouraged by friends to
use LINE groups in order to make free group calls and discuss things
with each other in real time.
I use Facebook because the majority of my friends use it. My colleagues
and relatives commonly use LINE so I use it in order to communicate with
them. (A02)
Companies (official accounts) and celebrities: Official accounts are
another social factor that causes users to increase their LINE usage.
Official accounts may give free stickers as a reward for adding them as
LINE friends. Users get not only free stickers but also new information
from official accounts. Such accounts also have rewards cards that en-
tice consumers to accumulate points for gifts. This encourages custo-
mers to continue to visit the physical stores of official accounts, in-
creasing customer retention. In addition, official accounts make it easy
for consumers to ask questions. Official accounts, Internet celebrities,
and foreign celebrities are social factors that influence users to select
Instagram. “Post pictures” is Instagram’s primary characteristic. Brands
that offer such things as cosmetics and clothing can take advantage of
this Instagram feature to promote their products via their official ac-
counts. In addition, official accounts allow users to ask questions about
the products directly—or even place orders—using Instagram’s message
box. This marketing strategy makes it convenient for Instagram users to
buy commodities. Some Internet celebrities use Instagram as their only
SNS platform because their personal homepages are comprised of
hundreds of pictures which show their unique style and build up their
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
personal image. Users usually collect brand and fashion pictures from
these Internet celebrities to imitate their style or stimulate design ideas
for work. Furthermore, the accounts of foreign celebrities (e.g., Korean
celebrities) are easier to find on Instagram than on Facebook because of
Instagram’s English ID. Users who are eager to follow and browse for-
eign celebrities’ information are increasingly likely to turn to
Instagram.
LINE official accounts can increase my usage of LINE because they
provide me with free stickers and special offers. (A03)
I use Instagram for entertainment because almost all of the Internet ce-
lebrities I follow use Instagram and post only on Instagram. (A13)
In the context of the organizational environment, the opinions of
coworkers and supervisors have an impact on media selection [43]. In
contrast, the number of users, the opinions of friends, colleagues, and
customers, as well as brands and celebrities the user follows have an
impact on SNS selections. In summary, we propose the following.
P4: Social influence from network externalities (e.g., user base), sub-
jective norms (e.g., friends, colleagues, customers), and companies (official
accounts) and celebrities determine SNS selection.
5. Conclusions
Previous studies on media selection focused mainly on the selection
among different types of media in the context of the organizational
environment for work purposes [7,13,29,41]. The present study focuses
on the selection among the same type of media, i.e., social media, in the
context of users' daily lives for various purposes. Prior studies on SNS
usage did not consider traits that distinguish SNSs, nor did they con-
sider the social and situational impacts [20,31,40,52]. Those studies
cannot explain why users choose specific combinations of SNSs. Our
study identifies SNS repertoires and reveals the reasons why people
need to use a set of SNSs for specific purposes. We combined media
selection theories, the media repertoire perspective, and uses and
gratifications theory to understand how and when a series of SNSs is
selected by users. This study systematically identified the factors that
have an impact on Internet users’ SNS selections. The factors are
comprised of media traits, and situational and social factors. The con-
cept of media repertoires advances our understanding of how we select
a combination of SNSs for specific purposes. The complementarity
among SNSs—in terms of information, communication, commu-
nicators, and platform features—determines the use of SNS repertoires.
We conducted laddering interviews based on the means-end chain
model to discover distinct attributes of different SNSs and the benefits
and values that result from those attributes. Since the HVMs were de-
veloped based on comparisons (i.e., the respondents were asked to
compare the SNSs they used), the HVMs can show the distinctions be-
tween SNSs. In addition, the comparison phase in the interview elicited
the respondents' decision criteria for choosing SNSs, which enabled us
to identify the social and situational factors. Fig. 1 summarizes our
findings and presents a conceptual model to explain SNS selection be-
havior. Based on our findings, we developed propositions that can
provide direction for future research on SNS selection and usage.
Our study shows that Internet users do use a specific combination of
SNSs for specific purposes. To shape their marketing messages for every
SNS in the repertoire and increase audience engagement with the
brand, marketers should know their audiences’ SNS repertoires as well
as the usage motivations and distinct traits of the SNSs. Prior studies
have shown that consumer engagement with and loyalty to the brand
increase if the brand can satisfy their motivations or needs via SNSs
[20,22]. We recommend that marketers use the information type of SNS
(e.g., Facebook) to offer various sorts of information to their audience,
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
and to use the recreation type of SNS (e.g., Instagram) to hold activities
and have fun with the audience while using the communication type of
SNS (e.g., LINE) to provide customer services. For branding purposes,
marketers can also utilize the key attribute of each SNS, such as Face-
book's check in, LINE's stickers, and Instagram's picture posts.
Social factors (e.g., large user base, important others, and favorable
celebrities and companies) can also influence SNS selection. An SNS
becomes more valuable as its user base expands. Network externality
plays a critical role in Internet users' SNS selection decisions. A large
user base is also a quality cue that induces the user perception that the
SNS has a relative advantage over its alternatives [27]. SNS providers
must expand their network to generate network effects by acquiring
new users. SNS providers can provide incentives to encourage current
users to invite their friends to join the SNS, and utilize the influence of
popular celebrities and brands to attract more users. In addition, a
plenitude of complementary services can create indirect network effects
and increase the value of the network. For instance, users can log into
many online services (e.g., Spotify) using their Facebook account,
which expands the network value of Facebook.
Both marketers and SNS providers should consider the impact of
situational factors. People use different SNSs based on the topics they
want to discuss, the communicators with whom they want to talk, the
type of tasks they want to perform, the generality or sensitivity of the
issues they want to share, and the urgency of the communication. To
strategically devise content and create a marketing buzz, marketers
should understand which topics people like to discuss and which tasks
people usually do on which SNSs [10]. SNS providers should enable
users to easily group their friends and specify recipients, so that users
can create both public and private spaces for different issues. The free
phone and video call functions are important for urgent communica-
tions. People need both synchronous and asynchronous communica-
tions, so they always use both social networks and messenger apps. SNS
providers should support both synchronous and asynchronous com-
munications by providing two types of apps or by cooperating with
other SNS providers to create an integrated user experience. Since
young people can easily adapt to a new SNS, late entrants into the SNS
market should target young people and entice them to switch from the
incumbent SNS.
The study has some methodological constraints that might be ad-
dressed in future research. Given that Facebook, LINE, Instagram were
the most popular SNSs in Taiwan, our study analyzed SNS selection
behavior based on these three SNSs. Future research may benefit from
considering usage and selection behavior in the context of other SNSs.
Qualitative interviews were used to reveal insights into how and when
people select SNSs, and to build a model for future research. We re-
commend that future studies examine the relationships between the
constructs via quantitative methods in order to understand their sta-
tistical significance.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Shiu-Li Huang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision,
Funding acquisition, Writing - review & editing. Chih-Yu Chang:
Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft.
Acknowledgment
This study has been supported by the Ministry of Science and
Technology, Taiwan (ROC.). The project number is MOST 106-2410-H-
305-021.
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

Appendix A

Table A1, Table A2

Table A1
Interview protocol.
Phase Question

1 Opening 1 Do you use SNSs every day?

2 Do you have at least one year of experience using SNSs?
3 How many SNSs do you use?
4 Based on the answer to the previous question, what are the SNSs you use?
2 Guiding 1 List the SNSs you frequently use (more than 20 minutes per day for each SNS).
3 Laddering 1 Based on the answer to the previous question, which functions of these SNSs do you use?
2 Which features of the SNSs listed are different from those of other SNSs and increase your willingness to use the listed SNS?
3 On a scale of 1–7, rate the importance of the functions you use on the listed SNSs where 1 = not at all important, and 7 = extremely important.
4 Why are these functions important to you?
5 What are the benefits (consequences) of using these functions?
6 What kinds of value do these benefits bring you?
4 Comparing 1 What are the purposes of using the listed SNSs?
2 How do you decide which listed SNS to use when they both serve the same purpose?
3 Why not select an SNS that is not on your list for these purposes?
4 What are the places and situations where you use the listed SNSs?
5 Who are the people and groups with whom you communicate? Do they influence your SNS selection?
6 Do people who are important to you influence your SNS selection?
7 Do you think the SNS can enable you to accomplish your task through communication?
8 Are you satisfied with the communication performance?

Table A2
Sample demographics.
Interviewee Gender Age Occupation SNS Repertoire

A01 Female 25 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram

A02 Female 28 Student Facebook, LINE, Plurk
A03 Male 23 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A04 Male 24 Financial Industry Facebook, LINE
A05 Male 27 Financial Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A06 Male 24 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram, Dcard, WeChat
A07 Female 22 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A08 Female 25 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A09 Male 23 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A10 Male 24 Information Technology Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A11 Female 24 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A12 Male 27 Broadcaster Facebook, LINE, WeChat
A13 Female 24 Architect Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A14 Male 24 Student Facebook, LINE, Dcard
A15 Female 27 Information Technology Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A16 Female 25 Financial Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram, Plurk
A17 Female 24 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A18 Female 24 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A19 Male 25 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
A20 Male 21 Student Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B01 Female 35 Secretary Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B02 Female 30 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B03 Female 32 International Trade Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram, Plurk
B04 Male 39 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B05 Male 36 Financial Industry Facebook, LINE, LinkedIn
B06 Female 30 Retail Industry Facebook, LINE, WeChat
B07 Female 33 Materfamilias Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B08 Female 37 Materfamilias Facebook, LINE, Instagram, WeChat
B09 Female 32 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B10 Female 39 Information Technology Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram, WeChat
B11 Male 32 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B12 Male 37 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B13 Male 30 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B14 Female 34 Materfamilias Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B15 Male 39 Financial Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B16 Male 36 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram, WeChat
B17 Female 30 Service Industry Facebook, LINE, WeChat
B18 Male 36 Manufacturing Industry Facebook, LINE, WeChat
B19 Male 36 Real Estate Industry Facebook, LINE, Instagram
B20 Male 39 Medical and Service Industry Facebook, LINE, WeChat

9
S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

Appendix B

Table B1, Fig. B1

Table B1
Definitions of elements for Facebook.
No. Element Definition

A01 News Feed Facebook users' posts, official accounts' information, advertisements, etc., show on the News Feed.
A02 Upload Files Uploading files to groups or messenger.
A07 Groups A collection of individuals with a common purpose or interest who post and share information, upload pictures
and videos, take a votes, etc. via the group functionality.
A09 Following Fan Pages Receiving notifications from and paying attention to Facebook fan pages to obtain specific information on
organizations and particular people, including articles, pictures, videos, related links, etc., where users can leave
comments, “Like” the page or content, and participate in related activities.
A16 Search Typing keywords in a search box in order to find the accounts of friends and fan pages.
A19 Post Leaving text, photos, and videos on one’s personal timeline.
A20 Like Expressing one’s feelings by clicking the “Like” button under a post.
A21 Comment Typing a response beneath a post.
A22 Share Sharing information by clicking the “Share” button on one’s news feed, groups, fan pages, PTT to personal
timeline, messenger, and groups.
A24 Check In Advising Facebook friends as to one’s location and companions by using the "Check In" function at a particular
place.
A26 Messenger An instant messaging service that allows Facebook users to send messages to each other.
A36 A Ton of Users There are many people using Facebook in Taiwan.
A37 Friendly User Interface The interface is easy to understand and there is clear guidance for using the functions.
A38 Instantaneousness Updating information and friends' timelines happens quickly.
C43 Keep Track of Friends Browsing other users' timelines to express concerns and comfort others.
C44 Obtaining Information Browsing information such as news, business comments, trading, etc., to stay current via one’s News Feed.
C45 Gaining Insight Learning more about specific information, and analyzing and increasing the accuracy of information.
C47 Supporting Others Agreeing with others' opinions and giving recognition.
C48 Easy to Search for Others Facebook Search makes it easy to find friends.
C49 Easy to Communicate Connecting with others immediately via Facebook.
C51 Let Others Know That They Are Concerned Informing others that one is concerned, and placing a high value on one another.
C52 Let Others Know How I Have Been Recently Posting articles to tell others about one’s current situation, to allow others to know oneself better.
C53 Let Others Know Information Spreading new information to others.
C57 One-to-Many Messages Delivering information and communicating with many people by using the group functionality.
C58 Looking for Someone Who Has not Been Contacted for a Contacting friends who have not been in contact for a long time, and keeping in touch with each other via
Period of Time Facebook.
C62 Looking for Like-Minded Users Participating in interesting groups to make new friends with the same interest(s).
C73 Interaction Chatting with others, communicating, having discussions, and informing others of one’s personal opinions.
C74 Sharing Posting information including videos, photos, current events, scholar views as well as personal status via the
News Feed.
C76 Efficiency Collecting and filtering information quickly to make decisions and solve problems.
C77 Privacy Having a private space in which to be oneself.
C78 Expressing Emotion Releasing emotions and relieving stress.
C81 Recording Life Making a record of personal information.
C85 Commodity Transaction Buying and selling products, or group buying.
C86 Update Information Quickly Fan pages regularly update their information to give Facebook users the latest news within a short time.
C88 A Variety of Information A large amount of multiple types of information.
C90 Information Completeness Following fan pages with comments, photos, prices, etc., to avoid missing informational details.
C91 Retaining Information Storing data such as text, photos, videos, etc., to aid in searching for earlier content.
C94 Resilience Knowing how to respond to current events or societal changes.
C96 Ease of Use The interface is simple and getting started is easy.
V100 Warm Relationship With Others Maintaining or enhancing one’s interactions with others to build a solid relationship.
V101 Self-Fulfillment Sharing informative content with others to help them solve problems in order to feel better about oneself.
V102 Being Well-Respected Establishing a unique personal image, and being an exemplary person who is respected and followed by others.
V103 Fun and Enjoyment of Life Personal needs and current status are satisfied, leading to a happy life.
V104 Security Personal property and information are protected, and the user feels safe.
V105 Self-Respect Enhancing one’s knowledge and expanding one’s views in order to be confident.
V107 Productivity Saving costs, increasing task efficiency, and expanding one’s capacity to do more things.
V108 Retrospection Returning to places previously visited, and experiencing past feelings once again.
V109 Psychological Stability Making the mind feel free and at ease for having completed objectives.
V111 Self-Direction/Control Managing time to plan one’s life and future.

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S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

Fig. B1. Hierarchical value map of Facebook.

Appendix C

Table C1, Fig. C1

Table C1
Definitions of elements for LINE.
No. Element Definition

A01 One-to-one Messages Delivering messages to a specific person.

A02 Upload Files Uploading files to a personal conversation window or a group.
A03 Upload Photos Uploading photos to a personal conversation window or group.
A05 Albums Creating an album in a personal conversation window or group to permanently retain the photos.
A09 Groups Delivering one-to-many messages.
A12 Free Call Unlimited time and places to make free Internet calls.
A13 Video Call Unlimited time and places to make free Internet video calls.
A15 Stickers Digital images to express emotion; they can be static, silent, and/or dynamic.
A17 Following Official Accounts Following official accounts to obtain specific information on organizations and particular people, including articles, pictures, etc.
Official accounts can update information and announce discount information.
A30 A Variety of Stickers The range of digital images, including official stickers, creators’ stickers, and free stickers.
A31 Friendly User Interface The layout of the interface is neat and attractive.
C35 Ease of Use The interface is simple, and getting started is easy.
C37 Communication Communicating with others quickly via sending messages.
C38 Free of Charge Obtaining something without paying money.
C39 Flexible Use of Money Saving money so that more money can be allocated elsewhere.
C42 Presence Conveying one’s personal status and feeling the real existence of the other.
C43 Expressing Emotion Sending stickers instead of text messages to convey one’s true feelings.
C46 One-to-Many Messages Delivering information and communicating with many people via the group functionality.
C49 Obtaining Information Obtaining information from official accounts, friends or groups.
C56 Chat Talking to other users without constraint.
C57 Efficiency Collecting and filtering information quickly to make decisions and solve problems.
C64 Retaining Information Digital storage of text, photos, videos, etc., which can help users search for prior content.
C66 Instantaneousness The sense of real-time speed with which text messages and uploaded files, photos, and videos are delivered.
V69 Warm Relationship With Others Maintaining or enhancing the relationship with others to build a solid relationship.
V72 Fun and Enjoyment of Life Personal needs and current status are satisfied, leading to a happy life.
V74 Self-Respect Enhancing one’s knowledge and expanding one’s views in order to be confident.
V76 Productivity Saving costs, increasing task efficiency, and expanding one’s capacity to do more things.
V77 Retrospection Returning to places previously visited, and experiencing past feelings once again.
V78 Psychological Stability Making the mind feel free and at ease for having completed objectives.

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S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323

Fig. C1. Hierarchical value map of LINE.

Appendix D

Table D1, Fig. D1

Table D1
Definitions of elements for Instagram.
No. Element Definition

A01 News Feed Friends' posts, Internet celebrities' posts, official accounts' information, advertisements, etc., show on the News Feed.
A02 Stories Browsing others' stories and posting one’s own stories, all of which disappear 24 hours after having been posted. Stories can
include uploaded photos videos and text. Users can tag friends, and the post indicates the place and time.
A03 Post Leaving photos and videos supplemented by text on one’s personal timeline.
A06 Filter and Edit Forty kinds of filters and edit functions, including brightness, contrast, warmth, which allow users to modify their images.
A07 Like Expressing one’s feelings by clicking the “Like” button under a post.
A08 Hashtags The words convert into clickable links that are collected by the service, and users can find other posts on the same subject of
interest based on these hashtags.
A12 Following Official Accounts Receiving notifications from and paying attention to official accounts to obtain specific information on organizations and
particular people, including pictures and videos supplemented by text, where users can leave comments and indicate that
they “Like” the post or account.
A15 Picture Posts The application and its contents are image-based.
C27 Sharing the Moments Disappearing After 24 Posts are accessible for 24 hours after the time of posting, beyond which they cannot be viewed.
Hours
C29 Keep Track of Friends Browsing other users' timeline to express concerns and comfort others.
C30 Obtaining Information Browsing photos including fashion, brands, food, photography, celebrities, etc., on one’s News Feed.
C32 Let Others Know How I Have Been Recently Posting articles to tell others about one’s current situation, to allow them to know oneself better.
C34 Easy to Browse Shortening the time required to browse a wide range of information through centralizing information, so that users find it
easy to search for interesting information.
C36 Supporting Others Agreeing with others' opinions and giving recognition.
C37 Expressing Emotion Expressing feelings of the heart.
C39 Attractive Pictures Pictures are a feast for the eyes.
C42 Privacy Having a private space in which to be oneself.
C44 Enjoying Pictures Having a pleasant experience viewing images.
C47 Centralization of Information The same types of information are classified in the same place.
V52 Warm Relationship With Others Maintaining or enhancing the relationship with others to build a solid relationship.
V54 Being Well-Respected Establishing a unique personal image, and being an exemplary person who is respected and followed by others.
V55 Fun and Enjoyment of Life Personal needs and current status are satisfied, leading to a happy life.
V56 Security Personal property and information are protected, and the user feels safe.
V57 Self-Respect Enhancing one’s knowledge and expanding one’s views in order to be confident.
V58 Productivity Saving costs, increasing task efficiency, and expanding one’s capacity to do more things.
V60 Psychological Stability Making the mind feel free and at ease for having completed objectives.

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S.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Chang
Fig. D1. Hierarchical value map of Instagram.
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Information & Management 57 (2020) 103323
Shiu-Li Huang is a professor in the Department of Business Administration at the
National Taipei University, Taiwan. He received his PhD degree in information man-
agement from the National Sun Yat-sen University. His research interests are e-commerce,
online marketing, and information management. His papers have appeared in Internet
Research, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Electronic Commerce,
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Journal of the Association for
Information Systems, International Journal of Information Management, and several
other journals.
Chih-Yu Chang is a media analyst in Nielsen Taiwan. She received her master’s degree in
business administration from National Taipei University. Her research interests are e-
commerce and communications management.