Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123

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Computers in Human Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

Who are likely to build strong online social networks? The

perspectives of relational cohesion theory and personality theory
Han-Chung Huang a, T.C.E. Cheng b, Wei-Fan Huang c, Ching-I Teng d, e, a, *
a
Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan
b
Fung Yiu King e Wing Hang Bank Professor in Business Administration, Chair Professor of Management, and Dean of Faculty of Business, Department of
Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
c
Department of Industrial and Business Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan
d
Department of Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan
e
Department of Business and Management, Ming Chi University of Technology, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Little is known about the underlying mechanisms of building strong social networks and who are likely
Received 24 March 2017 to build them. To address these issues, we develop a new theoretical framework grounded in relational
Received in revised form cohesion theory and personality theory. We test the framework using data from a sample of 436 users of
4 December 2017
social networking sites. We use structural equation modelling for data analysis. We find that openness
Accepted 5 January 2018
and agreeableness are positively, while conscientiousness and neuroticism are negatively, related to
exchange frequency. In turn, exchange frequency is positively related to pleasure-satisfaction and
interest-excitement, which are positively related to relational cohesion, which is related to seven aspects
Keywords:
Information systems
of online relationships, namely relational depth, breadth, code change, predictability, commitment,
Online relationships interdependence, and network convergence. Our study is the first to use the two theories to explain how
Personality personality traits affect online relationships. Our findings provide insights for information systems
Relational cohesion theory managers to make effective decisions on resource allocation and target markets.
Social network © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction importance of acquiring a better understanding of social networks.

Research on social networks of users of online information
systems (ISs) is vibrant and spans fields including social media
networks (Kane, Alavi, Labianca, & Borgatti, 2014) and media
communication (e.g., Teng, Chen, Chen, & Li, 2012). Research has
found that social networks (or communication or electronic net-
works) contribute to effective collaboration (Ransbotham & Kane,
2011) and knowledge exchange (Beck, Pahlke, & Seebach, 2014),
which in turn boost job performance (Sykes, Venkatesh, & Johnson,
2014; Zhang & Venkatesh, 2013). Moreover, social communication
using social networking tools enhances job security (Wu, 2013).
Social interactions within social networks determine when and
how a piece of content becomes successful (Susarla, Oh, & Tan,
2012). The literature has demonstrated the strong impacts of so-
cial networks on various job-related outcomes, indicating the
* Corresponding author. 259, Wenhua 1st Rd, Gueishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
E-mail addresses: t756068@yahoo.com.tw (H.-C. Huang), edwin.cheng@polyu.
edu.hk (T.C.E. Cheng), chasel496@yahoo.com.tw (W.-F. Huang), chingit@mail.cgu.
edu.tw, chingit88@gmail.com (C.-I. Teng).
Pertinent studies use network-level analyses to examine user-
generated content and communication activity in online social
networks (Shriver, Nair, & Hofstetter, 2013; Susarla et al., 2012).
However, the social network formation literature has insufficiently
examined whether and how node-level features (e.g., personality
traits) affect the formation of social networks. The recent literature
suggests that one of the most interesting research issues is to un-
derstand how social media user profiles impact user behaviour
(e.g., Kane et al., 2014). Moreover, active engagement in commu-
nities boosts individual users’ spending (Kaptein, Parvinen, &
Po€ yry, 2015), highlighting the relevance of research on this issue.
Among the various typologies used to describe an individual
psychological profile, the Big Five personality traits have been
widely applied in various contexts. In particular, highly extraverted
individuals actively use the Internet for recreational purposes, such
as playing online games and engaging in chat rooms (Hamburger &
Ben-Artzi, 2000). Researchers have recently adopted a mining
approach to link personality to social behaviour (e.g., Ortigosa,
Carro, & Quiroga, 2014).
However, little research has examined how the Big Five

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.004
0747-5632/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
112 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123
personality traits are related to the formation of social networks
amongst users of online information systems, leaving a conspicu-
ous research gap. Research addressing this gap can advance clas-
sical and core psychological knowledge (i.e., the Big Five
personality traits) by linking it to a popular and contemporary
global phenomenon (i.e., social networks of users of online infor-
mation systems). As of now no study has been undertaken to fill
this gap, which indicates the uniqueness of our research. Moreover,
research findings that help close this gap can provide insights for
managers on the importance of user personality profiles to the
formation of user networks and, subsequently, business success. In
sum, research addressing this issue is both academically unique
and practically significant. To fill this gap, we define strong online
social networks as networks that comprise members having strong
online relationships with one another, as such relationships form
the building blocks for strong online social networks.
Therefore, we aim to fill this gap by conducting this study with a
purpose of examining how the Big Five personality traits affect the
development of interpersonal relationships in online social net-
works. The development of relationships could be explained by
relational cohesion theory, which theorizes the process by which
online relationships are formed, indicating that this theory is
applicable in this study. Moreover, personality theory provides a
widely personality typology and elicits the impacts of personality
traits, justifying the adoption of personality theory. Therefore, we
adopt both relational cohesion theory and personality theory to
develop our research model and hypotheses. In addition, our study
explains the formation of online social networks by innovatively
incorporating personality traits into relational cohesion theory,
thus extending and enriching both theories. Supplementing rela-
tional cohesion theory with personality theory provides a solid
theoretical basis for systematically building a body of knowledge
for understanding online social networks. Such knowledge can help
online information systems managers effectively build commu-
nities of loyal users.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses
2.1. Relational cohesion theory
Relational cohesion theory was developed through experimen-
tation and is characterized by equal power and mutual exchange
benefits (Lawler & Yoon, 1996). In other words, relational cohesion
theory is applicable in contexts where network participants have
equal power or influence in reaching an exchange agreement and
where each participant obtains benefits from the exchange. In
online information systems, participants can exchange ideas, ef-
forts, and information via social networks. Participants typically
have equal power and derive mutual benefits from these ex-
changes, suggesting the potential applicability of relational cohe-
sion theory to address human issues associated with online
information systems. The minimum level of variance in equal po-
wer makes it a contextual background rather than a research issue,
motivating us to exclude this concept from our study.
Relational cohesion theory posits that frequent exchanges arouse
positive emotions (consisting of pleasure-satisfaction and interest-
excitement) and then create relational cohesion, which conse-
quently triggers commitment behaviours such as staying in the
exchange relation, providing token gifts to one another, and
contributing to a new joint venture (Lawler & Yoon, 1996). In
addition to positive emotions, frequent exchanges trigger
commitment behaviours via reduced uncertainty (i.e., the dual
process of commitment); however, only positive emotions directly
lead to relational cohesion (Lawler, Thye, & Yoon, 2000). Therefore,
positive emotions should underpin the theoretical explanations of
relational cohesion. To ensure theory replication, we include the
key elements of relational cohesion theory, i.e., exchange frequency,
pleasure-satisfaction, interest-excitement, and relational cohesion
(as in Table 1).
Relational cohesion theory has been enhanced and extended in
several aspects. For example, network structure may enable or
constrain the formation of social relationships (Lawler, Thye, &
Yoon, 2006). Equal-power relationships facilitate group cohesion
more than those of unequal power (Lawler & Yoon, 1996). In
addition, we now have a better understanding of the dual process
of commitment in that frequent exchanges provide knowledge and
information about others, reducing uncertainty in predicting
others’ behaviour, while positive emotions are essential for creating
relational cohesion in dyads (Yoon, Thye, & Lawler, 2013).
When applied in the context of online social network formation,
relational cohesion theory describes the process by which in-
dividuals form relational cohesion and eventually trigger commit-
ment behaviours, which can be incorporated into Parks and Floyd’s
(1996) typology of online relationships. Such typology covers the
following seven aspects: relational depth, relational breadth, code
change, predictability of partner behaviour, commitment to the rela-
tionship, interdependence, and network convergence (as in Table 1).
2.2. Related studies on user communication
Looking at Wikipedia, Ransbotham and Kane (2011) found that
combining new and old members in a social media community can
lead to collaborative outcomes, and new members can provide
novel knowledge and experience to online communities. Our
research is consistent with these findings. Specifically, overlapping
social circles can breed successful exchange relationships that
create mutual benefits. In other words, our research may provide an
alternative explanation for the findings of Ransbotham and Kane
(2011).
In the context of organizational communication networks, Xu,
Kim, and Kankanhalli (2010) studied the roles of source prefer-
ence and sourcing frequency in communication networks. We echo
their work by using exchange frequency and relational cohesion to
elucidate the importance of cohesive relationships in communi-
cation networks. Our research contributes to this research stream
by adding the theoretical perspectives of relational cohesion and
personality traits.
In workplace communication networks, Zhang and Venkatesh
(2013) found that online and offline social networks are comple-
mentary and interact to influence job performance. Specifically,
individuals with direct and indirect ties in both social networks can
gain personal benefits. Our research also explores how social
networking creates benefits for group members. However, our
study is the first to assess the determinants of network overlap (i.e.,
network convergence), deepening the understanding of network
overlap and interaction issues.
Gosling, Augustine, Vazire, Holtzman, and Gaddis (2011) found
that extraversion is positively related to frequency of Facebook
usage and engagement, but not to the form of the friends’ list. In
line with their study, we examine the impact of extraversion on
online social network behaviour. Our study is in line with Gosling
et al. (2011) in discussing the impact of extraversion in the online
social networking context. However, our study differs from Gosling
et al. (2011) by using relational cohesion theory and examining the
impacts of the Big Five personality traits on various aspects of on-
line relationships. Furthermore, our study constructs and examines
the mechanism underlying the impact of personality traits on the
formation of online relationships.
 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123
Table 1
Study constructs and conceptual definitions.
Construct
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Exchange Frequency
Pleasure-Satisfaction
Interest-Excitement
Relational Cohesion
Relational Depth
Relational Breadth
Code Change
Predictability of Partner Behaviour
Commitment to a Relation
Interdependence
Network Convergence
2.3. Big Five personality theory
Personality traits are psychological and behavioural patterns
(Zimbardo & Weber, 1994). Personality traits have been shown to
have a strong impact in various contexts, including online com-
munities (e.g., Teng, 2011), indicating their potential applicability to
explain for online social networks. Personality traits have various
categorizations, among which the Big Five personality traits are one
of the most frequently used in relevant studies, supporting our
adoption of them (as in Table 1).
The Big Five personality traits are openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Table 1 summarizes
the constructs used in this research and their conceptual defini-
tions. To rigourously test the hypotheses, we include four control
variables in the model, namely user gender, age, education, and
income.
Openness characterizes an individual's likelihood to be liberal
(Hastings & O'Neill, 2009). Openness is strongly related to arousal
needs (Kang & Johnson, 2015) and thus should motivate individuals
to engage in online participation (Jordan, Pope, Wallis, & Iyer,
2015). Hence, those who spend more time on Facebook have
higher levels of openness (Eşkisu, Hoşog lu, & Rasmussen, 2017).
Moreover, highly open individuals are likely to feel free to exchange
ideas, thoughts, and information with other users of online infor-
mation systems, creating a positive relationship between openness
and exchange frequency. Extraverted individuals tend to be with
others and talkative (Hastings & O'Neill, 2009). Hence, extraversion
is a strong predictor of the motivation to engage in computer-
mediated communication (Chua & Chua, 2017), fostering social
media use (Correa, Hinsley, & de Zún ~ iga, 2010) and increasing the
number of friends in social media (Lo € nnqvist & Deters, 2016). In
online information systems, users talk with one another by
communicating via the information system, increasing the fre-
quency of information exchange. Moreover, to express oneself to
others is one major motivation for engaging in online social
networking activities (James, Warkentin, & Collignon, 2015),
creating a positive link between extraversion and exchange fre-
quency. Agreeableness is a strong predictor of online behaviour
(McCreery, Krach, Schrader, & Boone, 2012). Agreeable individuals
tend to help others in need (Hastings & O'Neill, 2009) or exhibit
altruistic behaviour. Hence, agreeable individuals are likely to share
their ideas, thoughts, and information to help others, fuelling ex-
change frequency. On the other hand, conscientiousness has a facet
of impulse control (Costantini & Perugini, 2016). Moreover, those
who frequently check Facebook have lower levels of conscien-
tiousness (Eşkisu et al., 2017). Furthermore, conscientiousness is
113
Conceptual definition
The individual tendency to be non-restrained by ideas, feelings and values
The individual tendency to be efficient, careful and systematic
The individual tendency to be talkative and gregarious
The individual tendency to be altruistic and cooperative
The individual tendency to be depressed, anxious and angry
Intensity of occurrences of exchanging ideas, thoughts and information
The feeling of being happy and enjoyable
The feeling of being enthusiastic and motivated
Emotional attachment and commitment to a relation
A high level of engagement in a relation
The range of issues discussed in a relation
Using specific dialogue or terms for communication in a relation
The degree to which individuals can accurately foresee partners' thoughts and responses
Individuals' intention to make efforts to continue a relation
The degree to which individuals depend on partners' opinions to make decisions
The degree to which individuals share friends with their partners
associated with sparing use of Facebook (Caci, Cardaci, Tabacchi, &
Scrima, 2014), i.e., highly conscientious individuals should infre-
quently engage in exchanges. Finally, neurotic individuals are often
anxious (Hastings & O'Neill, 2009) and have low self-esteem (Dunn
& Guadagno, 2012), so they are likely to be anxious about sharing
their ideas, thoughts, and personal information. Such anxiety may
be related to perceived risk, which also reduces an individual's
intention to share personal information (Wang, Duong, & Chen,
2016). In sum, such anxiety would reduce exchange frequency.
We thus pose the following hypothesis:
H1. (a) Openness, (c) extraversion, and (d) agreeableness are
positively related to exchange frequency, while (b) conscientious-
ness and (e) neuroticism are negatively related to exchange
frequency.
Exchanges refer to the processes through which members in a
group make joint efforts to complete joint tasks and share mutual
benefits (Lawler et al., 2000). Completing a joint task in an ex-
change should provide positive experiences that serve as positive
feedback. According to positive reinforcement theory (Skinner,
1969), positive feedback encourages repeated behaviour, which
may provide similar positive feedback. That is, attaining success in
an exchange can encourage members to engage in exchanges again.
Repeated successful exchanges can lead to a high frequency of
positive experiences (Lizardo, 2007). Individuals feel happy and
enjoyable upon gaining positive experiences (de Rojas & Camarero,
2008) and such feelings are the core characteristics of pleasure-
satisfaction. Therefore, exchange frequency should be positively
related to pleasure-satisfaction.
Exchange also refers to a situation in which two or more
members decide to contribute their efforts to accomplish a joint
task (Lawler et al., 2000). In a successful exchange, positive expe-
riences lead to perceived trust among members, which motivates
them to be cooperative, and may lead to feelings of enthusiasm and
motivation to achieve the next success (Lawler et al., 2000). Such
emotional states (i.e., the feelings of being enthusiastic and moti-
vated) are the core characteristics of interest-excitement (Lawler
et al., 2000). Therefore, exchange frequency should be positively
related to interest-excitement. We propose the following
hypothesis:
H2. Exchange frequency is positively related to (a) pleasure-
satisfaction and (b) interest-excitement.
Pleasure-satisfaction means that individuals perceive strong
feelings of happiness and enjoyment with an internal or external
experience (Lawler et al., 2000). People with such strong feelings
114 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123

tend to be amiable to other people, and behave cooperatively and relationships (Hall, Schneider, & Nygren, 1970). Perceiving attach-
altruistically (Staw, Sutton, & Pelled, 1994), which helps build close ment to a group is a core characteristic of commitment to a rela-
relationships in a group. In a close relationship, partners feel tionship (Lawler et al., 2000).
comfortable to share (Kim & Gweon, 2016). Moreover, close re- Relational cohesion can strengthen person-to-group connec-
lationships should gradually form an attachment to a group. tion, fostering close relationships among individuals (Lawler &
Emotional attachment to a group is the core characteristic of rela- Yoon, 1996). In a close relationship, individuals frequently interact
tional cohesion (Lizardo, 2007). Therefore, pleasure-satisfaction with others (i.e., exchange with or seek others' opinions, feelings,
should be positively related to relational cohesion. Thus, we state and knowledge), further resulting in reliance on one another's
the following hypothesis: advice or suggestions before making decisions. In a group, seeking
others' advice or suggestions is a core characteristic of interdepen-
H3a. Pleasure-satisfaction is positively related to relational
dence (Parks & Floyd, 1996).
cohesion.
Relational cohesion also refers to cooperative interaction among
Interest-excitement refers to individuals feeling eager to do and people who work together to pursue a common purpose and,
enjoy an activity or subject (Lawler et al., 2000). People perceiving consequently, share the payoff of success (Hauert, Traulsen, Brandt,
strong interest-excitement will strengthen their engagement in a Nowak, & Sigmund, 2007). Reaping the payoff requires different
joint task, which in turn will lead to repeated successful exchanges. groups of people to form a team to implement a difficult task. The
As a result of repeated successful exchanges, people perceiving joining of two or more groups of people to complete a task can be
strong interest-excitement can become more attached and viewed as a core characteristic of network convergence (Parks &
committed to the relationship. Perceiving attachment and Floyd, 1996). From the above discussion, we formulate the
commitment are the core characteristics of relational cohesion; following hypothesis:
thus, we state the following hypothesis:
H4. Relational cohesion is positively related to (a) relational
H3b. Interest-excitement is positively related to relational depth, (b) relational breadth, (c) code change pertinent to the
cohesion. relationship, (d) predictability of partner behaviour, (e) commit-
ment to the relationship, (f) interdependence, and (g) network
Relational cohesion theory posits that successful exchanges can
convergence.
yield bilateral benefits (Lawler et al., 2000). Through frequent
successful exchanges, individuals gradually increase personal Fig. 1 presents our research model, conceptualizing online social
engagement in a relationship. A high level of engagement in a network formation through the lens of relational cohesion theory
relationship can be viewed as a core characteristic of relational and supplemented with personality theory. Set against a backdrop
depth (Parks & Floyd, 1996), creating a positive link between rela- of the online relationship typology, the model embraces the seven
tional cohesion and relational depth. aspects of online relationships, which are independent of one
Gaining bilateral benefits in an exchange relationship can another conceptually (their definitions do not overlap, see Table 1)
encourage repeated participation in a particular activity, leading to and operationally (they are measured by distinctive items, see
contact with other users (Lawler et al., 2000). Contacting other Table 3). Our study includes the four control variables of user
users further enhances the quality and strength of collaboration, gender, age, education and income.
which further increases the chance of knowing and involving more
users. Involving many different online users should broaden the
3. Methods
range of issues discussed within a relationship, which is known as
relational breadth (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Hence, staying in a rela-
3.1. Sample and data collection process
tionship should lead to a higher level of relational breadth.
In addition, gaining bilateral benefits from a repeated successful
Using a questionnaire survey to collect data for analysis, we
exchange relationship can enhance trust and cooperation. In the
invited participants to self-report information on personality traits,
process of cooperation, mutual trust helps formulate a close rela-
exchange frequency, pleasure-satisfaction, interest-excitement,
tionship with others (Lawler & Yoon, 1996). To distinguish their
and relational cohesion. We disseminated the link to the online
relationships from others’, users in a close relationship interact or
questionnaire via social networking sites. The sample population
exchange information with one another by using special and spe-
cific dialogue, i.e., code change (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Therefore,
individuals in a close relationship will exchange ideas by using code
change. Moreover, social network ties create the shared language
(Yang & Li, 2016), further supporting this hypothesis.
Relational cohesion theory posits that successful exchanges
bring relational cohesion and bilateral benefits (Lawler et al., 2000).
Gaining bilateral benefits from a repeated successful exchange
relationship can increase cooperation frequency. In the process of
cooperation, individuals may enhance mutual understanding
among themselves through frequent exchanges (Lawler & Yoon,
1996). Mutual understanding in a relationship may enable the
prediction of partners’ behavioural intentions.
Relational cohesion can create positive emotions, which help
build close relationships among individuals (Lawler & Yoon, 1996).
Moreover, perceived online community support as well as social
norms create users’ commitment (Wang & Chen, 2012; Yang, Li, &
Huang, 2017). In a close relationship, frequent connections can
gradually reduce social distance and cause attachment in
Fig. 1. The research model.
 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123 115

should therefore be characterized by users with access to social extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism from Teng, Tseng, Li,
networking sites. Moreover, we invited participants to nominate a and Yu (2011).
friend in their online social network to respond to the question- Table 3 reports the CFA results. The items measuring each
naire items about their interaction and relationship with that construct have Cronbach's a values exceeding .80, indicating suf-
participant (i.e., the “he/she/him/his/her” in the questionnaire re- ficient reliability. The lower bounds of the 95% confidence intervals
fers to the nominated friend). This approach is justified, as it fa- of the a values exceed .76, indicating confident reliability (Iacobucci
cilitates participants' responses to those items. Just as a & Duhachek, 2003). The composite reliability (CR) values are larger
participant's personality traits impact the responses from all of his/ than .84 and the average variance extracted (AVE) values are larger
her online friends, they also impact the responses from one of his/ than .57, indicating adequate reliability (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). All
her friends. Therefore, the approach we adopted should be valid. measures have indicator loadings greater than .68, fulfilling the
In total, we collected 436 complete responses. To conform to convergent validity criterion (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988).
acceptable ethical standards, we removed the responses of 132 Since pleasure-satisfaction and interest-excitement are known
participants who did not report that they were 18 years old or as correlated constructs (Lawler et al., 2000), we exclude their
above, leaving 304 responses. We used two criteria to identify and correlation in the subsequent analysis of discriminant validity. The
exclude invalid responses. First, we removed the responses from maximum squared correlation between the study constructs is .56,
seven participants who indicated they had known their nominated which is below the minimum AVE of .57 and meets the discrimi-
friend longer than their age (i.e., they had known their nominated nant validity criterion (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Overall, the sta-
friend before they were born). Second, we excluded 31 responses tistical indicators demonstrate acceptable reliability. The
that provided the same answer for one fifth or more of the ques- measurement items, instructions, reference sources, and anchor
tionnaire items. We accepted the responses of the remaining 266 points of the scales are listed in the Appendix.
participants as valid and used these data for the subsequent ana- The measures fit the data sufficiently. Specifically, the compar-
lyses, generating a ratio of 87.5%. ative fit index (CFI) is .94 and the incremental fit index (IFI) is .94,
The sample size of this study conforms to that recommended in meeting the criteria CFI > .90 and IFI > .90, respectively (Bollen,
the methodological literature (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988), i.e., 1989). The non-normed fit index (NNFI) is .93, satisfying the cri-
larger than 150. Moreover, the sample size exceeds ten times of terion NNFI > .90 (Bagozzi, 2010). The root-mean-square error of
the number of constructs (Roscoe, 1975). Furthermore, the sample approximation (RMSEA) is .08, fulfilling the criterion RMSEA < .10
size is consistent with recent pertinent works (e.g., 327 in Chua & (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). We do not regard c2 and c2/df as critical
Chua, 2017, 216 in Jeong & Kim, 2017, 291 in Tseng, Cheng, Li, & indices because they are imperfect and sensitive to sample size
Teng, 2017, ). (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998; Marsh, Balla, & McDonald,
1988).
3.2. Sample profile Table 4 reports the correlations among the study constructs.
They are the Pearson correlations computed using the SPSS soft-
Table 2 presents the sample profile. Among the respondents, ware. Most constructs are significantly related, supporting our hy-
78.9% of participants are male, 54.9% are between 21 and 30 years potheses and justifying the need to test them. To test the impact of
old, 72.2% have attended college or university, and 47.4% have a common method variance (CMV) in accordance with Podsakoff,
monthly income exceeding US$400. On average, each participant MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff (2003), we use the construct CMV
spends 2.48 h per week on their favourite social networking site to explain the variance of all the items in an alternative model. The
(SD ¼ 1.17 h) and has used the site for 5.35 years (SD ¼ 2.88 years). alternative model (the model with CMV) has a c2 value of 16,337.53
and 1829 degrees of freedom. The c2 value significantly exceeds
that of the proposed model without CMV (Ddf ¼ 186,
3.3. Measurement
Dc2 ¼ 12,126.32 > c2 [df ¼ 186, a ¼ .05] ¼ 218.82), suggesting that
the impact of CMV is minimal in this study. Such empirical results
The eight items assessing pleasure-satisfaction and interest-
further support the operational independence of the seven con-
excitement are drawn from Lawler et al. (2000). Lawler and Yoon
structs relating to online relationships.
(1996) provide six items to measure rational cohesion, while
Parks and Floyd (1996) offer items to assess relational depth, rela-
4. Results
tional breadth, code change subject, commitment, interdepen-
dence, network convergence, and predictability of partner
4.1. Hypothesis testing
behaviour. We design the items measuring exchange frequency,
and adopt the items measuring openness, conscientiousness,
Table 5 reports the test results by using structural equation
modelling (SEM). Fig. 2 illustrates them in the research model. The
Table 2 R2 of the dependent constructs range from .37 to .70. According to
Summary of the sample profile. Cohen (1992), such R2 values are equivalent to very large effect
Variable Category Number Percentage sizes. All the hypotheses from H1a to H4g are supported by the
results, except for H1c. Specifically, extraversion is not related to
Gender Male 210 78.9
Female 56 21.1
exchange frequency (path coefficient ¼ .05, p > .05), not supporting
Age 18-20 years old 78 29.3 H1c. This may be because individuals with the extraversion trait
21-30 years old 146 54.9 enjoy socialization but prefer interacting with people by talking on
31-58 years old 42 15.8 the phone or using Skype, which satisfies most of their socializing
Education High schools or below 49 18.4
needs. Therefore, using social networking websites is only one of
College or university 192 72.2
Graduate institute 25 9.4 the means to meet their socialization needs.
Monthly income $400 or less 140 52.6 The findings show that openness and agreeableness are posi-
$401-800 35 13.2 tively related to exchange frequency, while conscientiousness and
$801-1200 55 20.7 neuroticism are negatively related to exchange frequency. Ex-
$1201 or above 36 13.5
change frequency leads to pleasure-satisfaction and interest-
116 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123

Table 3
Summary of confirmatory factor analysis.

Construct-Item M SD l a C.I. of a CR AVE

Openness .90 [.89, .92] .93 .76

I am creative. 4.79 1.44 .71
I am intellectual. 4.89 1.37 .99
I am intelligent. 4.89 1.36 .95
I am deep. 4.86 1.38 .81
Conscientiousness .87 [.85, .90] .89 .73
I am disorganized.* 3.41 1.41 .92
I am careless.* 3.66 1.49 .83
I am inefficient.* 3.09 1.52 .80
Extraversion .89 [.87, .91] .90 .71
I am introverted.* 3.94 1.56 .84
I am quiet.* 3.83 1.62 .94
I am reserved.* 4.40 1.40 .68
I am untalkative.* 3.81 1.59 .88
Agreeableness .91 [.89, .92] .92 .74
I am harsh.* 2.93 1.52 .85
I am unkind.* 2.81 1.52 .90
I am rude.* 2.53 1.51 .86
I am inconsiderate.* 2.67 1.50 .85
Neuroticism .83 [.79, .86] .84 .57
I am envious. 3.80 1.54 .78
I am emotional. 3.53 1.52 .76
I am anxious. 3.52 1.47 .74
I am jealous. 3.68 1.55 .74
Exchange Frequency .80 [.76, .84] .84 .63
I often leave a message to him/her publicly. 5.63 2.39 .68
I often read his/her Facebook news. 6.90 1.98 .83
I often respond his/her Facebook news. 6.12 2.13 .87
Pleasure-satisfaction .97 [.96, .98] .97 .90
I feel pleased with interactions with him/her. 7.03 1.73 .97
I feel happy with interactions with him/her. 7.03 1.72 .97
I feel satisfied with interactions with him/her. 6.89 1.71 .95
I feel contented with interactions with him/her. 6.75 1.82 .91
Interest-excitement .95 [.94, .96] .95 .84
I feel interesting with interactions with him/her. 7.05 1.70 .93
I feel exciting with interactions with him/her. 6.59 1.74 .89
I feel enthusiastic with interactions with him/her. 6.73 1.78 .93
I feel motivated with interactions with him/her. 6.60 1.76 .90
Relational Cohesion .94 [.92, .95] .95 .76
The relationship between he/she and me is close. 6.72 2.23 .90
The relationship between he/she and me is cooperative. 6.57 2.05 .90
The relationship between he/she and me is integrating. 5.86 2.48 .80
The relationship between he/she and me is solid. 6.58 2.13 .90
The relationship between he/she and me is cohesive. 6.78 2.03 .89
The relationship between he/she and me is converging. 6.21 2.07 .83
Depth .82 [.78, .86] .86 .66
I usually tell him/her exactly how I feel. 3.63 1.00 .82
I feel I could confide in him/her about almost anything. 3.40 1.04 .86
I have told him/her things about myself that he/she could not get from any other source. 3.43 1.06 .76
Breadth .87 [.84, .89] .89 .73
Our communication covers issues that go well beyond the topic of any one particular newsgroup. 3.53 0.98 .83
Our communication ranges over a wide variety of topics. 3.70 0.97 .88
Once we get started we move easily from one topic to another. 3.77 0.95 .85
Code Change .85 [.81, .88] .87 .69
He/she and I use private signals that communicate in ways outsiders would not understand. 3.22 1.09 .85
He/she and I have special nicknames that we just use with each other. 3.24 1.13 .79
He/she and I share a special language or jargon that sets our relationship apart. 3.24 1.07 .86
Predictability .90 [.88, .92] .93 .80
I can accurately predict how he/she will respond to me in most situations. 3.48 0.97 .89
I can usually tell what he/she is feeling inside. 3.40 0.99 .89
I can accurately predict what his/her attitude is. 3.42 0.97 .91
Commitment .85 [.81, .88] .88 .70
I am very committed to maintaining this relationship. 3.64 0.97 .82
This relationship is a big part of who I am. 3.50 1.04 .85
I would make a great effort to maintain my relationship with him/her. 3.80 0.94 .84
Interdependence .89 [.87, .91] .91 .73
He/she and I depend on each other. 3.29 1.01 .86
There have been times when he/she and I have waited to see what the 3.61 0.93 .80
other thought before making a decision of some kind.
He/she and I have a great deal of effect on each other. 3.42 0.96 .88
He/she and I often influence each other's feelings toward the issues we're dealing with. 3.46 0.98 .86
Network Convergence .81 [.78, .85] .85 .66
He/she and I contact a lot of the same people on the Net. 3.63 1.00 .73
He/she and I have overlapping social circles on the Net. 3.33 1.08 .90
He/she and I have overlapping social circles outside of the Net. 3.59 1.10 .79
 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123 117

Note: M denotes average; SD denotes standard deviation; l denotes indicator loading; CR denotes composite reliability; AVE denotes average variance extracted; C.I. denotes
95% confidence interval; * denotes a reversely coded item.

Table 4
Correlations among study constructs.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1. Openness .87
2. Conscientiousness .25* .85
3. Extraversion -.02 .22* .84
4. Agreeableness .19* .57* .29* .86
5. Neuroticism -.09 .40* .28* .35* .75
6. Exchange Frequency .40* .05 .08 .13* -.08 .79
7. Pleasure-satisfaction .46* .03 .01 .15* -.14* .64* .95
8. Interest-excitement .44* .01 .02 .12 -.09 .63* .92* .92
9. Relational Cohesion .40* .09 .04 .19* -.02 .62* .70* .66* .87
10. Relational Depth .27* .01 .06 .08 -.06 .41* .56* .56* .51* .81
11. Relational Breadth .38* .13* .12 .23* -.12* .51* .62* .60* .55* .68* .85*
12. Code Change .34* .03 .02 .09 -.01 .40* .41* .44* .39* .61* .55* .83
13. Predictability .34* .07 .08 .19* -.01 .44* .52* .49* .52* .55* .65* .60* .89
14. Commitment .38* .09 .06 .20* -.11 .48* .61* .60* .58* .70* .68* .55* .57* .84*
15. Independence .37* .01 .09 .20* -.04 .50* .65* .66* .65* .63* .70* .56* .60* .77* .87
16. Network Convergence .24* .05 .08 .04 -.02 .49* .55* .54* .53* .55* .59* .48* .51* .60* .61* .85
*
Note: denotes p < .05; numbers on the diagonal are the positive square roots of the average variance extracted (AVE) values.

excitement, which further leads to relational cohesion and,

consequently, to various aspects of online relationship. The findings
theorize and incorporate the elements of relational cohesion the-
ory, providing clear and solid ground for advancement of the
theory.

4.2. Additional analysis

The seven aspects of online relationships (i.e., relational depth,

breadth, code change, predictability, commitment, interdepen-
dence and network convergence) may influence relational cohe-
sion. To test this likelihood, we added the seven paths from the
seven aspects to relational cohesion. We found that only code
change was significantly (and positively) related to relational
cohesion (t ¼ 2.60, p < .05), suggesting a potential reciprocal rela-
tionship between code change and relational cohesion. Such a
possibility warrants a future study adopting a longitudinal design. * **
Fig. 2. Hypothesis Testing Results. Note. denotes p < .05; denotes p < .01.
We also examined whether adding the control variables
(gender, age, education and income) would impact the findings. We
found that the addition of the control variables only changed the path coefficients to a minor degree (i.e.,  .01), except for the path
from interest-excitement to relational cohesion (change ¼ .04).
Moreover, all the testing results remained the same after adding the
Table 5 control variables, supporting the robustness of the study findings.
Summary of hypothesis testing results.
We summarize the comparisons in the above to achieve brevity of
Hypothesis HD RD Path this paper.
H1a: Openness–> Exchange Frequency þ þ .51** ANOVA may explain how the control variables impact relational
H1b: Conscientiousness–> Exchange Frequency e e -.18* cohesion, motivating us to use ANOVA to validate the results of all
H1c: Extraversion–> Exchange Frequency þ n.s. .03 the control variables, i.e., gender, age, education, and income. First,
H1d: Agreeableness–> Exchange Frequency þ þ .24** the ANOVA results indicate that gender could predict relational
H1e: Neuroticism–> Exchange Frequency e e -.10*
H2a: Exchange Frequency–> Pleasure-satisfaction þ þ .98**
cohesion, i.e., women form stronger relational cohesion than men
H2b: Exchange Frequency–> Interest-excitement þ þ .98** (F ¼ 5.07, p ¼ .03). Second, the ANOVA results reveal that relational
H3a: Pleasure-satisfaction–> Relational Cohesion þ þ .50** cohesion significantly differs among age groups (F ¼ 1.65, p ¼ .03),
H3b: Interest-excitement–> Relation Cohesion þ þ .33** validating the SEM results. Third, relational cohesion does not
H4a: Relation Cohesion–> Depth þ þ .74**
significantly differ among participants of varied educational levels
H4b: Relation Cohesion–> Breadth þ þ .77**
H4c: Relation Cohesion–> Code Change þ þ .61** (F ¼ 1.86, p ¼ .14), validating our SEM results on the control vari-
H4d: Relation Cohesion–> Predictability þ þ .68** ables. Fourth, relational cohesion does not significantly differ
H4e: Relation Cohesion–> Commitment þ þ .80** among participants of varied incomes (F ¼ 1.17, p ¼ .32), also vali-
H4f: Relation Cohesion–> Interdependence þ þ .84** dating our SEM results on the control variables. In sum, the ANOVA
H4g: Relation Cohesion–> Network Convergence þ þ .73**
results validate all the SEM results on the impacts of the control
Note: * denotes p < .05; ** denotes p < .01; n.s. denotes insignificant; HD denotes variables on relational cohesion, providing stronger analytical
hypothesized direction; RD denotes real direction; Path denotes standardized path
rigour for the results on the control variables.
coefficient.
118 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123
To be brief, the ANOVA results successfully verify that gender
and age have substantial impacts on relational cohesion, while
educational level and income have no significant impacts on rela-
tional cohesion. The results of ANOVA confirm our SEM results,
supporting the usefulness of ANOVA to verify the impact of control
variables in SEM studies.
5. Discussion
5.1. Summary of results and contributions
We are the first to address the fundamental issue of who is likely
to build strong online social networks by using the key components
of two pertinent theories (personality theory and relational cohe-
sion theory) to construct and test the research model. We use the
seven aspects of online relationships (i.e., relational depth, rela-
tional breadth, code change, predictability, commitment, interde-
pendence, and network convergence) to represent the strength of
online social networks. We find that personality traits are positively
related to elements of the relational cohesion process, which are
further positively related to the seven aspects of online relation-
ships, or strong online social networks. Grounded in relational
cohesion theory, we identify the underlying mechanism as
involving frequent exchange and relational cohesion. Specifically,
users who have high levels of openness and agreeableness, or low
levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism are likely to form
strong online relationships, i.e., build strong online social networks.
The findings contribute to the pertinent literature by demon-
strating how user personality traits could impact the formation of
online social relationships, or strong online social networks, while
theorizing and verifying the underlying mechanism.
Our study is unique in advancing relational cohesion theory in
three aspects. First, our study links relational cohesion theory to
personality theory, providing novel knowledge on the sources of
frequent exchanges in relational cohesion theory. Second, our study
clarifies the impact of relational cohesion theory by ascertaining
the impact of relational cohesion on the development of online
relationships. Third, our study provides evidence of the merit of
using relational cohesion theory to explain current issues con-
cerning online social networks. In sum, our study contributes to
relational cohesion theory by linking it to a classic theory (i.e.,
personality theory), showing its capacity to explain the seven as-
pects of online relationships, or the formation of strong online
social networks.
5.2. Theoretical implications
By comparing our research to the most relevant studies, we see
that our paper contributes to the literature in several ways. Spe-
cifically, Teng et al. (2012) found that interdependence is positively
related to continuance intention (i.e., loyalty). Our research adds a
novel approach to their study by clarifying that exchange frequency
probably indirectly impacts interdependence via relational cohe-
sion. Our findings contribute to understanding of how social net-
works fuel individuals’ intentions to establish interdependence.
Moreover, Teng (2015) found that the needs for affiliation, altruism,
and social intelligence likely impact interdependence and network
convergence. Compared with these studies, our research is unique
in exploring how personality traits facilitate behaviour prone to
building online interpersonal relationships. Such exploration is
neither observed in nor covered by the aforementioned studies.
Moreover, such exploration provides practical and important in-
sights for building strong online social networks.
Eşkisu et al. (2017) found that some personality traits are related to
Facebook use. Specifically, they found that those who most frequently
check Facebook have lower levels of conscientiousness and those who
spend more time on Facebook have higher levels of openness. Our
findings support their findings concerning the strong impacts of
conscientiousness and openness in social media use. Moreover, our
findings provide the perspective from relational cohesion theory for
explaining their findings, i.e., those who frequently check or spend
more time on Facebook may engage in exchange with others and thus
build strong online relationships, contributing to the formation of
strong online social networks. Our findings should encourage more
scholars to examine the impact of personality traits on social media
use or use of online games for socializing.
€ nnqvist and Deters (2016) examined the links between the
Lo
number of Facebook friends and personality traits, and found that
extraversion is a strong predictor of the number of Facebook
friends, while openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness may
not significantly predict the number of Facebook friends. Our
findings support theirs in a broader sense that extraversion facili-
tates frequent exchanges, forms relational cohesion, and thus
builds strong online relationships and may also increase the
number of friends. Moreover, online relationships consist of more
than numbers of friends, as Parks and Floyd (1996) examined seven
aspects of online relationships. Such a broad coverage of online
relationship aspects could explain the discrepancy between our
findings and theirs, while also indicating the fruitful direction for
future studies to use our theoretical perspective, i.e., relational
cohesion theory, to examine the impact of personality traits on the
number of Facebook friends.
Błachnio, Przepiorka, Senol-Durak, Durak, and Sherstyuk (2017)
gathered data from multiple countries and found that conscien-
tiousness and extraversion are negatively related to Internet
addiction, which is further positively related to Facebook addiction.
Our findings are consistent with theirs concerning the negative
influence of conscientiousness on social media use. However, we
find that extraversion is positively related to social media use, while
theirs indicate that extraversion may be negatively associated with
social media use. Such discrepancy may be resolved by closely
examining our study focus and theirs. Our study focuses on the
forming of online relationships, while Błachnio et al. (2017) focused
on addictions. In this sense, highly extraverted individuals likely
build strong online relationships, but unlikely form addictions to
social media. Future studies could examine this likelihood by
replicating their study and linking personality traits directly to
social media use or addiction.
Huang, Cheng, Huang, and Teng (2018) examined how person-
ality traits impact interdependence and network convergence, and
eventually fuel continuance among online gamers. Our study is in
concordance with Huang et al., (2018) in examining the impact of
personality traits on interdependence and network convergence.
However, our study is novel in several respects. First, our study is
broader in scope. Specifically, we examine all the seven aspects of
online relationships by Parks and Floyd (1996), while Huang et al.
(2018) only contains two out the seven. Second, our study is
deeper in explaining the impact of personality traits. Specifically,
our study innovates in using exchange frequency, pleasure-
satisfaction, interest-excitement, and relational cohesion to
explain the mechanism underlying the impact of personality traits.
Third, we focus on social media that are primarily pertaining to
social functions. Such a broader scope, a deep look into the
mechanism, and a dedicated focus on social functions make our
study unique, when compared to Huang et al., (2018).
Leong, Jaafar, and Sulaiman (2017) found that the Big Five per-
sonality traits fuel the urge to purchase and eventually contribute
to Facebook commerce (i.e., purchase via using Facebook). Our
study is in line with theirs in examining the impacts of the Big Five
personality traits on users in online social media. However, our
 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123
study is new in examining how personality traits facilitate the
formation of online relationships. Hence, future studies could
examine whether and how online relationships also contribute to
the urge to purchase, providing additional insights to practitioners.
Cui (2017) found that the Big Five personality traits (except for
extraversion) could be used for predicting knowledge sharing
behaviour among IS professionals. Their findings support that the
Big Five personality traits are influential to professionals, in addi-
tion to typical users of online social networks. Our findings suggest
that future works incorporate online relationships among IS pro-
fessionals across borders, i.e., globally located IS professionals. Such
incorporation may better explain why IS professionals share
knowledge with their peers, contributing to the effectiveness of
knowledge management in practice.
Kang and Chung (2017) found that personality traits contribute
to the likelihood of response and approval among online platform
users, while personality homophily does not. Our study is in line of
theirs in the sense that response and approval could be regarded as
some types of exchange in online social networks. Combined with
Kang and Chung (2017), our study could form the platform for
future studies to examine whether and how users’ personality
homophily may speed up the formation of online relationships.
Beyens, Frison, and Eggermont (2016) found that “need to
belong” is positively related to the fear of missing out, which is
further related to Facebook use. The construct “fear of missing out”
is innovative. Our study is in line with Beyens et al. (2016) in
exploring how users' personal needs encourage users’ Facebook
use. However, we adopt a personality typology, i.e., Big Five per-
sonality traits, and examine how a wide spectrum of personal
needs (those from their personality traits) impact the formation of
strong online social networks, as a novel and potential explanation
for Facebook use.
Zhu, Wang, Wang, and Wan (2016) found that a user's friends
having purchased strongly encourage the user to purchase the
same item. One possible mechanism is the “neighbour-press effect”
as proposed by Zhu et al. (2016). Our study contributes by identi-
fying the novel mechanism of interdependence, i.e., a user's friends
affect the user in making decisions.
Lin and Lu (2015) found that number of peers is positively
related to intention to use (mobile) social networking sites. Our
study joins in the efforts examining the issues of peers on social
networking sites. Compared with Lin and Lu (2015), our study is
unique in introducing shared friends, i.e., network convergence.
Recent literature on virtual communities (i.e., Schwarz, Schwarz,
Jung, Pe rez, & Wiley-Patton, 2012) has examined the interesting
issue of why some users merely register in virtual communities, but
others regularly engage in such communities. The literature (i.e.,
Schwarz et al., 2012) has proposed three classes of potential factors,
i.e., technology-related, community-related, and personal-related
classes. Our study joins in the efforts examining the impact of
personal-related factors (i.e., personality traits), but innovative in
using relational cohesion theory to explain how personal-related
factors encourage users to form online relationships and engage
in virtual communities.
Our findings could be generalized to various online communities.
The reason is that various current online communities enable
members to frequently interact (or exchange information and ideas)
with one another, as they can do on social networking sites. Such
generality further supports the contributions of our study.
5.3. Managerial implications
Our findings provide IS managers with strategies for building
social networks of users. First, relational cohesion strongly facili-
tates formation of online relationships. Therefore, managers are
119
encouraged to boost relational cohesion among their users. Man-
agers can facilitate network members' sharing of recent status and
hold community events to bring them closer. For example, Harley-
Davidson Inc. creates the Harley Owners Group (http://www.
harley-davidson.com/content/h-d/en_US/home.html) as its online
community. The website shows an event calendar and details of the
dates, locations, and activities available for regular participation.
Harley riders gather together both online and offline, sharing riding
experiences and forming relational cohesion. In addition, the online
community from Oracle Corporation (https://www.oracle.com/
communities/index.html) offers member blogs on its website, so
people build their own social networks by sharing pictures, videos,
and user experiences with the online community. Managers can
build efficient communication tools or environments to streamline
members’ exchange of thoughts and feelings, forming relational
cohesion among members.
Second, positive emotions (i.e., pleasure-satisfaction and
interest-excitement) positively contribute to relational cohesion.
Hence, IS managers should take action to improve the positive
emotions of their users. IS managers can regularly remind users of
their anniversaries with other users and encourage them to send
wishes, gratitude, or digital gifts. Moreover, IS managers can expose
their users to worldwide, locally, and/or other users' amusing or
astonishing messages. Such exposure should boost users’ positive
emotions, hence creating relational cohesion among them.
Third, exchange frequency contributes to relational cohesion,
indicating the importance of engaging in repeated exchange re-
lationships. Managers are thus encouraged to increase exchange
frequency among users by creating opportunities and providing
methods for arranging activities. For example, using Facebook's
celebrity fan pages and recent local events pages can effectively
introduce the social network of one member to another and
enhance network convergence. Moreover, managers can develop
small games on their current websites or hold events that require
collaboration/cooperation to provide abundant opportunities for
members to engage in exchanges. For example, while using online
social network sites, users expend great efforts on undergoing
challenging missions and earning gaming trophies.
Users' personalities can be reflected by their profile pictures
(Wu, Chang, & Yuan, 2015). Such reflection is useful for managers to
infer users' personality. With the understanding of their users’
personality profiles, IS managers can know their future target users
to enhance interactions among their virtual communities.
Our study finds that openness and agreeableness are positively
related to exchange frequency. Personality theory (i.e., Tett &
Burnett, 2003) indicates that highly open individuals are suitable
for tasks involving job rotation and frequent travels, while highly
agreeable individuals are suitable for social and client-helping
tasks. Hence, IS managers who intend to increase exchange fre-
quency among their users may consider targeting users engaging in
such tasks.
Our study finds that conscientiousness and neuroticism are
negatively related to exchange frequency. Personality theory (i.e.,
Tett & Burnett, 2003) indicates that lowly conscientious individuals
are suitable for artistic and creative tasks, while lowly neurotic in-
dividuals are suitable for jobs handing emergency and high risk.
Hence, IS managers may target users in such occupations so as to
increase exchanges among their users. According to our study,
increased exchange frequency should lead users to experience
positive emotions, form relational cohesion, and build strong online
social networks.
5.4. Research limitations and future research directions
We obtain our findings through data analysis from a single
120 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123
country. This approach is useful for reducing the confounding ef-
fects of culture. However, it also precludes the examination of how
cultural elements impact the findings. We encourage future studies
to replicate our work in other countries and further explore how
cultural elements affect the formation of social networks. Future
studies can take into account Hofstede's cultural elements, i.e.,
power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus
collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity (Hofstede &
McCrae, 2004). Among these elements, individualism versus
collectivism may moderate the impact of exchange frequency on
emotional cohesion. Such likelihood requires further work for
verification or extension.
We adopt a cross-sectional design in our research, which is
appropriate for testing relationships among constructs. However,
this type of design makes it difficult to directly and empirically
examine causality (Guide & Ketokivi, 2015), so we cannot claim
exact causality among the study constructs. We encourage future
studies to replicate our research using an experimental or quali-
tative research design to directly examine the causality of the re-
lationships considered in our work. Future studies should consult
the recent methodological literature (e.g., Guide & Ketokivi, 2015)
to be up-to-date in their design and reporting.
We adopt a self-administered questionnaire to assess person-
ality. This approach is a common practice in the pertinent literature
(Wu et al., 2015). Future studies may collect behavioural patterns of
Facebook users to “provide information about the users’ person-
ality traits” (Ortigosa et al., 2014, p. 57). Such a new approach
warrants further examination of its robustness in assessing user
personality traits.
Our research includes network convergence, which may be
measured by objective data. However, it is difficult to operation-
alize the extent to which a user shares friends with their online
partners, e.g., whether the amount should be measured by the
number or by the percentage of shared friends. Moreover, it is
challenging to obtain valid data by asking a user to provide a
complete list of their friends. Therefore, we refrain from using
objective data to measure network convergence. Nevertheless, we
recommend the use of both subjective and objective data when
possible in future studies.
Our study examines the link between personality (but not
behaviour) and formation of online relationships. Notably, person-
ality is distinct from behaviour. One distinction is that personality is
relatively stable when compared with behaviour. However, users’
real-world behaviours may differ from their behaviours on social
networking sites. Although this issue is not the focus of our study, it
is interesting and warrants further exploration.
One may note that the previous social networking literature has
asked participants to recall “who have the most valued contact”
(Batjargal, 2007, p. 617). Such an approach is inconsistent with our
study. However, asking participants to nominate the most valued
contact may likely induce participants to nominate a person who
has strong network ties with the participants because of the “most
valued contact”. Compared with the literature, our study asks
participants to nominate a friend, reducing such induction.
Recent social media research (e.g., Tseng et al., 2017) found that
Measurement Items:
Construct Item
Openness I am creative.
I am intellectual.
I am intelligent.
I am deep.
social value is the key to encourage users to repeatedly use the
social media, while functional value and self-expressive value are
also important for predict such use. Therefore, future studies could
replicate the present study to include the social value, functional
value, and self-expressive value to see whether our dependent
variables (dimensions of online relationships) could further
contribute to such values. Such examination could extend the
present study to provide further insights for practitioners.
Compared with this study, recent computer and human
behaviour research (i.e., Huang, Huang, Chou, & Teng, 2017) utilized
an alternative personality typology, i.e., the seven temperament
and character dimensions. Such seven dimensions were found
influential through enhanced gaming skill, challenge, interdepen-
dence, telepresence, and flow, eventually contributing to online
gamer loyalty (Huang et al., 2017). Future studies may consider
adopting that typology for examining the impact of personality
traits on building online relationships, further contributing novel
knowledge on the formation of online social networks.
Recent research (i.e., Chen, Pan, & Guo, 2016) has begun to
examine how the interaction between personality and online social
networks (in terms of network centrality) impacts individuals’ self-
disclosure behaviour. This direction is interesting and useful for
extending the present study. Specifically, future studies could
explore how personality traits may interact with network centrality
in impacting the formation of their online relationships.
6. Conclusion
The extant research on the formation of online social networks
is mainly pursued from network-level perspectives. Our research
contributes to the literature by using the relational cohesion and
personality perspectives to explain the underlying mechanism
through which users build online social networks. Specifically, we
find that users in online social networks engage in frequent ex-
changes, generate positive emotions, and forge relational cohesion,
and subsequently form online relationships. Accordingly, IS man-
agers can effectively design information systems to build strong
online social networks of users, exhibiting the contribution of our
work to practitioners. In addition, we are original in finding that
user personality affects the formation of online social networks.
This insight opens a new avenue for future studies to further
explore this topic.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Ministry of Science and Technology,
Taiwan (MOST 103-2410-H-182-011-MY3) and Chang Gung Me-
morial Hospital (BMRP644) for financial support.
Appendix. Study Questionnaire
Instruction: Please nominate the social networking site you
used most frequently and check how you agree with the following
statements (or they correctly describe you) when you use the social
networking site.
Reference source Anchor points
Teng et al. (2011) 1: Very Incorrect
2: Incorrect
3: Somehow Incorrect
4: Neutral
5: Somehow Correct
6: Correct
7: Very Correct
 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123 121

(continued )

Construct Item Reference source Anchor points

Conscientiousness I am disorganized.* Teng et al. (2011) 1: Very Incorrect

I am careless.* 2: Incorrect
I am inefficient.* 3: Somehow Incorrect
4: Neutral
5: Somehow Correct
6: Correct
7: Very Correct
Extraversion I am introverted.* Teng et al. (2011) 1: Very Incorrect
I am quiet.* 2: Incorrect
I am reserved.* 3: Somehow Incorrect
I am untalkative.* 4: Neutral
5: Somehow Correct
6: Correct
7: Very Correct
Agreeableness I am harsh.* Teng et al. (2011) 1: Very Incorrect
I am unkind.* 2: Incorrect
I am rude.* 3: Somehow Incorrect
I am inconsiderate.* 4: Neutral
5: Somehow Correct
6: Correct
7: Very Correct
Neuroticism I am envious. Teng et al. (2011) 1: Very Incorrect
I am emotional. 2: Incorrect
I am anxious. 3: Somehow Incorrect
I am jealous. 4: Neutral
5: Somehow Correct
6: Correct
7: Very Correct
Exchange Frequency I often (never) leave a message to him/her publicly. Proposed by the present study 1e9, Semantic differential scale*
I often (never) read his/her Facebook news.
I often (never) respond his/her Facebook news.
Pleasure-satisfaction I feel pleased (displeased) with interactions with him/her. Lawler et al. (2000) 1e9, Semantic differential scale
I feel happy (unhappy) with interactions with him/her.
I feel satisfied (not satisfied) with interactions with him/her.
I feel contented (discontented) with interactions with him/her.
Interest-excitement I feel interesting (not interesting) with interactions with him/her. Lawler et al. (2000) 1e9, Semantic differential scale
I feel exciting (boring) with interactions with him/her.
I feel enthusiastic (unenthusiastic) with interactions with him/her.
I feel motivated (unmotivated) with interactions with him/her.
Relational Cohesion The relationship between he/she and me is close (distant). Lawler and Yoon (1996) 1e9, Semantic differential scale
The relationship between he/she and me is cooperative
(conflictual).
The relationship between he/she and me is integrating
(fragmenting).
The relationship between he/she and me is solid (fragile).
The relationship between he/she and me is cohesive (diversive).
The relationship between he/she and me is converging (diverging).
Depth I usually tell him/her exactly how I feel. Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
I feel I could confide in him/her about almost anything. 2: Disagreeable
I have told him/her things about myself that he/she could not get 3: Neutral
from any other source. 4: Agreeable
5: Very Agreeable
Breadth Our communication covers issues that go well beyond the topic of Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
any one particular newsgroup. 2: Disagreeable
Our communication ranges over a wide variety of topics. 3: Neutral
Once we get started we move easily from one topic to another. 4: Agreeable
5: Very Agreeable
Code Change He/she and I use private signals that communicate in ways outsiders Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
would not understand. 2: Disagreeable
He/she and I have special nicknames that we just use with each 3: Neutral
other. 4: Agreeable
He/she and I share a special language or jargon that sets our 5: Very Agreeable
relationship apart.
Predictability I can accurately predict how he/she will respond to me in most Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
situations. 2: Disagreeable
I can usually tell what he/she is feeling inside. 3: Neutral
I can accurately predict what his/her attitude is. 4: Agreeable
5: Very Agreeable
Commitment I am very committed to maintaining this relationship. Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
This relationship is a big part of who I am. 2: Disagreeable
I would make a great effort to maintain my relationship with him/ 3: Neutral
her. 4: Agreeable
5: Very Agreeable
(continued on next page)
122 H.-C. Huang et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 82 (2018) 111e123

(continued )

Construct Item Reference source Anchor points

Interdependence He/she and I depend on each other. Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
There have been times when he/she and I have waited to see what 2: Disagreeable
the other thought before making a decision of some kind. 3: Neutral
He/she and I have a great deal of effect on each other. 4: Agreeable
He/she and I often influence each other's feelings toward the issues 5: Very Agreeable
we're dealing with.
Network Convergence He/she and I contact a lot of the same people on the Net. Parks and Floyd (1996) 1: Very disagreeable
He/she and I have overlapping social circles on the Net. 2: Disagreeable
He/she and I have overlapping social circles outside of the Net. 3: Neutral
4: Agreeable
5: Very Agreeable

Note. * a semantic differential scale is designed to have two extremes and have numbers for participants to choose. For example, 1 represents “never” and 9 represents “often”.

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