Antecedents of Information Seeking and Sharing on Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Study of Facebook Users

Abstract

This study proposes an integrated research model to validate the antecedents of Facebook users’ information-seeking and information-sharing behaviors. We conducted an online survey to investigate the effects of affective-/cognitive-based trust on social capital, which subsequently influences information seeking and information sharing from the perspective of uses and gratifications theory. This study collected 665 valid samples and indicates that cognitive-/affective-based trust significantly and positively influences social capital (e.g., structural, cognitive, and relational), which has a significant and positive effect on information seeking and sharing. This study contributes to the research on uses and gratifications theory in three ways. First, it indicates that trust influences social capital (structural, cognitive, and relational). Second, it confirms the effect of social capital on information seeking and sharing. Third, it validates the mediating roles of social capital in the relationship between affective-/cognitive-based trust and information seeking and sharing.