Journal of Global Fashion Marketing

Bridging Fashion and Marketing

ISSN: 2093-2685 (Print) 2325-4483 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rgfm20

What drives customers to use retailers’ Facebook

pages? Predicting consumers’ motivations and
continuance usage intention

Siming Gu & Hyejeong Kim

To cite this article: Siming Gu & Hyejeong Kim (2016) What drives customers to use retailers’
Facebook pages? Predicting consumers’ motivations and continuance usage intention, Journal of
Global Fashion Marketing, 7:1, 1-14, DOI: 10.1080/20932685.2015.1105111

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2015.1105111

Published online: 12 Jan 2016.

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Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 2016
VOL. 7, NO. 1, 1–14
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2015.1105111

What drives customers to use retailers’ Facebook pages?

Predicting consumers’ motivations and continuance usage
intention
Siming Gua and Hyejeong Kimb
a
Department of Consumer and Design Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn AL, United States; bDepartment of
Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Long Beach CA, United States

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The emergence of social networking sites (SNSs) has changed Received 23 May 2015
business–consumer communication and become one of the major Revised 20 July 2015
marketing tools in current retailing, including fashion retailing. Accepted 15 September
Implementing SNSs in their businesses is no longer an option for 2015
retailers but a requirement. This study examined factors related KEYWORDS
to cognitive, social integrative, and hedonic benefits influencing Social Network Sites;
consumers’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, which in turn predict Facebook; extrinsic
their intent to continue to use retailers’ Facebook pages. Using a web- motivation; intrinsic
based survey and college students as a sample, this study collected motivation; retailing
404 usable responses. This study revealed that information quality and
关键词
sense of community influenced perceived usefulness and enjoyment. 社交网站; 脸书; 外在动
Vividness of information and entertainment affected only perceived 机; 内在动机; 零售业
enjoyment while interactivity influenced only perceived usefulness.
The antecedents of consumer’s motivations indirectly influenced
intent to continue to use retailers’ Facebook pages via perceived
usefulness and/or perceived enjoyment. The findings of this study
provide retailers with valuable insights about what drives customers
to use their Facebook pages and how to design their Facebook pages
to attract customers and expand their fan base. This study fills a gap
in the literature by integrating external factors to predict customers’
intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for using retailers’ Facebook pages.

是什么驱动客户使用零售商的Facebook页面?预测消
费者的动机和持续使用意图
社交网站(SNSs)的出现改变了商家与消费者的沟通方式,并成为当
前零售业包括时装零售业的主要营销手段之一。因此构建sns网站
对零售商的商业活动来说不再是一个选择,而是必要的。Facebook
为企业提供了各种福利。例如,Facebook页面为客户提供专属折
扣、促销信息和作为社区的一部分参与到品牌当中。Facebook
页面还帮助企业了解顾客对产品或服务的兴趣，扩大客户群，增
加销售。尽管存在社交网站如Facebook在零售和营销成为普遍
的现象，而且有潜力提供巨大商机成为事实,但对影响消费者使
用零售商Facebook页面动机和继续使用这些网站的意图的因素

CORRESPONDENCE TO  Hyejeong Kim  Hyejeong.kim@csulb.edu 

© 2016 Korean Scholars of Marketing Science
2    S. GU AND H. KIM

所知甚少。因此本研究的目的是考察影响消费者的外在和内在动
机的因素(信息的质量、信息的生动性，交互性，社群意识和娱
乐性)，进而预测消费者继续使用零售商Facebook页面的意图。
动机理论(Deci, 1972) 基于刺激行动的不同的原因或目标定义了
两种类型的动机：内在和外在动机。研究人员认为,感知有用性
是外在动机，享受是内在动机(Davis, Bagozzi, &Warshaw, 1992;
Lin & Lu, 2011)。基于先前的研究结果(Kang & Lee, 2010; Lin &
Lu, 2011; Sledgianowski & Kulviwat, 2009)，我们提出感知有用
性和享受与消费者使用零售商Facebook页面的意图有关(H1a / b)
。Nambisan and Baron (2007) 定义了利益的类型(认知性、社会
交互性、和享乐性利益),个人可能从他们在虚拟环境的交流中获
得利益，这可能会影响他们未来的参与。基于他们的研究方法，
本研究提出激励消费者使用零售商的Facebook页面五个因素(信
息的质量、信息的生动性，互动性，社群意识和娱乐性)，并且
假设这些因素会影响消费者在零售商的Facebook页面的感知有
用性和享受 (H2a / b ~ H6a / b)。
本研究在网上收集数据。样本来自一个美国南部大学，共有来自
39门课程、20个不同专业的2776名学生参与调查。受访者根据
他们访问零售商Facebook的经验回答调查问题。利用筛选问题，
排除没有访问过零售商Facebook页面的受访者。共有404个可用
的数据被包含在数据分析中。所有问卷问项均借用或修改自先前
的研究以及为本研究开发。受访者的平均年龄是22岁，约75%的
受访者是女性,86%是白种美国人,86%是本科生。约54.4%受访
者表示,他们的回应是基于时装零售商的Facebook页面(服装专卖
店、当地精品店和百货商店)。
首先, 通过结构方程模型来测试量表质量。显示χ2最佳模型的拟合
优度统计量有效(χ2=1237.99, df=467, p=.00)，该模型确定显示适
度的系数(RMSEA=.064; CFI=.99; NFI=.98)。此外量表的阿尔法
可靠性系数(Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient )，构造可靠性
系数(construct reliability coefficient )，每个测量的方差(variance
of each measure )，和SMC(squared multiple correlation )确认了
量表的信度和效度。潜在的模型通过验证假设关系进行测试(H1a
/ b ~ H6a / b)。χ2最佳模型的拟合优度统计量有效(χ2=1270.40,
df=473, p  =  .00)。模型确定显示适度的系数(RMSEA=.065;
CFI=.99; NFI=.98)。结果表明，感知有用性和享受与继续使用相
关零售商的Facebook页面的意图是显著相关的，享受比感知有用
性更能预示消费者的使用意图。信息的质量、交互性和社群意识
显著影响感知有用性，而信息的生动性和娱乐性无显著影响。信
息的质量，信息的生动性，社群意识，娱乐性影响感知的乐趣,而
交互性不直接相关。对效应分析的分解发现一些独立变量通过感
知有用性和/或享受对继续使用零售商Facebook页面有间接影响。
理论上,本研究通过综合有关认知、社会整合、享乐利益的因素和
由动机理论提出的构成(感知有用性,感知享乐和行为意向)，提出
了消费者使用零售商sns网站的验证模型。具体而言通过合并没
有再先前的SNSs研究中未被验证过的外部因素-信息的质量，信
息的生动性，交互性,社群意识和娱乐性，本研究填补了相关文献
中的空白。此外，这项研究的结果为使用Facebook作为营销工具
的零售商提供有价值的启发，以便更好地理解消费者使用系统的
动机，通过这个渠道更好的与客户沟通，扩大他们的粉丝基础。
研究结果的局限性在于使用特定的消费者群体(例如：大学生)。

1. Introduction
Social media is becoming one of the most critical components of the communication mix and
marketing tools in retailing, as it has a significant impact on the consumer decision-making
 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing   3

process (Park & Kang, 2013). SNSs (Social Networking Sites) have enhanced consumers’
ability to access information and helped them discover new products to buy. According to a
report (Smith, 2014), Facebook influences the apparel purchase behavior of more than 30%
of American women. SNSs have also allowed consumers to voice and distribute their opin-
ions about brands, products, and services by generating information on SNSs. Marketers
have eagerly adopted social media as marketing tools in order to acquire insights about
customers, to communicate their marketing strategies, and to build an individual-based
relationship with their customers, In fact, most of the top 250 Internet retailers use SNSs
such as Facebook (97%) or Twitter (96%) (Erickson, 2012).
Companies use Facebook pages for various purposes. For instance, Victoria’s Secret, the
lingerie retailer that has the most Facebook followers, uses its Facebook page to understand
its customers’ interests in products, engage them in the brand or specific product, and pro-
vide its users with exclusive discounts and promotional information to encourage immediate
action. Companies also create events in which customers participate to find different ways
of using their companies’ products, to create their own designs for existing product lines,
or to be involved in the brand as a part of the community. More importantly, companies
use SNSs to expand their customer base and to increase sales, using their Facebook pages
to direct traffic to their online stores.
Despite the fact that SNSs, such as Facebook, are a prevalent phenomenon in retail-
ing and marketing and have the potential to offer considerable business opportunities, the
mechanisms behind consumers’ usages of retailers’ SNSs have not been widely investigated.
Researchers have examined why people use SNSs and have identified a number of factors
such as the antecedents of consumers’ motivations or behavioral intentions in the context of
general SNSs (used for personal purposes) (Kim, 2011; Kwon & Wen, 2010; Sledgianowski &
Kulviwat, 2009). However, little is known about the factors influencing consumers’ motiva-
tions for the usage of retailers’ SNSs and their intent to continue to use those sites. Therefore,
the purpose of this study was to investigate the predictors of extrinsic and intrinsic moti-
vations for consumers’ use of retailers’ Facebook pages and their intent to continue to use
the pages.

2.  Literature review and hypothesis development

2.1.  Consumer motivations influencing intent to continue to use retailers'
Facebook pages
According to the motivation theory (Deci, 1972), motivation is an impetus or inspira-
tion for individuals to act, where the orientation of the motivation is associated with the
underlying attitudes and goals that give rise to an action. Researchers differentiate two
types of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic – based on the different reasons or goals that
stimulate an action. Intrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity because
it is inherently interesting, fun, or enjoyable, and exists not only within individuals but
also between individuals and activities (e.g., social interactions) (Ryan & Deci, 2000). On
the other hand, extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity because it is
considered to be involved in accomplishing valued outcomes that are separate from the
activity itself, such as improved job performance or rewards (Mitchell & Biglan, 1971).
Consumers’ online behavior, such as browsing, searching, interacting, and entertainment,
4    S. GU AND H. KIM

is found to be extrinsic (i.e., goal-oriented) or intrinsic (experiential) (Cotte, Chowdhury,

Ratneshwar, & Ricci, 2006).
Researchers suggest that perceived usefulness is an example of extrinsic motivation, while
enjoyment is an example of intrinsic motivation (e.g., Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992; Lin
& Lu, 2011). Perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which an individual feels that
using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance, whereas perceived
enjoyment refers to the degree to which an individual perceives that the activity of using
the system is enjoyable in its own right, apart from any performance outcomes that may
be expected (Davis et al., 1992). In the context of SNS, researchers found that perceived
enjoyment (or playfulness) and usefulness were significantly associated with intent to use the
personal SNSs (Kang & Lee, 2010; Lin & Lu, 2011; Sledgianowski & Kulviwat, 2009). Thus,
this study proposes that perceived usefulness and enjoyment influence consumer intent
to continue to use retailers’ Facebook pages (i.e., intent to recommend their friends to use
retailers’ Facebook pages, to continue using those sites, and to share those sites with others).
H1a/b: Perceived usefulness (H1a) and enjoyment (H1b) positively predict consumer intent
to continue to use retailers’ Facebook pages.

2.2.  Antecedents of perceived usefulness and enjoyment

Based on Katz et al.’s (1974) “uses and gratifications” approach, which discusses the general
benefits that people can derive from media use, Nambisan and Baron (2007) identified types
of benefits that individuals may obtain from their interactions in virtual environments (i.e.,
online) and that may influence their future participation in this environment. The benefits
include: (1) cognitive benefits (i.e., acquiring information and increasing the understand-
ing of the environment), (2) social integrative benefits (i.e., strengthening the consumers’
ties with relevant others), and (3) hedonic benefits (i.e., gaining aesthetic experiences).
Researchers found that consumers are motivated to engage in online communities (SNSs)
as they find benefits such as useful information, social connections, and entertainment
(Krasnova, Spiekermann, Koroleva, & Hildebran, 2010). Ng (2014) also found that benefits
such as interaction with others and enjoyment (i.e., social integrative and hedonic benefits)
motivate consumers to participate in commercial activities on Facebook. Therefore, to
investigate the antecedents of consumer motivations for using retailers’ Facebook pages,
this study examines factors related to cognitive benefits (information quality, vividness
of information, and interactivity), social integrative benefits (sense of community), and
hedonic benefits (entertainment).
Information quality is one of the most important criteria to evaluate websites because
the ultimate goal of these websites is to provide target users with information needed to
complete their tasks (Bhatti, Bouch, & Kuchinsky, 2000). In online shopping, information
quality refers to the judgment and evaluation that consumers develop in relation to the
product/service quality (Zeithaml, 1988) and includes multiple dimensions such as accuracy
(e.g., Liu & Arnett, 2000; Miller, 1996), relevancy (Liu & Arnett, 2000; Salaün & Flores,
2001), completeness and format (Liu & Arnett, 2000; Miller, 1996), and timeliness (Salaün
& Flores, 2001). In this study, information quality refers to consumers’ overall judgment
and evaluation of the retailers’ Facebook pages as assessed by the degree of relevance and
timeliness of their information. Lin and Lu (2000) found a positive association between
 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing   5

information quality (accuracy, relevance, and completeness) and perceived usefulness using
an electronic newspaper site. Ahn, Ryu, and Han (2007) suggested that quality information
is likely to provide users with an enjoyable experience and lead to exploration in the online
retailing system. Thus, we propose:
H2a/b: Information quality positively predicts perceived usefulness (H2a) and enjoyment
(H2b) of retailers’ Facebook pages.
Vividness is defined as “the representational richness of a mediated environment, as
defined by its formal features; that is, the way in which an environment presents informa-
tion to the senses” (Steuer, 1992, p. 81). Multimedia such as video, audio, and animation
were found to improve the vividness of the website (Coyle & Thorson, 2001). Because vivid
information is more emotionally interesting and conveys more information cues, it is more
likely to be stored in one’s memory, remaining “in-thought” (p. 55) for a longer time, and
therefore is more likely to be available when the person tries to retrieve this information
(Nisbett & Ross, 1980). Jiang and Benbasat (2007) found that different levels of information
vividness (i.e., static images vs. videos) had significant effects on perceived diagnosticity (i.e.,
the ability of a website to convey relevant product information) and shopping enjoyment
in a website product presentation. Vivid presentations can depict products in a way that
is closer to experiencing the actual product and can communicate more information cues
than a less vivid product presentation (Lim, Benbasat, & Ward, 2000). Jiang and Benbasat
(2007) also found that vivid information involves more sensory channels and therefore is
more enjoyable. Thus, we suggest:
H3a/b: Vividness of information positively predicts perceived usefulness (H3a) and enjoyment
(H3b) of retailers’ Facebook pages.
In this study, interactivity is defined as direct communication among participants in
which messages in a sequence are related to each other without the constraints of time and
distance (Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1997). Interactivity is one of the important characteristics
that shopping websites need to use to attract and retain customers (Kim, Shaw, & Schneider,
2003) and one of the ways to facilitate individuals’ indirect experiences in online environ-
ments (Coyle & Thorson, 2001; Steuer, 1992). Interactivity on a website offers utilitarian
benefits such as saving time or effort by providing consumers with a convenient way to
search product information (Klein, 1998). Teo et al. (2003) found that interactivity had a
positive impact on users’ effectiveness (i.e., a website’s ability to provide users with relevant
information to facilitate their decision) and efficiency (i.e., how easy it was to search for
information and how accessible product information was) in using shopping websites.
In addition, Huang (2012) found that interactivity (reciprocal communication) positively
influenced affective involvement (i.e., interest, excitement, and attractiveness) in Facebook.
Accordingly, we propose:
H4a/b: Interactivity positively predicts perceived usefulness (H4a) and enjoyment (H4b) of
retailers’ Facebook pages.
Social group or community influences affect not only individuals’ beliefs, but also their
behavior (Turner, 1982). A sense of community refers to “a feeling that members have of
belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared
faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together” (McMillan
& Chavis, 1986, p. 4). Social influences are major factors in determining an individual’s
6    S. GU AND H. KIM

participation in virtual communities (Dholakia, Bagozzi, & Pearo, 2004). Kwon and Wen
(2010) found that social identity (i.e., perceived belongingness to certain social groups)
motivates people to interact socially with others and positively affects cognitive involvement
(i.e., sense of importance and relevance) and affective involvement (i.e., interest, excitement,
and attractiveness) with the virtual goods of Facebook (Huang, 2012). Individuals with
a strong sense of community are likely to interact with others in the virtual community,
communicating and sharing information with other members (Hsu, Liu, & Lee, 2010).
Communicating and sharing information with other members who have similar interests
and building group prototypes (i.e., what the group likes or considers to be good) allow
individuals to reduce uncertainty in making product-related decisions because the shared
information or group prototypes are considered as a reliable source of information (Hogg,
2000). Kwon and Wen (2010) found that social identity was a determinant of perceived
usefulness in Korean commercial SNS services. Koh and Kim (2003) found that a sense of
virtual community (i.e., feelings of belonging and members’ influence on other members)
is related to enjoyment or playfulness as experienced in the connection with the virtual
community’s content and interactions with other members. Accordingly, we hypothesize:
H5a/b: Sense of community positively predicts perceived usefulness (H5a) and enjoyment
(H5b) of retailers’ Facebook pages.
Consumers visit websites not only for information, but also for entertainment (Huang,
2003). According to Loiacono, Watson, and Goodhue (2007), entertainment reflects hedonic
aspects of the website and is measured by such dimensions as visual appeal, innovativeness,
and emotional appeal. Researchers have found that a positive website interface or enter-
taining components of a website are somewhat associated with consumers’ perceptions
about information provided by the website. Klein (1998) found that when information was
presented in an innovative format, people tended to perceive it as quality information. Kim
and Niehm (2009) found that entertainment (innovativeness, creativeness, and emotional
appeal) positively influenced consumers’ perceptions of information quality in online shop-
ping. In addition, van der Heijden (2004) found that the visual attractiveness of a website
positively affected perceived usefulness and enjoyment of the website. Thus, we suggest:
H6a/b: Entertainment positively predicts perceived usefulness (H6a) and enjoyment (H6b)
of retailers’ Facebook pages.

3.  Research methods

3.1.  Sample, procedure, and measurement development
To collect data, this study utilized a web-based survey and a convenience sample drawn
from a Southern university in the US. The survey link was distributed to 2,776 students
enrolled in 39 courses in 20 different majors on campus. College students were consid-
ered an appropriate sample for this study because a significant number of Facebook users
(47.2%) are between 18 and 34 years old (Statista, 2015). Before answering the questions,
respondents were asked to recall their experience with a retailer’s Facebook page that they
had recently visited and answer the questions based on their experience with the specific
retailer’s Facebook page. Using a screening question, responses from respondents who had
not visited retailers’ Facebook pages were excluded from the final data because respondents
 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing   7

without such experience may not be able to provide meaningful responses. A total of 404
usable data were collected. The mean age of the respondents was 22 years. About 75% of
respondents were female, 86% were Caucasian Americans, and 92.6% were undergraduate
students with a variety of majors. About 54.4% respondents1 reported that their responses
are based on fashion retailers’ (apparel specialty stores, local boutiques, and department
stores) Facebook pages and 21.4% reported that they very frequently, frequently, or some-
what frequently visit the retailer’s Facebook that they chose for their response. All measures
used a 7-point scale with end points of very strongly disagree (1) and very strongly agree
(7). The source of each measure is presented in Table 1.

4.  Data analysis and results

A measurement model was tested through structural equation modeling using maximum
likelihood estimation with covariance matrix as the input. Although the χ2 goodness-of-fit
statistic for the best-fit model was significant (χ2 = 1237.99, df = 467, p = .00), the model
was determined to show fair fit based on the estimate of RMSEA (.064) (Browne & Cudeck,
1992) and good fit based on other fit indices such as CFI (.99) and NFI (.98) (Hu & Bentler,
1999). Table 1 shows the standardized factor loadings for each item and Cronbach’s alpha
reliability coefficient, construct reliability coefficient, and variance of each measure. The
factor loading of each item on its targeted variable was significant at p < .05. The squared
multiple correlation (SMC) of each item was higher than .50 and variance of each dimen-
sion was higher than .50. Therefore, each measure was considered to display convergent
validity (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988; Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Discriminant validity among
the eight dimensions was assessed by comparing the fit of correlated two-factor models
with that of one-factor models for each possible pair of dimensions (Anderson & Gerbing,
1988). The results of chi-square difference test for each pair demonstrated discrimination
among the dimensions.
The latent model was tested to examine the hypothesized relationships (H1a/b~H6a/b).
The χ2 goodness-of-fit statistic for the best-fit model was significant (χ2 = 1270.40, df = 473,
p = .00). The model showed fair fit based on the estimates of RMSEA (.065) and good fit
based on CFI (.99) and NFI (.98). The results of the latent model are presented in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 1, all the hypotheses, except H3a, H4b, and H6a, were supported.
Perceived enjoyment (β* = .46) was a stronger predictor of intent to continue to use com-
pared to perceived usefulness (β* = .34). Information quality (γ* = .25) and interactivity
(γ* = .23) were the two most significant predictors of perceived usefulness among the
independent variables. Sense of community was found to be the strongest predictor of per-
ceived enjoyment (γ* = .45), followed by vividness of information (γ* = .31). The SMC for
perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and intent to continue to use retailers’ Facebook
pages were .61, .67, and .52, respectively. To better understand the results, a decomposition
of effects analysis was performed. The results showed that information quality (t = 4.79)
and sense of community indirectly influenced intent to continue to use the Facebook site
through perceived usefulness and enjoyment, whereas vividness of information (t = 3.27)
and entertainment (t = 2.40) indirectly affected intent to continue to use the Facebook pages
through perceived enjoyment.
8    S. GU AND H. KIM

Table 1. Item statistics and measurement model results.

Standardized Construct Varianceb
factor loading reliabilitya
Information quality (α = .95) (Cao, Zhang, & Seydel, 2005) .95 .77
The retailer’s Facebook is informative .87
The retailer’s Facebook provides updated information .89
The retailer’s Facebook provides high-quality information .87
The retailer’s Facebook provides timely information .88
The information on the retailer’s Facebook is relevant to me .79
The retailer’s Facebook provides relevant information .92
Vividness of information (α = .76) (Jiang & Benbasat, 2007) .78 .64
The information presentation on the retailer’s Facebook is .79
lively (e.g., interesting pictures and graphics)
The information presentation on the retailer’s Facebook is .81
exciting to sense (e.g., sight or hearing)
Interactivity (α = .91) (Huang, 2012; Lee & Cho, 2011) .91 .66
The retailer’s Facebook facilitates two-way communication .82
among users
The retailer’s Facebook gives me the opportunity to talk with .80
other users
Using the retailer’s Facebook is effective in gathering others’ .83
feedback about the retailer’s products and services
The retailer’s Facebook makes me feel like the retailer wants to .83
listen to its members
The retailer’s Facebook enables conversation among members .80
Sense of community (α = .92) (Hsu et al., 2010; Koh & Kim, 2003; .92 .66
Wade, Cameron, Morgan, & Williams, 2011)
I feel as if I belong to the retailer’s Facebook community .85
I feel as if the retailer’s Facebook members are my close friends .76
I like the retailer’s Facebook community members .81
I feel connected to the retailer’s Facebook and its members .92
The retailer’s Facebook members exhibit a spirit of community .82
I care about the opinions of other members of the retailer’s .74
Facebook
Entertainment (α = .94) (Loiacono et al., 2007) .94 .81
The retailer’s Facebook is innovative .92
The retailer’s Facebook is creative .91
The retailer’s Facebook has innovative features .87
The retailer’s Facebook is entertaining* .86
Perceived usefulness (α = .90) (Kwon & Wen, 2010) .90 .74
Using the retailer’s Facebook enables me to acquire more .81
information
Using the retailer’s Facebook enables me to acquire .87
information more effectively
Overall, I find the retailer’s Facebook to be useful .90
Perceived enjoyment (α = .95) (Lin & Lu, 2011) .96 .87
Using the retailer’s Facebook provides me with a lot of enjoy- .93
ment
I enjoy using the retailer’s Facebook .94
I have fun using the retailer’s Facebook .95
I have fun when interacting with the retailer’s Facebook .90
Intent to continue to use retailers’ Facebook pages (α = .95) (Kim, .95 .86
Park, & Oh, 2008)
I intend to recommend my friends to use the retailer’s Face- .96
book in the future
I intend to continue using the retailer’s Facebook in the future .87
I intend to share the retailer’s Facebook with other friends* .96
a
ρ = (∑λ)2/ (∑λ)2 + ∑ε, as ε = 1-SMC (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
b
ρ = ∑λ2/ ∑λ2 + ∑ε, as ε = 1-SMC (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
*Item developed for this study.
 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing   9

Information
quality .25**
.13**
Vividness of Perceived
information usefulness .34**
.31**
Intent to continue to
.23** use retailer’s
Interactivity Facebook pages

.18**
Sense of Perceived .46**
community enjoyment
.45***
.18**
Entertainment

Figure 1. A theoretical model: latent model results for hypotheses.

5.  Discussion and conclusions

Consistent with previous literature (e.g., Sledgianowski & Kulviwat, 2009), this study con-
firmed that perceived usefulness and enjoyment predict consumers’ intent to continue to
use retailers’ Facebook pages and that perceived enjoyment has better predictive power than
perceived usefulness in hedonic-oriented information platforms such as Facebook. While
the vividness of information and entertainment significantly influenced perceived enjoy-
ment, these variables did not significantly affect perceived usefulness. Although presenting
information using interesting pictures and graphics or innovative and creative formats may
stimulate consumers’ perception of enjoyment, it may not necessarily influence their per-
ception of usefulness of the pages in acquiring information. While the relationship between
interactivity and perceived usefulness was significant, the relationship between interactivity
and perceived enjoyment was insignificant. Retailers’ Facebook pages allow consumers to
make comments on postings and read those of other members, but do not offer them instant
reciprocal communication as can be found with the Facebook chat function. Consumers
may find that other members’ comments are useful because those comments improve their
effectiveness in obtaining information, but they may not perceive those comments to be
enjoyable or fun due to the lack of real-time conversation.

5.1.  Theoretical implications

Although developing a theoretical framework or testing the validity of motivation theory
was not the main goal of this study, the study extended the applicability of motivation theory
to the context of SNSs. Particularly, by incorporating additional external factors of informa-
tion quality, vividness of information, interactivity, sense of community, and entertainment,
which had not previously been tested in the context of SNSs, this study filled a gap in the
literature. According to the theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975),
subjective norms (i.e., peer influences) seem to predict individuals’ behavioral intention.
Although Davis et al. (1989) omitted the variable from their technology acceptance model
because they found that subjective norms had no significant influence on the intent to use
10    S. GU AND H. KIM

technology over and above perceived usefulness and enjoyment, they suggested that the
results might be due to the specific applications used in the study (word processing) and
that additional research should be done to “investigate the conditions and mechanisms gov-
erning the impact of social influences on usage behavior” (p. 999). By finding a significant
relationship between sense of community and consumers’ perceptions of usefulness and
enjoyment, this study confirmed that social influence, such as sense of community, is an
important external factor predicting consumers’ motivations for using retailers’ Facebook
pages, which in turn can influence intent to continue to use the system. It is also worth
noting that sense of community was the most powerful predictor of perceived enjoyment,
emphasizing the importance of social influence on consumer motivations in the application
of the motivation theory to the context of SNSs.

5.2.  Managerial implications

The findings of this study provide retailers who use Facebook as a marketing tool with
valuable implications to better understand consumer motivations to use the system and
to better communicate with their customers through this channel. First, this study found
that the intrinsic components (enjoyment) of Facebook pages might be more powerful than
extrinsic (usefulness) in attracting and retaining members for their Facebook pages. Kim,
Lee, and Kim (2011) identified consumer segments based on their shopping orientations
and found that hedonic shoppers were the biggest consumer group, followed by utilitarian
shoppers. These findings support the importance of hedonic value in creating a retail com-
munication mix including SNSs. The significant relationships between the external factors
(i.e., information quality, vividness of information, interactivity, sense of community, and
entertainment) and consumer motivations further provide retailers with useful information
about how they could improve their Facebook pages to influence consumer perception of
usefulness and enjoyment in using the system.
In this study, information quality was related to consumers’ perceived usefulness and
enjoyment in using retailers’ Facebook pages. This finding indicates that retailers may be
able to improve the effectiveness of consumers in acquiring information within the Facebook
community and can satisfy customers’ hedonic needs by providing them updated, timely,
and relevant information on their Facebook pages. Victoria’s Secret updates its Facebook
on a daily basis with one or two postings related to new products or special promotions.
Specifically, by frequently updating information about special promotions within a limited
time (i.e., perishability) and availability, retailers will be able to promote consumer purchase
decisions and enhance their perception of the anticipated gains of buying items (Byun &
Sternquist, 2012).
Teuber (2012) suggests that SNSs are the ideal system for companies to connect with
their customers because they create a “psychological urge” among users to talk and share
with others who have similar desires and interests. This study found that consumers’ per-
ceived usefulness of the retailer’s Facebook increased as they believed that the Facebook
page facilitates two-way communication among members, giving them an opportunity to
talk with other members and enabling them to gather others’ feedback about the retailer’s
products and services. This finding provides businesses with insights about the importance
of postings that provide customers with an opportunity to communicate with other mem-
bers and encourage them to exchange their ideas.
 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing   11

This study revealed that vividness of information was the second most important predic-
tor after sense of community in predicting perceived enjoyment of using retailers’ Facebook
pages. Appiah (2006) suggested that online users tend to favor websites with more vivid
information (i.e., audio/video testimonials of the product) compared to less vivid infor-
mation (i.e., text/picture testimonials of the product). Thus, retailers should design their
Facebook pages using not only static images but also interesting graphics and video clips
that stimulate customers’ different sensory channels. Entertainment was also a predictor
of perceived enjoyment, suggesting that innovative, creative, and entertaining features or
information on Facebook pages are associated with users’ hedonic value (i.e., enjoyable
and fun experiences).
Finally, in this study, sense of belongingness in the retailer’s Facebook community was
found to be key to influencing consumers’ perceptions of usefulness and enjoyment, as
it not only influenced consumers’ perceived usefulness but also was the most powerful
predictor of perceived enjoyment among the variables examined in this study. Consumers
tended to perceive that a retailer’s Facebook page was useful and enjoyable when they felt as
if they belonged to the retailer’s Facebook community, felt a sense of membership in it, felt
connected to it, and cared about the other members’ opinions. Yoon and Han (2012) found
that the strength of ties (e.g., perceived importance of group members) in a social network
facilitates communication among its members. Thus, retailers need to develop strategies to
help customers feel more connected to the retailer’s Facebook, as well as to help its members
who have similar interests to increase their sense of community. Although this study did
not test the direct path between sense of community and intent to use retailers’ Facebook
pages, social influence has been found to affect consumers’ intent to use social media (Muk,
Chung, & Kim, 2014). Thus, this study helps practitioners better understand the mechanism
behind the relationship by finding that social influence (i.e., sense of community) also indi-
rectly affects intent to use social media via consumer’s extrinsic and intrinsic motivations.
The generation of research findings may be limited due here to the use of a specific
consumer group – college students drawn from a Southern university in the US. Thus, the
findings of this study may be applicable only to younger consumers and may not be gen-
eralizable to other consumer groups. Future research should examine the use of retailers’
SNSs using other consumer groups. For instance, eMarketer (2011) reported that seniors
aged 65 or older would account for almost 25% of the U.S. population in 2030 – the largest
population group – and their use of SNSs would rise from 31% of senior Internet users
in 2011 to 36% in 2013 (eMarketer, 2011). These statistics provide retailers and marketers
with an important implication in that this cohort is a promising market that they should
not ignore in developing their future marketing and communication strategies.

Note
1. 
The rest of the respondents (45.6%) visited supermarkets such as Target and Wal-Mart (5.5%),
category specialists such as Best Buy (20.1%), restaurants (7.5%), cafés & bars (3.3%), and
“other” (9.2%).

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
12    S. GU AND H. KIM

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