Continued usage intention of multifunctional friend networking services: A test of a dual-process model using Facebook

The success of multifunctional friend networking (MFN) sites such as Facebook directly relies on users' continuous participation and content contribution. Information systems and marketing literature offers competing models and perspectives that explain users' development of continued usage intention of a technology. Drawing on the dual-process theories of decision making, this study theoretically integrates extant post-adoption continuance models, and examines the potential value for a dual-process model that combines the key components of the competing continuance models. The integrated model posits that three contrasting and interacting mechanisms, that is, analytic based mechanism, emotional based mechanism, and habit/automaticity, underlie the development of two MFN continuance intentions: continuance intention and usage comprehensiveness intention. Using responses from Facebook users, the findings of this study reveal evidence supporting the notion that an integrated model provides explanatory value. The findings also suggest that the three mechanisms simultaneously, yet differentially impact the two continuance intentions. Nevertheless, most respondents in this study have more than 2 years of experience with Facebook. It will be interesting for future research to focus on less experienced Facebook users for comparison purposes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.