1.

Social Influence

Social influence is an umbrella concept encompassing the work of many theorists

such as Paul Lazarsfeld famous for social communication theory and E.M. Rogers

known for diffusion of innovation theory. Theories are useful for structuring thought and

knowledge about consumer behavior such as how an innovation is communicated

through channels over time to members of a social network. Researchers have found

that certain people, opinion leaders whether online or offline, are more central and

influential than others in a group. The Two-Step Flow Model illustrates that ability and

access are crucial to gaining successful influence.(1)

Social influence has many branches with issues such as compliance and

reactance introduced in the first chapter. It is an umbrella concept encompassing various

theories such as social communication. Leading theorists include Paul Lazarsfeld

famous for social communication theory and E.M. Rogers who advanced social

communication theory and added diffusion of innovation theory. Much of their research

is about how humans make decisions and what affects these decisions, whether voting

decisions or purchasing decisions. On the basis of this research, theories of human

behavior can be formed.(1)

One could theorize that social influence is a balancing act between self-interest

and the interests of others. In other words, do I listen to my inner voice (an internal

source) when I make decisions and look out for myself first or do I think about

consequences for others?(1)

Social influence theory within social communication theory was posited by Paul

Lazarsfeld and colleagues in the 1940s and 1950s. Their focus was on the power of

informal communication as a complement to the influence of mass media. They

discovered that informal communication is widespread and that certain people were

more central and influential than others in a group. They termed these individuals
‘opinion leaders’, thereby instigating a major topic of research that confirmed, expanded,

and refined this idea (Weimann 1994). The theory has since been applied to political

science, education, marketing, and a host of other fields. For example, studies of social

networking activity find that social influence is not evenly distributed among

cybercitizens, but instead, opinion leaders arise to be particularly influential on the

Internet just as they are offline (Kozinets et al. 2010). They can be called e-influentials

and are actively tracked by a number of public relations firms including Burson-

Marsteller.(1)

Social influence is related to the way other people affect one’s beliefs, feelings

and behaviour (Mason et al., 2007). It is likely that the individual will adopt the particular

thought, attitude, feeling and behaviour as well (Mei et al., 2012). Schiffman et al. (2009)

stated that the influences of social class, culture and subculture, although less tangible,

are important input factors that are internalized and affect how consumers evaluate and

adopt products. The intention to buy a brand is based on a consumer’s attitude towards

the brand as well as the influence of social norms and other people’s expectations (

Jamil and Wong, 2010). Friends and family members are seen as social influences

perceived to be important to consumers in promoting and encouraging greater

dependence on smart phones (Auter, 2007). Consumers may be susceptible to social

influence by observation, perception or anticipation of decisions made by others in

relation to smart phones (Suki and Suki, 2007). Therefore, it is hypothesized.(2)

This study assessed students’ dependence on smart phones and its impact on

their purchase behaviour. All in all, with regard to the relationship between social needs,

social influences and convenience of smart phones and dependence on smart phones,

through multiple regression analysis, two hypotheses were supported (i.e. social needs,

and social influence). Social needs have the strongest effect on the students’

dependence on smart phones, followed by social influences. However, convenience was

found to be insignificant to students’ dependence on smart phones. It is worthy to note

that a very strong relationship exists between dependence on smart phones and

students’ purchase behaviour. Prior research by Woodcock et al. (2012) indicated that

most students have not made strong connections for themselves between their personal

smart phone technology, their needs as learners and the way they learn. One factor that

affects convenience is the speed of the internet connection at the university and the

availability of Wi-Fi services which are important for smart phone applications.

Nevertheless, academics and educational developers need to encourage the students’

use of personal technologies such as smart phones and tablet PCs to enhance their

learning process. On the smart phone provider side, it is recommended to continuously

increase the smart phone functionality to be more relevant to students.(2)

There are two types of social media influence on family resilience towards the

Internet challenges: First, the positive influence and the other is the negative influence.

The positive influence is better than the negative influence on the family institution. The

positive influence can be in terms of information sharing, communication and social

interaction, adding to the sense of connectedness, forging linkages, and maintaining

friendships. But in some cases, negative influences supersede the positive influences,

whereby family relationships become sour, there is distrust and disruption of family

stability (because damage has been done whether intentional or unintentionally),

tendency to quarrel over petty things, and an increase in communication breakdown

leading to the breaking up of the family institution. Nonetheless, social media can help

reconciling family breakdowns as coping strategies, the third party can be used as a

mediator to resolve disputes. There are pros and cons to the social media influences on

the family resilience.(3)

2. Perceived Ease of Use

Davis [18] describes perceived ease of use as “the degree to which a person

believes that using a particular system would be free of effort”, that is, utilizing a specific

technology (like mobile map) would be free of physical and mental exertion. The user

may accept that a given innovation (such as mobile map) is helpful, but while using the

mobile, the user may find out that the innovation may be difficult to use. For instance, the

object on mobile screen may be difficult to see. Ease of use is the user's impression of

the measure of requirement needed to use a technology or the degree to which a user

accepts that utilizing a specific innovation will be effortless and smooth [18]. Apart from

Davis et al. [18], Zhu et al. [19] also included perceived ease of use as precursor to

intention to use a mobile device. In the light of this, the following hypothesis is

formulated: H2: Perceived ease of use has a positive influence on users’ acceptance of

interactive mobile maps.(4)

Perceived ease of use, in contrast, refers to "the degree to which a person

believes that using a particular system would be free of effort." This follows from the

definition of "ease": "freedom from difficulty or great effort." Effort is a finite resource that

a person may allocate to the various activities for which he or she is responsible (Radner

and Rothschild, 1975). All else being equal, we claim, an application perceived to be

easier to use than another is more likely to be accepted by users.(4)

A. Initial Scale Items for Perceived Ease of Use

[1] I often become confused when I use the electronic mail system.

[2] I make errors frequently when using electronic mail.

[3] Interacting with the electronic mail system is often frustrating.

[4] I need to consult the user manual often when using electronic mail.

[5] Interacting with the electronic mail system requires a lot of my mental effort.

[6] I find it easy to recover from errors encountered while using electronic mail.
 [7] The electronic mail system is rigid and inflexible to interact with.

[8] I find it easy to get the electronic mail system to do what I want it to do.

[9] The electronic mail system often behaves in unexpected ways.

[10] I find it cumbersome,to use the electronic mail system.

[11] My interaction with the electronic mail system is easy for me to

understand.

[12] It is easy for me to remember how to perform tasks using the electronic

mail system.

[13] The electronic mail system provides helpful guidance in performing tasks.

[14] Overall, I find the electronic mail system easy to use.(4)

3. Perceived usefulness

Perceived usefulness (PU), in the opinion of an individual, can be explained as

the level to which the performance of his or her job is enhanced by utilising a certain

technology (Rauniar et al., 2014). Perceived usefulness, explained in the context of an

organisation, is the betterment in the output which may lead to monetary and non-

monetary benefits (Rauniar et al., 2014). PU clearly indicates or pinpoints those

variables which affect the actual use and intention to continue using technology (Awa et

al., 2014). According to TAM, PU is believed as a key determinant of technology

followed by PEOU (Igbaria and Iivari, 1995). Both PEOU and PU influence the attitude of

an individual towards the intention to utilise a technology and in this case, M-banking

(Rauniar et al., 2014). According to Davis et al. (1992), PU is highly associated with the

intention to use technology. Hence, it can be hypothesised that.(5)

The importance of perceived usefulness has been widely recognized in the field

of electronic banking (Guriting and Ndubisi, 2006; Jaruwachirathanakul and Fink, 2005;

Eriksson et al., 2005; Laforet and Li, 2005; Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001; Liao and Cheung,
2002). According to them usefulness is the subjective probability that using the

technology would improve the way a user could complete Jahangir and Begum 033 a

given task. Based on theories in social psychology, such as the theory of reasoned

action (TRA) (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) and the theory of

planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985), the technology acceptance model (TAM) has

been validated as a powerful and parsimonious framework (Davis, 1989; Davis et al.,

1989). According to the TAM, perceived usefulness is the degree to which a person

believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance.

According to Davis et al. (1992), perceived usefulness refers to consumers’ perceptions

regarding the outcome of the experience. Davis (1993) defined perceived usefulness as

the individual’s perception that using the new technology will enhance or improve her/his

performance. Similarly, Mathwick et al., (2001) defined perceived usefulness as the

extent to which a person deems a particular system to boost his or her job performance.

Pikkarainen et al. (2004) applied TAM in Finland and they found perceived usefulness as

a determinant of actual behavior which encouraged the user of the twentyfirst century

banking to use more innovative and userfriendly self-service technologies that give them

greater autonomy in performing banking transactions, in obtaining information on

financial advices, and in purchasing other financial products. However, Gerrard and

Cunningham (2003) noted that the perceived usefulness depends on the banking

services offered such as checking bank balances, applying for a loan, paying utility bills,

transferring money abroad, and obtaining information on mutual funds. There are

extensive evidences proving the significance of effect of perceived usefulness on

adaptation intention (Chen and Barnes, 2007; Guriting and Ndubisi, 2006;

Jaruwachirathanakul and Fink, 2005; Eriksson et al., 2005; Hu et al., 1999; Venkatesh,

2000; Venkatesh and Davis, 1996; Venkatesh and Morris, 1996). Tan and Teo (2000)

suggested that the perceived usefulness is an important factor in determining adaptation

of innovations. As a consequence, the greater the perceived usefulness of using

electronic banking services, the more likely that electronic banking will be adopted

(Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001, Jaruwachirathanakul and Fink, 2005). Hence, the

researchers posit.(5)

Perceived usefulness is defined here as "the degree to which a person believes

that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance." This follows

from the defini- tion of the word useful: "capable of being used advantageously." Within

an organizational con- text, people are generally reinforced for good performance by

raises, promotions, bonuses, and other rewards (Pfeffer, 1982; Schein, 1980; Vroom,

1964). A system high in perceived use- fulness, in turn, is one for which a user believes

in the existence of a positive use-performance relationship.(4)

A. Initial Scale Items for Perceived Usefulness

[1] My job would be difficult to perform without electronic mail.

[2] Using electronic mail gives me greater control over my work.

[3] Using electronic mail improves my job performance.

[4] The electronic mail system addresses my job-related needs.

[5] Using electronic mail saves me time.

[6] Electronic mail enables me to accomplish tasks more quickly.

[7] Electronic mail supports critical aspects of my job.

[8] Using electronic mail allows me to accomplish more work than would

otherwise be possible.

[9] Using electronic mail reduces the time I spend on unproductive activities.

[10] Using electronic mail enhances my effectiveness on the job.

[11] Using electronic mail improves the quality of the work I do.

[12] Using electronic mail increases my productivity.

 [13] Using electronic mail makes it easier to do my job.

[14] Overall, I find the electronic mail system useful in my job.(4)

4. Variety of Service

Satisfaction and convenience are two important factors that can influence revisit

intention of customers towards a shopping mall. Variety is also considered as an

important factor to influence customer satisfaction. Customer interaction has little impact

on satisfaction. Particularly, the results show that convenience has a positive influence

on revisit intention. Convenience can be considered as easy to reach the shopping

store. It does not take much time to reach the shopping place. Customers may able to

get to the shopping store’s location quickly. Customers may able to complete their

purchase quickly and the time required to receive the benefits of the service is

appropriate. Specifically, variety has the positive influence on satisfaction. Variety refers

to the variety of products offered at the shopping store. The store has a variety of service

providers such as banking, education learning, and restaurant. This store has excellent

other alternatives such as entertainment. Customer interaction has a significant and

positive influence on satisfaction but has no impact on revisit intention. The findings

show that revisit intention could not be enhanced as a place for customers to get

together for social interaction. However, customer interaction can enhance

satisfaction.(6)

Aside from the variety of physical products, services provided by firms also

deserve attention. In order to facilitate the transaction of products, firms need to provide

a variety of services to their downstream customers in the supply chain. For example,

Amazon.com offers up to 6 delivery methods for online shoppers: free super saver

shipping, standard shipping, free two-day shipping with AmazonPrime, two-day shipping,

one-day shipping, and local express delivery. Payment options provided by Fedex Co.
 include online billing, electronic data interchange (EDI), credit card, mail, telephone,

etc.(7)

5. Trialability

Trialability refers to “the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with

on a daily basis” (Rogers, 2003, p. 258). Before full adoption, potential users must test

an innovation to determine whether it fits their own criteria (Zolkepli & Kamarulzaman,

2015). Trialability entails users to try an innovation that is void of full commitment and

costs (Nguyen, Carrieri-Kohlman, Rankin, Slaughter, & Stulbarg, 2004). Trying an

innovation offers users an opportunity to validate expectations and form ideas on how it

can fulfill personal needs. Diffusion research often finds that trialability is positively

associated with adoption (Rogers, 2003). According to Moore and Benbasat (1991),

trialability indicates limited usage prior to adoption.(8)

In most scholarly literature, trialability is traditionally conceptualized at the same

level as other characteristics of innovation (Rogers, 2003), but conceptualizing trialability

of mHealth apps is different. It is possible that individuals have tried mHealth apps (i.e.,

trial basis) without fully adopting them. Adoption, which denotes “the full use of an

innovation as the best course of action available” (Rogers, 2003, p. 473), is not as

applicable to most early adopter markets of mHealth apps. Young people who tend to

become avid technological users with less purchasing power often experiment with free

downloadable apps. Hence, this study regards trialability as the key dependent variable

that is highly relevant in this research context. The following sections discuss the

relationship(8)
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