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Purpose Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of this paper is to study factors that urge Facebook users to switch to Instagram to reveal how latecomers in the SNSs circuit can win the hearts of users. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes an SNS switching framework that is adapted from the demographic Push-Pull (PP) migration model to investigate users’ switching intention. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data collected from 260 Instagrammers who all had experience using Facebook before moving on Instagram. Findings Results show that socializing and system quality of the SNS negatively affect users’ switching intention, while attractiveness of the alternative, peer influence and critical mass do the opposite. Surprisingly, enjoyment is not associated with switching intention. Research limitations/implications SNSs switching may not mean a complete abandonment of previous SNSs. In many occasions, users simply become less active in one SNS and more active in other SNSs. The PP migration model provides a useful tool to understand the patterns as well as competing forces that influence the migration of SNS users, pushing them away or pulling them to new alternative sites. Specifically, pulling demonstrates to be a stronger influence than pushing. Practical implications This study suggests that SNS operators should satisfy users’ needs for socializing, maintain high system quality, provide peer influence tools and create their own attractive features, in order to retain existing customers or induce new users to switch. Originality/value This is one of the earlier empirical studies to investigate users’ switching intention from Facebook to Instagram with a valid sample. In addition, the present study approaches pull and push effects by multiple constructs, providing a clearer picture of what constitutes the pull and push forces.

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Purpose Can mobile instant messaging (MIM) make people entering into the state of cognitive absorption (CA)? The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether CA can help explain users’ satisfaction during the process of MIM, while interactivity and interest are operated as determinants of CA as well as directly associated with satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes a satisfaction model that is adapted from the CA theory to investigate MIMs users’ satisfaction with two determinants, interactivity and interest. Specifically, CA is operated as a second-order formative construct with four reflective dimensions, including curiosity, focused immersion, heightened enjoyment and temporal dissociation. Partial least square structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate the causal links of the model with the data collected from 472 LINE users who all had long using experience. Findings The results showed that CA in MIM, fueled by interactivity and interest, is positively related to satisfaction. Interactivity and interest themselves were also significantly associated with satisfaction. Among them, interactivity has the most influence on satisfaction, followed by interest and CA. Surprised, curiosity and focused immersion did not formative CA in MIM. Research limitations/implications The present study focuses on user satisfaction of a specific MIM (LINE) and collects data from users within a specific region (Taiwan). Other researchers must take these constrains into consideration when referencing this study. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which confirmed that people still enter into the state of CA when using MIM on smartphone, even though the using environment is drastically different from that on desktop. It indicates that prior theories in CA with desktop-based software are still applicable and serve as a basis for more studies in the mobile context to a certain extent, but other factors should also be considered. As interactivity and interest are conducive to CA, leading to user satisfaction, an MIM app can be more popular if the two factors are incorporated.

This study posits that personal characteristics affect behavioral outcomes through directly influencing purchase preference and moderating preference effects of other factors. To further clarify this mechanism, we perform a longitudinal survey to investigate the direct effects of personal characteristics on online purchase preference and the moderating effects of these characteristics on the influences of two online purchase goals (saving money and saving time) on purchase outcomes. Customers' personal characteristics in this study mainly include gender, income, age, education, work status, and experience of online shopping. The results show that only age and online experience have direct effects on online purchase preference. By contrast, an important finding suggests that most of those personal characteristics affect purchase outcomes mainly through moderating the preference effects of the two online purchase goals, rather than directly influencing purchase preferences. Management implications and future research directions are also presented at the end of the paper.

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