Predicting Uptake of Online Customer Service through Mobile Instant Messaging Applications : The Effects of Social Presence on Behaviour Intention

• Main Author: de Seabra Lopes Marcão, Patrícia
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2018
• Subjects: Behavioral psychology; Brand loyalty; Business communications; Business to business commerce; Commerce-Business; Communication; Computer mediated communication; Consumers; Customer services; Education; Electronic commerce; Information Technology; Instant messaging; Internet and social media studies; Intimacy; Management; Marketing; Motivation; Personal computers; Social networks; Software; Technology Acceptance Model; Technology adoption; Theory of planned behavior; Web studies
• ISBN: 9798382361451

Online shopping is rapidly increasing, creating new opportunities and challenges in the highly-competitive services market. In this context, companies are trying to come with new ways of connecting, as consumers seek easier and faster ways of interacting. This study employs the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) as the theoretical paradigm and extends it, to explore the key factors influencing the uptake of mobile instant messaging applications in online customer service, by introducing social presence as a crucial construct. The data was collected from an online questionnaire conducted to 222 Portuguese mobile instant messenger’s users. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to verify and validate the research model. The results showed that performance expectancy represents the greatest influence on users’ intention to engage in online customer service through mobile instant messaging. In addition, social presence was found to directly impact behavioural intention and indirectly, through the mediation of performance expectancy and habit. This study fills the gap in the literature, where little attention has been devoted to examining the use of mobile instant messaging applications by organizations for online customer service. The findings will help practitioners make appropriate strategies for this new channel.