The Role of Trust in Service Provider in Social Networking Service Context

With an actual occurrence of hacking attacks onto major social networking service providers in Korea, there are growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information, the possible leaks of the personal information and improper use of it. For on-going service use, it is required for social networking service provider to institute and enforce fair rules, procedures, and outcomes in its services competently, reliably, and with integrity. Although expectation-confirmation has successfully explained general information technology usage continuance, trust in service provider could be also integrated as a critical variable for investigating social networking service context. For an empirical exploration, 268 samples were collected from the users of a social networking site. The results of data analysis confirm that the construct of trust in service provider is induced by confirmation and satisfaction. And, in turn, it contributes significantly to continuance intention. The results of this paper might be useful for future research on post-acceptance behavior in social networking service.