Nonadopters of Online Social Network Services: Is It Easy to Have Fun Yet?

Abstract

Although online social network services (OSNS), e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, are enjoying rampant popularity, a subsection of the population (i.e., nonadopters) continues to forgo using them. Our study is one of the first to focus exclusively on what might motivate nonadopters to accept a widely adopted IT. By considering nonadopters’ inertia within the context of early stages of innovation diffusion and incorporating status quo bias theory into well-established technology acceptance model (TAM) relationships, this study uncovers the finding that people who report that they do not use OSNS would use them if they thought OSNS were easier and more enjoyable to use, and if they were persuaded by others to use them. Our findings suggest these nonadopters do not see the usefulness of OSNS, risks of sharing personal information publically, or the perceived amount of effort in using OSNS as factors that influence potential acceptance and use of the technology. This study contributes to research by offering an integrated theoretical framework that updates TAM with status quo bias theory to study nonadopters and offers IS practice guidelines for OSNS providers to attract nonadopters to accept and use the technology.