Chapter 5 Hypothesis Results & Discussion

Transcription

1 Chapter 5 Hypothesis Results & Discussion Proposed hypothesis is the depicted explanation for the certain phenomena which might occur or vise versa under defined situation. The decisions are here made on the basis of data collected from controlled or observed method. On the basis of results discussed in chapter IV, this section of the chapter will provide the outcome of the test resulting to either rejection or acceptance of null-hypothesis for a pre-specified level of significance. Statistical data therefore is based upon assumptions which state that if null hypothesis is true, what will be the probability (p value) of observing the value for test statistics which is extreme as the actual observed value (Cramer and Howitt, 2004). The hypothesis proposed on the basis of model in chapter III (Research Methodology) depicts the relationship between the dependent and independent variables as well effect of moderating and mediating factors for the overall model. The extent of significant effect for each proposed variable within the model as well across categories is explained in chapter IV. The present chapter holds the explanation for proposed hypothesis within SEM output with respect to their acceptance or rejection. The outcome for the said hypothesis is discussed below indicating the significance of the effect between dependent, independent, moderating as well mediating variables for the overall model. H1: User participation affects user experience in social networking community website. User participation represents the initiator of the proposed model. The concept is explained by the variables of user behavior, need, social group attraction and playfulness. The hypothesis H1 mentioned above indicates effect among the variables of user participation and experience 98

2 which is referred by website s technological & atmospherics and user s satisfaction, stimulation and enjoyment state. Overall the hypothesis is supported partially on the basis of effects among the variables of participation and experience (Table 5.1). Results indicate that user s attraction towards social group does not affect their experience while user s playfulness (.372*) and behavior (.07**) influence their experience significantly for website s technological aspects. However, influence of technological aspects of website upon user is reversed (-.125*) when the need is higher among individuals. This indicates that technology & atmospherics influence growth in individual s behavior and playfulness by creating experience with the community website. However, the effect is reversed when individual s need is higher to gain recognition or networking among the community members. User enjoyment is supported by all the participatory factors except for user need. Result explains that the variable is significantly influenced by user playfulness (.17*) and user behavior (.17*). Attraction towards virtual community s social group however, reverse the state of enjoyment (-.079**) indicate that higher level of attraction leads to lower state of enjoyment. User stimulation is significantly influenced by social group attraction (.11*) and need (.10*) followed by playfulness (.09*) thereby supporting all the three sub-hypothesis. This indicates that individual s participation does stimulate their state of being resulting in experiential browsing across the community website. The process of stimulation is not supported for user s participatory behavior thus, the process of stimulation cannot be predicted here. State of user s satisfaction is found to be influenced by all the participatory variables of behavior significantly supporting all the sub-hypothesis of attraction (.12*), playfulness (.07**), behavior (.03**) and need (.05*). Influence of independent variables of user 99

3 participation is clearly visible explaining the positive direction of the relationship with user satisfaction. Thus, apart all the described variables of user experience, user satisfaction is influenced significantly by the variable of user participation supporting the major hypothesis H1. Table 5.1 Hypothesis Results for User Participation Affecting User Experience Hypothesis Paths Standardized Results (β) H1A: User need affects user s experience with website s technology & atmospherics Ned - tat -.125* Supported H1B: User attraction towards social group affects user s experience with website s technology & atmospherics H1C: User behavior affects user s experience with website s technology & atmospherics H1D: User playfulness affects user s experience with website s technology & atmospherics H1E: User need affects user s enjoyment with community website H1F: User attraction towards social group affects user s enjoyment with community website H1G: User behavior affects user s enjoyment with community website H1H: User playfulness affects user s enjoyment with community website H1I: User need affects user s stimulation with community website H1J: User attraction towards social group affects user s stimulation with community website H1K: User behavior affects user s stimulation with community website H1L: User playfulness affects user s stimulation with community website H1M: User need affects user s satisfaction with community website 100 Atc- tat.014(ns) Not Supported Beh- tat.073** Supported Ply- tat.372* Supported Ned- enj.048(ns) Not Supported Atc- enj -.079** Supported Beh- enj.176* Supported Ply- enj.17* Supported Ned- stm.10* Supported Atc- stm.113* Supported Beh- stm.035(ns) Not Supported Ply- stm.097* Supported Ned- sat.05* Supported H1N: User attraction towards social group Atc- sat.129* Supported

4 affects user s satisfaction with community website H1O: User behavior affects user s satisfaction Beh- sat.03** Supported with community website H1P: User playfulness affects user s satisfaction with community website Ply- sat.078** Supported *p<.01, **p is between.01 and.05, ns= Not Significant H2: User experience affects user stickiness in social networking community website Hypothesis H2 indicates the direct effect of relationship between the variables of experience and stickiness predicting the second stage of the proposed model. Variables of user experience include user s experience through technology & atmospherics, state of enjoyment, state of stimulation and satisfaction. Effect of these variables is examined as sub-hypothesis (i.e. H2A- H2H) for the variables of user stickiness, i.e. user retention and engagement, thereby predicting overall support for the said hypothesis H2. Results indicate positively significant relationship between user experience variables and user retention. User satisfaction (.135*) significantly affects the attitude among online users to retain with the online activities repeatedly and is thereby followed by user enjoyment (.07**). Positive effect established by stimulation (.048**) and technology & atmospherics (.032**) is significantly low, indicating its less influential relationship. This supports the sub-hypothesis proposed for the user experience effect on user retention. However, Table 5.2 indicates partial support for the main hypothesis H2 as partially significant results is established between user experience and user engagement. Effect between user satisfaction and engagement is not explained due to non-significant results. Also, effect of user stimulation is reversed (-.07**) for user engagement. This indicates that higher stimulation among the online users may not influence the engagement of the user with 101

5 community website for longer duration; however, it ensures their repeat visit through significant positive result for retention. User enjoyment is identified as a significantly positive motivator explaining positive and strong direct effect (.118*) upon user engagement with the community website followed by technology & atmospherics (.01*). Overall analyses of the sub-hypothesis (H2A-H2G) are supported significantly except for hypothesis H2H which supports the main hypothesis partially, i.e. significant results between satisfaction and retention. This indicates the supported results for the said main hypothesis H2 and therefore supports the assumption of direct effect within the proposed framework between user experience and stickiness. Table 5.2 Hypothesis Results for User Experience Affecting User Stickiness Hypothesis Paths Standardized Results (β) H2A: Interaction with website s technology and atmospherics affects user s retention with the community website Tat- ret 0.032** Supported H2B: User s state of enjoyment affects their retention with the community website Enj- ret 0.07** Supported H2C: User stimulation affects their retention with the community website Stm- ret 0.048** Supported H2D: User satisfaction affects their retention with the community website Sat- ret 0.135* Supported H2E: Interaction with website s technology and atmospherics affects user s engagement with the community website Tat- eng 0.017* Supported H2F: User s state of enjoyment affects their engagement with the community website Enj- eng 0.118* Supported H2G: User stimulation affects their engagement with the community website Stm- eng ** Supported H2H: User satisfaction affects their engagement with the community website Sat- eng (ns) Not Supported *p<.01, **p is between.01 and.05, ns= Not Significant 102

6 H3: User stickiness affects user value in social networking community website The hypothesis H3 is supported strongly due to significant effects indicated by the subhypothesis (H3A-H3D). The results (Table 5.3) below indicates significantly moderate effect of user stickiness variables upon variables of user value. Both retention and engagement shows positive effect on user s value with respect to networking and recognition. Networking is supported significantly by retention (.09**) followed by engagement (.07**). The difference of effect among the stickiness variables affecting user networking within the virtual community platform is negligible. Therefore both retention and engagement are playing equivalent role in user s online networking process. Results of sub-hypothesis H3C and H3D explain that user s desire to achieve recognition among the social group of online community is supported significantly by user s engagement (.09**) behavior with the community website followed by user retention (.05**). This indicates that higher level of engagement with the community website, i.e. spending maximum time with the community website by participating in community activities actively, influence individual s recognition level within the social group of community website. 103

7 Table 5.3 Hypothesis Results for User Stickiness Affecting User Value Hypothesis Paths Standardized Results (β) H3A: User retention affects user networking within the community website Ret- net.09** Supported H3B: User engagement affects user networking within the community website Eng- net.07** Supported H3C: User retention affects user s recognition among the members of community website Ret- rec.05** Supported H3D: User engagement affects user s recognition among the members of the community website Eng- rec.09** Supported *p<.01, **p is between.01 and.05, ns= Not Significant H4: Technological skills moderate the relationship between user participation and user experience in social networking community website. Hypothesis H4 stating the relationship of moderation is partially supported when examining the variables of user participation and experience together. Results indicate that technological skill of an individual user moderate the effect between social group attraction and user experience variables is minor and is visible significant (.03**) only for user enjoyment. Effect on other variables cannot be determined due to non-significant results. On contrary, the direct effect in the absence of moderator yields significant high effect between user s social group attraction and variables of user experience. This indicates that community website s social group attraction influence individual s experience significantly and the relationship is not moderated by technological skill (Table 4.10). Effect of user need on variables of user experience in presence of technological skill as moderator supports the main hypothesis partially. The moderation effect is significant for technology & atmospherics, stimulation and satisfaction. However the moderation effect is 104

8 not supported for the variable user enjoyment due to non-significant result. Therefore the overall effect of user need upon user experience can be predicted partially. Moderation effect is successfully explained for the variables user behavior and playfulness influencing variables of user experience significantly. Effect of both these participatory variables supports the main hypothesis and explains the moderation effect of technological skill considerably. This signifies that effect of user s browsing and playful behavior upon user experience within the virtual community is moderated by user s technological skill. H5: Trust moderates the relationship between user experience and user stickiness in social networking community website. Trust is identified as an important indicator for building strong relationship between user and the community website. The variable s direct effect is supported by several researchers for both online and offline environment. However, this study examines the role of trust as moderator and fails to support the proposed hypothesis H5 (Table 4.11). The moderating results for overall model explains the non-significant results in majority of the cases, while low moderating significant effect for technology & atmospherics---> retention (.007**), satisfaction ---> retention (.06**), and stimulation ---> engagement (.05**). The result explains that graphical outlook and user s satisfaction with community website influence user s intention to retain with the website repeatedly and this effect is catalyzed in the presence of individual s trust upon website. Although overall model does not explain the role of trust as moderator significantly, the influence can be studies across the categories. This indicates that since the target population is a representative sample of various sub-sample that differ in the age group as well in the level of their technical background might have influenced the moderating results. Since trust 105

9 is an individual s perception based upon their past-experience and satisfaction, therefore demographic based categorical difference might have hinder the careful examination for the overall model. H6: User experience mediates the relationship between user participation and user stickiness. User experience within the online community is defined in context of graphical outlook (technology & atmospherics), state of enjoyment, stimulation and satisfaction. These factors are examined in earlier studies for their direct effect on user loyalty and their future intention to participate. The above proposed hypothesis H6 examines mediating role of user experience explaining the relationship effect between user participation and stickiness. The results of mediating effect among the variables (Table 4.8) indicates the partial support for the main hypothesis with respect to overall model. Mediation effect on user retention is significantly explained for the relationship: playfulness --> technology & atmospherics --> retention (.11**) and attraction--> satisfaction--> retention (.17*). Also, satisfaction and enjoyment has emerged as an important variable explaining mediation effect, although the mediation effect is low, for user retention across all the variables of user participation. The other mediation effects are either significantly low or non-significant, thus partially approving the proposed hypothesis. This indicates that satisfaction, enjoyment followed with technology & atmospherics plays significant role in mediating the effect of user participation on retaining online users with the community website. Similarly, effect upon user engagement through mediation is supported partially due to nonsignificant and low significant effects. The considerable significant effect is observed only 106

10 for the case of user behavior--> technology & atmospherics --> engagement (.18*). Other effects are significantly low as compared to the mediation effect for user retention. Such results signify that for the overall population, user experience mediates the effect considerably to retain the online users rather making them engaged with the community website. H7: User stickiness mediates the relationship between user experience and user value User stickiness is previously defined by the researchers with respect to time spent within the online community website. This study has conceptualized the concept with respect to time and users frequent visit and thence the variable is represented by user retention (frequency of visit) and user engagement (time spent). The proposed framework is successfully established and is supported significantly across the variable effect between user experience and value thereby indicating the strong mediating effect of user stickiness (Table 4.9). Results explain that user retention is supporting the mediating effect significantly strong for user recognition while user engagement is supporting strongly for user networking within the community website. This indicates that both user retention and engagement combine to mediate the variable of user value (i.e. user networking and recognition) significantly and thereby support the main hypothesis. Hypothesis examination with Aggregated Model: In the above section, the major hypothesis are supported on the basis of supported or sub-hypothesis. Due to this most of the results for major hypothesis are mentioned with partial support. In this section, the aggregate model calculates the entire (main) variable and thereby examines the major hypothesis. As per the results calculated for mediation and moderation effect (Table 4.11), the entire 107

11 proposed major hypothesis are supported due to significant positive relationship indicating the strength of proposed model. Table 5.4 Hypothesis Results for Aggregated Model Hypothesis Paths Standardized Results (β) H1:User participation affects user experience in social networking community website Par- Exp 0.35* Supported H2:User experience affects user stickiness in social networking community website Exp- Sti 0.30* Supported H3:User stickiness affects user value in social networking community website Sti- Val 0.50* Supported H4:Technological skills moderate the relationship between user participation and user experience in social networking Supported community website TSP- Exp 0.21** H5:Trust moderates the relationship between user experience and user stickiness in social networking community website TRE- Sti 0.17* Supported H6:User experience mediates the relationship between user participation and user stickiness P E S 0.10** Supported H7:User stickiness mediates the relationship between user experience and user value E S V 0.15* Supported *p<.01, **p is between.01 and.05, ns= Not Significant Support of every proposed hypothesis strongly indicates the validity of the model for among the internet savvy youths. The results support the argument and the explanation given above that reflect the importance of variables and their role in creating overall value. Iriberri and Leroy (2009) demonstrated several factors which are required for the success of the community website at each stage of their life cycle. Analysis of these factors revealed the importance of creating value among the users so that they can be engaged with the website and retained on continuous basis. Similarly Cothrel (2000) suggested the importance of value 108

12 creation with respect to benefits for the users. In an online arena, these benefits are mainly identified as recognition and networking among users and availability of opportunity to gain these benefits influences the success of the community website. However availing the benefits requires the initial participation attitude among the members, which according to Preece (2000) mainly depends upon the factors of sociability and usability. Following the outlines of these researchers, the above hypothesis (Table 5.4) indicates that user participation act as an initiator for the process of value creation. It helps in building user experience which further enhances their attitude to stay longer, actively participate and engaged with the website activity and subsequently retain with the website. Such sticky behavior when continue for longer phase results in establishing recognition among online peers which also results in formation of strong and weak networks. Also, the role of user trust and their technological skill as moderator is clearly defined for the overall model rather evaluating it on individual parameter. This explains that periodical coaching to the users that enhances their technical skill related to website will increase their navigation skills and thus influence their overall experience building. Similarly, along with positive experience, if website managers influences users trust through secure networks and data safety, individuals tends to engage with the website activity for longer period of time. This ultimately influences the overall value creation among the users which improves the competitive status of the community website. 109