Understanding the Usage of Whatsapp Among Malaysian Employees Through the Lens of Social Influence Theory

  • Authors

    • Che Su Mustaffa
    • Che Hasniza Che Soh
    • Hassan Abu Bakar
    • Bahtiar Mohamad
    2018-12-03
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.38.27635
  • Mobile Applications, WhatsApp, Social Influence Theory, Social Media
  • The study examines the social influence factors that affect the intention for using WhatsApp application among employees in a Malaysian organisation.  The objectives of the study are to ascertain the reasons for the employees to currently use WhatsApp and to examine the factors that affect the use of WhatsApp based on Social Influence Theory perspective. The nature of the study’s methodological design was qualitative. The main instruments for data collection were focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Purposive sampling technique was adopted to ensure that the employees chosen had the relevant knowledge about WhatsApp. The findings indicated that compliance, internalization and identification were three important social factors that could influence the employees to use WhatsApp in their routine work as predicted by Social Influence Theory. This study contributes some insights regarding the factors that can contribute to the usage of social media and strengthen the ideas of Social Influence Theory in Malaysian context.

     


     
  • References

    1. [1] Trevino , L. K. , Webster , J., & Stein , E. ( 2000 ). Making connections: Complementary influences on communication media choices, attitudes, and use. Organization Science , 11( 2 ), 163 – 182.

      [2] Parks, M. R., & Floyd, K. (1996). Making friends in cyberspace.Journal of Communication , 46(1), 80 – 97.

      [3] Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A relational perspective. Communication Research, 19(1), 52 – 90.

      [4] Sproull, L., & Kiesler, S. (1986). Reducing social context cues: Electronic mail in organizational communication. Management Science, 32(11), 1492 – 1512.

      [5] Preece, J. (2000). Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability . Chichester and New York: John Wiley & Sons.

      [6] Barhoumi, C. (2015). The Effectiveness of WhatsApp Mobile Learning Activity Theory on Students’ Knowledge Management. Journal of Contemporary Educational Technology, 6(3), 221-238.

      [7] Bouhnik, D. & Deshen, M. 2014. WhatsApp Goes to School: Mobile Instant Messaging between Teachers and Students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 13, 217-231.

      [8] Awake, (2011, July). What Should I know social networking? Part 1, pp. 24.25.

      [9] Fraser N, &Dutta C.(2008). Defining online learning. Retrieved. 2018 from http://www.learningspace.org.

      [10] Fleck R, Cox A, and Robinson R (2015). Balancing boundaries: Using multiple devices to manage work-life balance. In the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, Seoul, Republic ofKorea: 3985-3988. https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702386

      [11] Omar MK, Zakaria A, and Ismail ZIA (2017). WhatsApp messenger, workload and satisfaction with work-life balance among employees of a Malaysian government office. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 4(9): 114-118.

      [12] Prentice-Dunn, and Rogers, R.W. (1985)."Effects of Public and Private Self Awareness on Deindividuation and Aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 503-513.

      [13] Lord, K.R., Lee, M.S., &Choong, P.(2001). Differences in Normative and Informational Social Influence. Advances in Consumer Research, 28, 280-285.

      [14] Abrams, D., Wetherell, M., Cochrane, S., and Hogg, M.A. (1990). Knowing What to Think by Knowing Who You Are: Self-categorization and the Nature of Norm Formation, Conformity, and Group Polarization.The British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 97-119.

      [15] Kelman, H.C. (1958). 'Compliance, Identification, and Internalization: Three Processes of Attitude Change'. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2 (1),51-60.

      [16] Bamberger, P. and Biron, M. (2007). Group norms and excessive absenteeism: The role of peer referent others. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103 (2),179-196.

      [17] Wilson, E. and Sherrell, D. (1993). Source effects in communication and persuasion research: A metaanalysis of effect size. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21 (2), 101-112.

      [18] Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., and Davis, F. D. 2003. “User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View. MIS Quarterly, 27 (3), 425-478.

      [19] Malhotra, Y., and Galletta, D. (2005). A Multidimensional Commitment Model of Volitional Systems Adoption and Usage Behavior. Journal of Management Information Systems 22 (1), 117-151.

      [20] Wang, Y., Meister, D. B., and Gray, P. H. 2013. Social Influence and Knowledge Management Systems Use: Evidence from Panel Data.MIS Quarterly, 37 (1), 299-313.

      [21] Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (2), 179-211.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Su Mustaffa, C., Hasniza Che Soh, C., Abu Bakar, H., & Mohamad, B. (2018). Understanding the Usage of Whatsapp Among Malaysian Employees Through the Lens of Social Influence Theory. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.38), 1039-1043. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.38.27635