Understanding Sina Weibo users' liking behavior: An empirical study in China

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether hedonic motivation (enjoyment and passing time), social motivation (social support), and utilitarian motivation (information seeking and self-presentation) significantly affect users’ motivation to click “like” on Sina Weibo. A research model is developed and empirically tested using Sina Weibo users through an online survey. Using valid data from 215 Sina Weibo users in China, the research model is assessed by regression analysis. The results show that two types of motivation positively affect Sina Weibo users’ liking behavior: hedonic motivation (enjoyment) and utilitarian motivation (information seeking). Enjoyment plays the most salient role in determining liking behavior, followed by information seeking. Passing time, social support, and self-presentation were not found to affect liking behavior. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of liking behavior and offer important theoretical and practical implications to researchers and marketers.