Intention to continue using Facebook fan pages from the perspective of social capital theory

Social network sites enable users to express themselves, establish ties, and develop and maintain social relationships. Recently, many companies have begun using social media identity (e.g., Facebook fan pages) to enhance brand attractiveness, and social network sites have evolved into social utility networks, thereby creating a number of promising business opportunities. To this end, the operators of fan pages need to be aware of the factors motivating users to continue their patronization of such pages. This study set out to identify these motivating factors from the point of view of social capital. This study employed structural equation modeling to investigate a research model based on a survey of 327 fan pages users. This study discovered that ties related to social interaction (structural dimension), shared values (cognitive dimension), and trust (relational dimension) play important roles in users' continued intention to use Facebook fan pages. Finally, this study discusses the implications of these findings and offers directions for future research.