Title: Understanding political participation on Facebook: the moderating role of intrinsic motivation

Authors: Tobias Kollmann; Ina Kayser; Christoph Stöckmann

Addresses: E-Business and E-Entrepreneurship Research Group, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstr. 9 45141, Essen, Germany ' VDI – The Association of German Engineers, VDI-Platz 1 40468, Düsseldorf, Germany ' E-Business and E-Entrepreneurship Research Group, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstr. 9 45141, Essen, Germany

Abstract: Social networking sites such as Facebook become increasingly important for political purposes, such as discussions and opinion sharing. But there is a lack of research on the motivations underlying the acceptance decision of an individual to use Facebook for political purposes. The extrinsic motivation given by the technology acceptance model (TAM) determinants are well tested in the literature. However, intrinsic factors come into play in the realm of e-participation, because political participation is associated with values. We empirically test and proof three intrinsic motivations as interaction effects to add to the discussion of the use of Facebook as an innovative means of political participation.

Keywords: e-participation; social networks; Facebook; web 2.0; intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation; enjoyment; interpersonal benefits; feedback; information systems acceptance; TAM; technology acceptance model; political participation; electronic participation; online participation; politics.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2013.058786

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2013 Vol.10 No.3/4, pp.310 - 323

Received: 15 Jun 2013
Accepted: 03 Sep 2013
Published online: 19 Jan 2014 *

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