Introduction
The introduction of the internet has greatly changed many aspects of people’s life, including the way individuals communicate and interact nowadays (Nimrod 2015).
Such change has been instigated by the availability of numerous social media platforms through which people can communicate easily with one another, such as the Instant Messaging (Pun 2015). Instant messaging is a communication tool that allows users to enjoy instant transmission of text messages via the internet. Due to its effectiveness, the Instant Messaging tool has become popular among internet users.
WeChat is an example of IM service that was introduced to the market in 2011 by the Tencent Holdings (Laaksonen, Jarimo & Kulmata 2009). The WeChat service has become so common not only in China, but also in more than 200 other countries (Swan 2002).
Most of the users of WeChat are the young generations since it offers a reliable platform through which they can share information on the go with many people. In addition, WeChat is increasingly used by marketers to communicate about a given product or services to their clients. According to a report released by Statistica, there is a growing popularity of WeChat in China nowadays.
Even though there are numerous studies on Instant Messaging services in the West, very limited studies are available in the East, especially about its impact on consumers in China. Such limited studies are attributed to the fact that China has strict control of internet based services.
For this reason, a study to examine the popularity of WeChat in China amidst such circumstances will be of high significance to both the industry and academic contexts. This study will seek to provide an overview of WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty with a specific focus on the case of China.
Significance of the Study
The advancement in technology has provided enough platforms through which people have improved the level of connectivity and interaction among one another (Mao 2014). The service has become very important in China as it enables effective computer-mediated communications among many users (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke 2008). Liu, Chen and Wei (2015) attributed such a trend to the increased need for social media platforms among marketers since such platforms are able to reach a wide range of consumers.
The choice of this topic was informed by the fact that most other social media platforms in China, such as Facebook and Twitter, are blocked based on the China’s internet censorship policy (Lin & Lu 2011). For this reason, there is a need for a study that would highlight the reasons behind increased use of WeChat among Chinese people (Ko, Cho & Roberts 2005). The results from this study would be of interests to academics and marketers.
Aims and Objectives of the study
The study will have several aims and objectives to achieve.
Aims
- To investigate WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty, as well as explore the relationship between motivation, satisfaction and loyalty.
- Analyzing the development trend of WeChat in the future and how it is likely to influence marketing of different products.
Objectives
- To review the research topic from existing literature
- To investigate the role of users’ loyalty, motivation and satisfaction in the use of WeChat in China in order to understand reasons behind its popularity while most other social media platforms have been blocked in China.
Hypothesis
From the above aims and objectives, the study will be based on the following hypothesis.
H1: Motivation has a positive impact on WeChat users’ level of satisfaction.
H2: Motivation has a positive impact on WeChat users’ loyalty.
H3: Satisfaction has a positive impact on WeChat users’ loyalty
Literature Review
Motivation
Just like in the case of any other media platforms, users of WeChat ought to have a positive attitude and the desired motivation for them to continue with the use of the platform (Koermer & McCroskey 2006). Often, many people are psychologically motivated to use social media. Previous research on the issue indicated that studies on social media mainly focus on the examination of what motivates the users to adopt a social media platform (Junfeng, Zhimei & Changshou 2014).
In an effort to understand the psychological motivators of WeChat users, this study focuses on Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory. It may be applied in various areas including both the traditional and the modern media of communication such as newspapers and the internet.
The development of the U&G theory was based on the psychological and social origins of needs (Luo 2002). It is one of the most influential theories in the media research. It takes into consideration the fact that users of social media are active when they know what exactly motivates them.
It also explains that people have their main reasons for choosing a specific media such as to ensure the satisfaction of their psychological needs. The Uses and Gratification theory is useful when it comes to establishing the factors that explain different behaviors of customers.
The gained attitude may be defined as the summative evaluation by an individual, which may be positive or negative, or the characteristic they know about WeChat. Attitudes develop over a period of time when they are learned and experienced (Reisinger 2003). They thus determine if the consumers will like or dislike the products or services.
The strength of the attitudes however, differs from one individual to the other. From the perspective of the marketers, they can use communication to change the attitudes of customers which are otherwise hard to change (Yang & Yoo 2004). Such communication may involve the use of advertisements or ensure the gratification of their psychological needs and expectations.
The growth and development of information technology has led to globalization, which comes with high need to interact, stimulating the rapid growth in the use of internet (Zelizer 2011). It is such growth that has led to the replacement of the traditional methods of communication.
Internet use has become common among many people due to the fact that it is entertaining, provides reliable information, and offers room for social interaction. Suh and Han (2003) indicated that the provision of information and entertainment are some of the factors that improve the motivation levels of customers.
According to Chang and Zhu (2011), factors such as the ability to meet new friends, provision of information, and conformity have similar impact of providing positive effects on both the users and the marketers. However, the motivation provided by entertainment has a considerable positive impact on the attitude of both pre-adopters and post-adopters (Gremler, Gwinner & Brown 2001).
Due to the differences of culture and social life, different countries have different attitudes towards the adoption of social media. In China, a study by Chang and Zhu (2011) indicated that social gratification of users is obtained when their psychological needs are met, helping them gain a positive attitude towards the social media.
Loyalty
Loyalty in any product or service can be measured by assessing the trust an individual has for the concerned product and/or service. The most adopted definition of trust is that it is exhibited when there is a high degree of confidence among different entities. Such confidence encourages the exchange of integrity and reliability among the partners.
From the definition, gaining confidence, reliability, and integrity over one another is really significant to conceptualize trust and hence customer loyalty. Due to the gained trust, customers tend to support service providers who they trust. The trust and loyalty, in this case could be experienced from different perspective; intra-organizational and interpersonal. In the case of this study, the emphasis will be on establishing the possibility of intra-organizational type of trust.
It also examines the degree of trust WeChat users have with their services. Trust is essential because it helps in reducing insecurity and cognitive risks, thus encouraging long-term relationships to grow between the users and the service providers (Mato & Rossi 2008). The establishment of trust thus brings positive impacts with respect to the willingness of customers to use word of mouth communication, as well as their intention to use social networking sites (Chu & Choi 2011).
Satisfaction
Satisfaction is defined as the sense of fulfillment users of a particular product and/or service have. According to Suh and Han (2003) trust is one of the key determinants of the attitudes consumers have on social media. As a result of trust in a given service, users develop some degree of satisfaction.
Correa, Hinsley and de Zuniga (2010) argued that satisfaction from the use of online forums has a positive impact on the attitude of the users. In a study conducted by Shin (2010) on privacy, trust, and satisfaction concerns consumers have on the use of social networking sites, it was evident that satisfaction significantly determines the duration an individual uses a particular social media platform.
The level of user satisfaction also determines the rate at which users recommend a particular social media to family and friends. Often, word of mouth communication (WOM), though is informal can be used in such recommendations (Maxham 2001)..
Methodology and Research Design
Introduction
Research design refers to the systematic process through which a researcher is able to collect and analyze data in a logical manner for purposes of achieving the research aims and objectives (Mitchell & Jolly 2010). There are various examples of study designs including explorative, experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive researches (Gratton & Jones 2004).
On the other hand, research methodology involves the processes and techniques that a researcher uses to collect and analyze data for a particular research problem (Kothari 2005). In the methodology chapter, the focus will be on the research methodologies, as well as the research design employed. As such, the chapter will present the methods of collecting and analyzing data, research design used, sampling techniques, sample frame and sample size, as well as the target population.
Research Designs
The research on WeChat user’s motivation, satisfaction and loyalty will focus on what the service has achieved, and its significance among users. In addition, the study will rely on quantitative data. This will be supplemented by a survey to establish the opinion of different users of WeChat. As such, the research will employ the quantitative research design to collect data from different sources.
Target Population
In a study, the target population refers to the total number of people or units from which a study hopes to collect information (Denzin & Lincoln 2008). The study on WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty targets students in The University of Hong Kong, China.
Sampling Design
A sample refers to a section of the target population (Denk 2010). Using appropriate sampling techniques ensures that a representative sample is used. A sampling design takes into consideration the sample size, sampling techniques and the sampling frame (Neumann 2007). This research will use random sampling technique to achieve a sample size of 300 users.
Reliability and validity
The reliability of the research will be achieved by using credible sources of data such as journals and books. Validity, on the other hand will be achieved by collecting related to same time period which ensured that the degree of external validity was achieved. Hence, the results obtained could be generalized.
Data Collection and analysis Methods
The research aims at analyzing the motivation, satisfaction and loyalty among WeChat users. Both primary and secondary sources of data will be used to provide the necessary information about WeChat. After the collecting data, different methods of data analysis will be used including Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel. The SPSS analysis will be used to ascertain the possibility of any relationship between the variables under investigation and the MS Excel will be used to analyze the result.
Ethical considerations
The study will seek permission from the relevant authorities before carrying out the actual study. In addition, the results from the study will be kept anonymous.
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