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Abstract
The purpose of the proposed study is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the Big five
personality traits and the effect of behavioral intentions towards social networking websites,
when double mediated by privacy concerns and trust which is lacking in existing research. The
proposed study will specifically examine privacy and trust as a central role mediating the
Neuroticism and the outcome variable of behavioral intentions. The proposed study will seek to
personality traits framework. Past personality traits studies have established trust to having a
positive impact on behavioral intentions. However, personality traits literature has not explored
privacy concerns and trust as mediating factors on behavioral intentions when using social media
networks. The proposed study will extend past literature by establishing privacy concern as a
mediating construct. The proposed study will fill the gaps in prior literature by testing a
framework that includes the antecedents and outcomes of personality traits when mediated by
both privacy concerns and trust, as they are associated with behavioral intentions a holistic view
of the constructs.
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Acknowledgements
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Contents
Chapter 1..........................................................................................................................................5
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Background..................................................................................................................................6
Statement of the Problem.............................................................................................................9
Purpose of the Study..................................................................................................................13
Definition of Key Terms............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Literature Review/Hypotheses Development................................................................................14
Big Five Personality Traits........................................................................................................18
Behavioral Intentions.................................................................................................................23
Privacy Concern.........................................................................................................................26
Trust...........................................................................................................................................29
Theoretical Foundation..............................................................................................................35
Social Cognitive Theory............................................................................................................35
Mediation...................................................................................................................................39
Summary....................................................................................................................................41
Chapter 3:.......................................................................................................................................41
Proposed Research Methodology..................................................................................................41
Introduction................................................................................................................................41
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................42
Scales.........................................................................................................................................43
Accuracy of the Study...............................................................................................................44
Appendix A – Questionnaire.....................................................................................................44
SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION.............................................................................44
SECTION B: CONSTRUCT MEASUREMENT.....................................................................45
References..................................................................................................................................50
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Chapter 1
Introduction
The popularity of Social Networking Websites (SNWs) has increased in recent years, and
it has become an essential part of everyone's life (Bødker, Gimpel, & Hedman, 2009; Yoo, Choi,
Choi, & Rho, 2014). Statista (2018), reported there are approximately 2.62 billion social media
users, and that number will be expected to reach approximately 3.02 billion in 2021. Social
media are virtual platforms used for posting, sharing activities (for example games), and
interacting with users, which can lead to the expansion of their social networks (Statista, 2018).
For example, users actively post their status, photos, opinions, feelings, and their day to day
activities. Furthermore, users consume social information from newsfeeds portals. The most
popular SNWs are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Snapshot
and they are becoming increasingly popular due accessible internet connections and increased
usage of personal computers, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets (Zeng & Wei, 2013).
Based on the literature, there are limited research exploring the mediating link of privacy
concerns as it relates to trust in SNWs. Also, research by Kern, et al., (2014) and Park, et al.,
(2014) regarding trust and attitude in the context of privacy concerns but did not consider trust
and attitude as mediating variables. This study contributes to existing literature and adds to the
examining knowledge on the impact of social media users' privacy concerns on behavioral
intentions. Furthermore, this study will explore the effect that user personality traits have on user
behavioral intentions. The proposed study will incorporate a central existing human behavior
social theory, self-efficacy theory, and the effect society, social media platforms, and user
privacy concerns can have on an individual's decision-making process, actions and reactions as a
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result of SNW usage. Ultimately, the focus of this study will be on the potential effect of the
independent variables of five personality traits and the mediation effect if any, in relationship
with trust and privacy concern on the dependent variable of behavioral intentions of social
Background
Social networking websites are the most convenient, useful, and important methods of
communication. Businesses use social media platform to communicate with their customers,
business partners, and monitor the activities of other business (Almadhoun, et al., 2011; Boyd,
2008). A younger population of people ages 18 to 29 use social networking sites to interact with
their friends, family, and people from other parts of the world (Aslam, 2017). Several studies of
social media are related to business and marketing. However, this study will seek to analyze the
essential issues of the behavioral intentions of individuals who utilize social media by assessing
the Big Five Personality traits and the effect of trust, and privacy concerns (Tupes & Christal,
1961).
The interaction of people through social networking sites helps them build and foster social
relationships with other people. However, the information users encounter on SNWs consciously
and cognitively affect their reactions to the actions and activities that are before them. The
subconscious behavior of human beings are dependent upon their personalities, nature,
environment, and the personality of the other people with whom they are interacting. (Chu &
Kim, 2015). Statista (2018), reported approximately 2.62 billion social media users. That number
is expected to reach approximately 3.02 billion in 2021. Approximately 2 billion people around
the world have a Facebook membership, and more than 1.3 million people use Facebook actively
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(Statista, 2017). More than 328 million people use Twitter actively (Statista, 2017), and 100
million people check their accounts daily (Aslam, 2017; Korzaan & Boswell, 2008). Facebook
has shaped the social media structure since its inception, and it leads the market with around 1.86
billion users monthly. These statistics affirm the popularity of social networking sites among
Some people use social networking websites to improve their creativity and visibility while
others use SNWs for expressing themselves, as found by Chai & Fan (2018) and Koc &
Gulyagci (2013). Nadkarni & Hofmann, (2012) asserted that some people use SNWs because of
the desire to connect strongly, access social knowledge, establish friendly relationships with
other members, and engage with the community. A study by Boekaerts & Niemivirta, (2000),
stated that young adults ages 22 to 37 (millennial) motivational strivings are drawn closer by
concentrating on the objectives they seek after inside a given setting. In addition, young people
use social media to gain social connections and for maintaining identity including posting,
Furthermore, Social Networking Websites (SNWs) can also be used for political
manipulations and for that, people have more privacy and security concerns. Various algorithms
gather personal information on race, gender, sexual orientation, and even intelligence of people,
which can be used for predictions of many political factors, such as for which party a user will
vote (Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010). Individual's gender details, their intelligence, and
actions provide various clues about political views and actions. Such information captured by
social networking sites can be used for launching any new political campaign and targeting
individuals whose data reveals an affinity towards a political party or political ideals. Existing
research shows the complex personality traits that characterize various patterns of behaviors,
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attitude, and trust of a person based on their social networking profiles, likes, and posts (Day, et
al., 2002; Wei, et al., 2015). Such information is enough for character assessment of an
individual. The exploitive utilization of information of users on social networking sites creates
privacy concerns and a sense of fear among individuals, which leads to becoming insecure. The
underlying concept of privacy is not new but has led to new privacy concerns. Society's ability to
collect, aggregate, or share data is the current modern technology's ability and power,
particularly in comparison to the pre-computer era, to capture, store, aggregate, redistribute, and
use of data from individual users (Houghton & Joinson, 2010). Additionally, because of the
vulnerability in the world, some SNWs users believe their personal information can be misused
for different harmful purposes, which can cause them to feel helpless (Blackwell, Leaman,
Tramposch, Osborne, & Liss, 2017; Fogel & Nehmad, 2009); (Blackwell, et al., 2017; Fogel &
Another phenomenon is the privacy paradox that happens when people have significant
concerns about their online privacy and the idea that they are unable to secure their online
accounts. Moreover, while individuals take the necessary steps to secure their accounts related to
finance, for instance, bank accounts, they seem to be more liberal with sharing on SNWs and do
not extend the same privacy concerns as they do for their finances to their social media accounts.
Nadkarni & Hofmann, (2012) assert that the security of users social networking accounts are as
important as their bank accounts which could be done merely by deleting cookies, history of
browser, and checking the computer from viruses so that no accounts can be hacked or misused
from any intruding access. Additionally, organizations that take personal user information for
prediction purposes must increase their security so that risk management can be done effectively,
and the important data and information of the users will be kept safe (Amichai-Hamburger &
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Vinitzky, 2010; Akter, 2014). Furthermore, the potential mediator of trust emerges in research
from identified conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness as the most important predictors of
dyadic trust. Trust supports the dyadic outcomes upon the personality traits under investigation
Personality is the rational arrangement of emotions, thoughts, and desires that leads to
behavior (Revelle, 2013). Past research shows that personality traits plays a significant part in
determining an individual's behavior (Griffiths, 2009). The Big Five model, introduced by
characteristics, and it provides a structure to explain the differences in personality. The five
and openness. The Big Five Personality trait is recognized within psychological research and in
business as a useful tool. Many personality psychologists affirm that the five personality
dimensions reveal the most important personality characteristics of an individual (Christopher &
Joshua, 2015).
social media usage have led to questions concerning privacy concerns, the effect of or on
personality traits, force of utilization, discussion of exposure rates, social standards, self-
introduction, the impact of age differences, sexual orientation differences, and effect of self-
esteem (Clemens, 2015). Current data indicate that SNWs aggregately influence individuals'
behavior. Intentions are the primary determinant of behavior, which signifies that the higher the
intention to engage in a behavior, the more likely the real performance should be (Bandura,
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2002). Intentions are also grounded on principles related to the existence or non-existence of
necessary means and possibilities to undertake a particular action (Cha, 2010). The behavior of
an individual towards social media usage are related to the personality traits of that person
(Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010). One research study by La rose & Eastin, 2008,
examined 24 research studies to discover the uses and user gratification of social media. Several
studies related to behavioral intentions revealed that the primary reasons behind using SNWs are
As concluded by existing research, the Big Five personality traits affect individual
behavior towards SNWs. For example, the introversion and neuroticism personality traits
indicate that a maximum level of sadness and loneliness are correlated with an individual's
behavior (Cao & Su, 2016). Since the five personality dimensions have been associated with
behavioral intentions (Akter, 2014), people with various personality traits manifest different
behaviors towards social media and unique methods for utilizing them. For example, people
with the extrovert personality trait are regarded to engage in a high level of social media
activities (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). Individuals with neuroticism personality trait tend to spend a
lot of their day using social networking to avoid loneliness, but their sharing behavior such as
posting, uploading, sharing or any activity is very low (Moore & McElroy, 2012). Also, people
with an agreeableness personality trait are also more inclined to share positive images and
photos. Moreover, people possessing a high level of the openness personality trait tend to have a
large social network following and "like" more posts on SNWs than people with low rank on
openness (Cheung, et al., 2011). Additionally, people with a conscientiousness personality are
more careful in handling their social networking accounts; they share fewer photos, like few
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posts and socialize with few people (Blackwell, et al., 2017). Therefore, every personality trait
Different personalities on SNWs tend to selectively show aspects of their identity; they
think others should know about them. Those personalities also tend to be concerned about
privacy and security, and selectively disclose only specific aspects of their personal lives. To
understand the impact regarding concealing online identities and personalities, several
researchers studied the privacy concern of individuals in a social media context. Chai et al.,
(2009) define privacy as the claim of a person to determine where, how, when, and to what
extent their information is shared with others. In the world of social media, people who have a
high privacy concern and trust are less inclined to share information about themselves because
they think they may not be able to control who might have access to their information.
Conversely, people who have less privacy concern or trust limitations with higher control over
their privacy are more likely to share information about themselves (Weber, 2009). Preibusch,
Hoser, Gürses, & Berendt (2007) showed that individuals with significant privacy concerns do
not involve themselves in social media activities and do not reveal themselves in the social
media environment.
In addition, Park, et al., (2014), developed a study for personality assessment through
social media language. This research integrates the Big Five personality traits to help in
predicting and explaining concerns of individuals data privacy, technical anxiety and intentions
related to individual behavior. The research contributions primarily include expansion of the
model of Stewart and Segar's as stated by Korzaan & Boswell (2008). It improves predictability
who would be concerned regarding privacy, be prone towards anxiety and selected towards
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engagement for behaviors that are related for withholding personal data. Agreeableness had
shown to have a significant impact on individual concerns related to data privacy while
Due to the open nature of social networking sites, privacy concerns will continue to be a
significant concern for individuals with different personalities. In the social media environment,
if an individual perceives threats in using SNWs, it will be difficult for him/her to put trust in
specific social networking sites, and they may have a negative attitude towards them. Trust is
present when one party is sure that the second party in an exchange relationship is reliable (Luo,
et al., 2011). Therefore, trust has an important relationship with social media behavioral
intentions (Shin, 2010). Since trust plays an integral part in engagement and interaction while
intentions (Almadhoun, et al., 2011). Trust has been studied and tested for social media usage
behavior in different contexts. Research tends to indicate that the impact of the big five
personality types on behavioral intentions with the mediating effect of trust is essential in
The arrival of social networking sites influenced the way through which organizations
develop links with the current and potential customers and offer them their products and services
through social media for the effective, fast, and a more convenient way as compared to physical
shopping and purchasing (Chen, et al., 2011). From a study, the examination of adopting social
networking sites among people has been observed in which Facebook appeared to be on the top
of the social networking sites that are used by the people. The perceived usefulness, attitudes,
behavioral control, etc. are the factors that can affect people's usage of social media platforms
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The preliminary investigation of the relevant studies has found that privacy concern is an
important factor which plays a role in determining the behavior of users on SNWs. A study
conducted by Korzaan & Boswell (2008), focused on the influence of personality traits and
include expansion of the model, which improves predictability related to behavioral intentions
and provide a comprehensive understanding of individuals who are concerned about privacy,
prone towards anxiety, selective engagement and behaviors that are related to withholding
It is evident from the research that a growing concern for data privacy has been an area of
focus in the business environment of the modern era and having a comprehensive understanding
of issues that are related to this concern would only help in better preventative measures that are
utilized for protecting data privacy (La rose & Eastin, 2008). Current research has evaluated the
choices as it relates to data privacy. The more accurate the data that is collected, the better the
decision making as far as enhancing the effectiveness of businesses utility of the data.
relationship between user behavioral intentions towards social networking sites and how trust
plays a mediating role. The study will address how personality traits of an individual impact
their behaviors on (SNWs). Personality traits will also be studied to assess the impact on privacy
concerns, and the effects personality has on behavioral intentions towards SNWs. This research
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is using privacy concerns and trust as mediating variables because these constructs are important
for understanding behavioral intentions. In addition, the research will evaluate how an individual
behaves on specific types of SNWs to assess how personal characteristics and behavior
The findings of the research can help social media platforms address the concerns of users.
Insight about the behavioral factors of users can help companies enhance privacy protection and
adjust their strategies based on personality traits. This behavioral insight increases the
significance of this research. Existing studies provide insight into the complex nature of privacy
issues in society today, and further explain how individuals interpret current business practices.
However, this study's findings could improve the predictability of behavioral intentions by
prone to anxiety, and choose to engage in behaviors related to withholding personal information.
Furthermore, this study will examine the factors affecting behavioral intentions in order to
design suitable strategies relating to how one might use SNWs. Most importantly, the study will
guide companies in analyzing the personalities of their potential audience and the impact on the
behavioral intentions toward social media usage, thus facilitating the development of appropriate
strategies related to their social media marketing. There is a need for greater understanding about
different personalities and how personality relates to privacy concerns and trust, benefitting
social media companies by helping to execute appropriate policies for their respective companies
(Day, et al., 2002). It is vital to establish a theoretical understanding of the nature of social
media engagement behavior in response to marketing practices within a social network structure.
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The study will investigate the impact of personality traits on determining behavioral
intentions of users on social networking websites. It will also determine the mediating role of
privacy concerns and trust towards social networking sites on behavioral intentions.
Chapter 2
With social media emerging within the last 20 years, there has been an increased interest in
studying this topic to understand why people use social media, for instance, Facebook and
Twitter and to the extent of how they used it. This research will aim to incorporate a broader
range of SNW’s looking beyond how people use SNWs to how companies disseminate the
information they gather from these SNW’s and how the information is used to better-informed
marketers.
Most studies about social media are found in the disciplines of social science, media,
psychology, communication, and information systems. A review of these studies showed that the
scope of the research on behavioral intentions towards social media is unequal and diverse. A
systematic study is needed to understand the direction of future research related to the social
media environment.
Previous studies on social media and behavioral intentions mainly used the technology
acceptance model, the theory of planned behavior and the theory of planned action. The current
study will use the theory by Albert Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) as the principle
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theory to test the proposed theoretical framework. This theory will be used to provide a
For perspective purposes, previous studies associate personality traits with an affinity
towards specific social networking sites. Most of the studies focus on Facebook and Twitter.
The present research will consider additional sites, such as LinkedIn, to predict the behavior of a
person. However, the primary aim of prior studies was to propose policies and improve trusting
relationships between the user and social media. A primary purpose of this study is to examine
mediators, which assume a tradeoff due to the size of the mediator. A positive relation between
tradeoff size and conflict is provided by the theory of cognitive dissonance by Festinger (1964)
where conflict before a decision has the same origin as dissonance after the decision has been
made and the decision maker realizes the inconsistent and flaw with their decision. In contrast,
the implications of a double-mediation model predict that a conflict will generally occur in a
"U"- shape relationship resulting in a trade-off is the size in effect and be moderated by other
aspects of the decision (Scholten & Sherman, 2006). As a result of the research by Scholten and
Sherman (2006), it was generally concluded that the prediction of an inverse relationship existed
with large to intermediate trade-offs in decisions were experienced. For example, approach-
approach conflicts when more is better along with both attributes of success such as contract
duration and wage increase versus cost versus relationships (Scholten & Sherman, 2006). Haq
and Abbasi (2016) research indicated a relation and effect of double–mediators of hedonic and
positive emotions between fashion and impulsivity of purchases. This study has relevance to this
investigator's exploration of social media with respect to impulsivity and emotional factors, such
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as "agreeableness" or "neuroticism" affecting social network websites. However, studies
regarding social media networks have not called for double mediation analysis, and therefore the
objective of the current study will add valuable knowledge of research on this subject as a basis
Conscientiousness: A personality trait where a person has a high drive to achieve something. It
also shows the degree to which a person is reliable, prompt, and perseverant.
Agreeableness: Agreeableness is one of the five personality traits where the people are kind,
Openness: The openness to experience measures the person's approachability to learn new
Neuroticism: This personality trait is related to nervousness and insecurity. It is also related to
Privacy Concern: Privacy is the claim of a person to determine where, how, when and to
what extent their information is shared with others (Almadhoun, et al., 2011).
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Trust: A readiness of one party to rely on the actions of another party based on the expectation
that the other party's actions will be according to the trustor (Almadhoun, et al., 2011).
While we are focusing on trust, we did consider attitude as a possible trait. Attitude is the feeling
accomplish the following: a) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system,
b) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and c) view and traverse
their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and
nomenclature of these connections may vary from a website to website (Boyd & Ellison, 2008).
For example; the following well-frequented social media websites: a) Facebook: Facebook is a
site where the user can update his/her status, share photos, videos, links, with their friends. It is
an online platform to connect and interact with people and share feelings, activities, and news, b)
YouTube: YouTube is a site where the user can watch videos online. The user can also post
videos, like, share, comment or subscribe to other videos, c) Twitter: Twitter is a site where the
user expresses his/her thoughts, feelings, or ideas in few characters. It is an online platform made
to interact with each other by tweeting, "re-tweet" (reposting of a Tweet), liking, and following,
d) Instagram: Instagram is a site where users can post, edit, and share pictures and short videos,
e) LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional network where users interact for employment purposes or
for expanding their professional circle. The following sections will provide an in-depth literature
review on all the variables in this study. The goal of this research is to bring to light how and
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why it is important to measure the impact of the big five personality traits on behavioral
intentions towards SNW’s and the mediating effect of privacy concerns and trust.
negatively and positively towards attitudes and beliefs, which also highlight social achievement
as factors of good or bad intentions (Digman, 1990). The five personality traits as mentioned
asserted that personality is an essential factor in determining the number of aspects of one's life
such as educational achievement, work efficiency, social position, health, and human
relationship status with family and peers, political views, personal welfare, and behavioral
intentions towards social media (Li, et al., 2014; Neal, et al., 2012; Wang, 2013).
The role of the personality traits of the Big Five can be described in terms of neuroticism,
personal accomplishment (Morgan & de Bruin, 2010). In addition, results of Morgan and de
Bruin (2010) indicated students who are emotionally secure, socially outgoing and industrious
and maintain display lower levels of burnout and higher levels of self-efficacy. There are
potentially significant implications for behavioral intentions upon social networking platforms
(Morgan & de Bruin, 2010). Extant literature discovered the strong relationship between the big
five personality traits and social media usage (Ryan & Xenos, 2011; Correa, et al., 2010; Moore
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& McElroy, 2012). Sumner, Byers, & Shearing (2011) designed a study to find out to what
extent personality types and privacy concerns impacted social media usage.
Research carried out compared the Big Five personality trait with the usage of social
media activities, and the type of language used by the user showed that there is a positive
relationship between the personality trait of a user, their usage behavior, and the level of privacy
concern in using social media websites. This study will focus on the big five personality traits
extraversion d) agreeableness, and e) neuroticism (Ryan & Xenos, 2011; Correa, et al., 2010;
environment and transform with the changing aspects of the surrounding. This has been a core
debate for many years that was addressed theoretically (Aslam, 2017; Cao & Su, 2016;
Almadhoun, et al., 2011). It is important to identify that each of the personality traits represents a
level of two extremes. Moreover, good or bad decisions are affected by different traits of
disorders, anxiety, and depression. As such, relevant studies and theories are examining
behavioral intentions, which describe the average satisfaction level in a certain period with the
level of positive expressions, and negative effects (Bandura, 2002; Ayal, et al., 2015). A person's
behavior and attitudes are based on factors and situations they are faced with most of the time,
and it is reflected in the effect of their transformation. The personality traits are significant, and
these are considered predictors of attitudes and behaviors (Akter, 2014; DeYoung, 2014).
The most significant and attracting proof of the strong connection between behavioral
intentions and the five personality traits is derived from the detailed analysis showing that three
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of the five big personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness) are more
inclined towards the behaviors and beliefs of a person (Ku, et al., 2013).
The Big Five have been empirically proven to have a strong relationship with behavioral
intentions on social media. People possessing a high level of the extraversion trait are regarded to
engage in a high level of social media activities along with a big friend circle in social
networking sites than introverted people (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). Extroverts are highly
enthusiastic, friendly, and assertive with a positive approach. People with this personality trait
enjoy being with others and are highly likely to use numerous features on social networking sites
(Ryan & Xenos, 2011). According to the study of Moore and McElroy (2012), 10% of the
participants in the study had a high score in extraversion, and it observed that each study
participant had 484 friends on average. Since they like to have face-to-face communication with
others, they use SNWs for reasons such as time passing, leisure activities or expressing
themselves in front of their friends. According to Golkar Amnieh & Kaedi (2015), extroverts
usually reply and frequently repost tweets on Twitter, and they are more likely to have more
followers.
Individuals possessing agreeable trait do not use curse words and show a positive attitude
on their posts and status (Seidman, 2013). Agreeableness is one of the five personality traits
associated with people's tendency to be kind, friendly, cooperative, and compassionate. They are
also more inclined to share photos and sharing positivity. Individuals with high scores in
Agreeableness trait tends to affect social engagements. Past studies on agreeable traits
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On the contrary, present research shows a strong relationship between agreeableness and
social networking sites usage. For example, Amichai-Hamburger and Vinitzky (2010) discovered
that the agreeableness trait has a significant association with sharing behavior on social media.
These individuals are more likely to share friendly posts and engage in making positive
handling their social networking accounts; they share fewer photos, like fewer posts and
socialize with very few people (Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010; Blackwell, et al., 2017).
Conscientiousness is a personality trait where a person has a high drive to achieve something. It
also shows the degree to which a person is reliable, prompt, and perseverant. Since conscientious
people are vigorously thoughtful, cautious, determined, and they are more likely to engage in
educational activities as compared to leisure activities on social media (McElroy, et al., 2007). A
study conducted by Moore & McElroy, (2012) showed that individuals with the
conscientiousness trait do not post pictures and share posts on Facebook. Their information
seeking behavior in social media shows that they make more efforts and prefer credible sources
People who exhibit neuroticism indicated the continuum between emotional adjustment
or stability and emotional maladjustment or neuroticism (Costa and McCrae, 1992). There is a
tendency to experience high levels of fear, anxiety, nervousness, sadness, tension, anger, and
sometimes guilt. Individuals scoring at the lower end of neuroticism spectrum tend to be even-
tempered and emotionally stable (Zaidi, et al., 2012). Neuroticism is the one Big Five factors in
which a high score indicates more negative personality traits but is not a factor of meanness or
incompetence. Instead, it is one of confidence and being comfortable in one's skin. Traits
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commonly associated with neuroticism are awkwardness, pessimism, moody, jealous, anxious,
testy and insecure as well as unstable (Gallego & Pardos-Prado, 2013; Power & Pluess, 2015).
The final trait, openness to experience is the tendency of the individual to be imaginative,
with features characteristics such as imagination and insight sensitive, original in thinking,
attentive to inner-feelings, appreciative of art, intellectually curious, and sensitive to beauty Such
individuals are willing to entertain new ideas and unconventional values (Zaidi, et al., 2012).
People exhibit this trait have high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests. They
are curious about the world and other people and eager to learn new things and enjoy new
Given these five personality traits, along with their respective qualities that are influenced
or can be influenced by the external environment, it can be said that extraversion includes
cooperativeness, and other behaviors with pro-social elements. According to a study conducted
by Sumner, Byers, & Shearing (2011), people who are low in agreeableness tend to be
thoughtfulness, behaviors with directed goals, and impulsive control; people with more
conscientiousness tend to be more organized and more mindful about the details. While not
exploring the relationship of two traits, we considered the following in the design which includes
the following. First, neuroticism is the personality trait that contains moodiness, emotional
instability, sadness, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, etc. People who are low in this personality
trait tend to be happier and more emotionally stable (Chiu, et al., 2006; Adnan, 2002). Second,
openness personality trait has the attributes of insights and imagination, a wide range of interest,
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and people with the openness trait are more adventurous, creative, etc. Those who do not have
the openness personality trait tend to have abstract thinking, are more reserved, and they are
Behavioral Intentions
Behavioral intentions of human beings are found to measure and judge the tendencies of
users to show their intention and perspective about anything, and within the context of this
research, the behavioral intentions of a person will help in analyzing and measuring the
interaction or refusal of human beings with social networking websites (Akter, 2014; Chu &
Kim, 2015). Through social networking websites, communication, sharing photos, videos, and
personal information are facilitated and will determine the behavioral intentions of a person (Cao
The behavioral intentions construct will be used to understand the behaviors of people
while using technologies such as social networking platform (Kern, et al., 2014). Various prior
studies have focused on the influence different personality traits have on the behavioral
intentions of a person. Wei, Lin, & Lu (2015) stressed information privacy and the human
behavior exhibited by people with high level of proactivity whenever they feel any concern
regarding privacy, threat, or any risk, thus reducing their exposure to threats of privacy such as
eliminating themselves from the vulnerable social networking post or comment that can threaten
them (Akter, 2014). Furthermore, they also try to safeguard privacy by not providing social
networking platforms with their personal and confidential information. Moreover, it has been
argued that this defensive behavior varies from person to person because not all human beings
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possess the same personalities and same traits, leading to different behaviors in different
collaborative working, etc. has opened many opportunities for the people (Bandura, 2002). The
social media platforms provide various techniques for the customers to judge their buying
intentions and perceptions about products and services, which allow the businesses to serve
customers in a better way, retain more customers, and increase revenues. According to privacy
concerns theories, risk factors, and personality traits of the human being help determine the trust
and attitudes of human beings (Boyd, 2008). The behavior of users with a high level of
involvement in social media activities helps them to detect and recognize when their user
profiles, comments, and other behaviors are being matched and be used for computation to assess
their buying behaviors. Moreover, user purchase history also tells about the behavioral intentions
participating in online activities, are quite concerned about the back-end activities that are being
performed with their personal information and behavioral assessment for other uses. Consistent
with similar prior research, people tend to be quite cognizant of the good and bad situations and
Wei, Lin, & Lu (2015) reveal that people with a high level of self-esteem,
conscientiousness, and self-protectiveness about them do not expose themselves on social media
platforms regardless of any strict privacy policies provided by the social networking platforms.
Therefore, it can be said that behavioral intentions are negatively related or indirectly
proportional to the social media activities of privacy and risk factors (Brent & Daniel, 2017). The
25
relationship between the events that bring social anxiety and behavioral intentions can be
mediated by various factors such as their attitudes, trust, concerns, and even their actions
The concept of privacy of information and risk concerns have also been significantly
related to the behavioral intentions of individuals while using social networking platforms. Some
people are socially anxious while using such platforms and it is entirely plausible to expect that
people would be worried, or not while using social networking sites (Bødker, et al., 2009).
People who are less open or introverted may become less trusting towards online sellers
and buyers with whom they are not familiar (Park, 2014). Moreover, it has been found that most
online sellers of different products and services do not ensure customer with a high level of
privacy, resulting in users' distress leading users to become less trusting with the online buying
and selling activities, subsequently, having an altering effect on user attitude (Bandura, 2002).
People become frustrated with engaging in social media activities when they understand
the risk factors and the need to assess ways through which they can be protected. People become
anxious about the extensive amounts of data collected on social media platforms when they do
not know what happens to the data being shared. However, people become less worried about
sharing information when they have a more profound understanding of the usage of data and the
methods that can be used to alleviate privacy concerns, issues, and breach of trust (Amichai-
Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010). Therefore, it can be said that the behavioral intentions of human
beings are influenced by the handling of data by social media platforms, which can also change
the trust and attitudes of individuals (Aslam, 2017). As discussed in earlier sections, people are
quite open to their intellects and experiences, and they are inclined towards learning and
achieving things, striving to expand their base of knowledge and awareness of different things
26
(Blumberg, et al., 2008; Akter, 2014). Furthermore, to fulfill social needs, people spend their
time on different social media platforms and share information with friends and people they
know. However, user social media activities are influenced by user personality and external
factors, such as privacy concerns, which might change user behaviors and attitude towards
Privacy Concern
Privacy concern is one of two mediation factors being evaluated for their affect on the
dependent variable of behavioral intentions in the proposed study. As such, the user's behavior
towards social networking sites may be potentially affected by the mediation of privacy in
conjunction with or separately with the mediation of Trust. Privacy is the claim of a person to
determine where, how, when and to what extent their information is shared with others on the
SNW. It is the evaluation of an individual's awareness and assessment of risks regarding privacy
abuse. According to Lanier and Saini (2008), privacy concern is a feeling of unease related to the
person's privacy. Privacy concern is also described as a concern of an individual to have on the
violation of his/her privacy and accessibility of the private information and how it will be used
but is considered as a potential mediator to the Big Five personality traits: a) conscientiousness,
evolution of the Internet and social networking sites (SNWs), has created information sharing
which has increased the privacy concern of an individual. Therefore, the topic has interested
many academicians and researchers in discussing the issue of privacy as a mediator and studying
27
Moreover, several studies examined the impact of information sharing and privacy options
on social networking sites on the privacy concern of users. For example, the study of Gross and
Acquisti (2015) conducted research that included 4,000 undergraduates' participants who use
Facebook to find out their information sharing behavior on social networking sites and privacy
concern. The study revealed that many students faced attacks on different aspects of privacy, but
only a few undergraduates attempted to change the privacy of their social media accounts. The
study of Preibusch, Hoser, Gürses, & Berendt (2007) showed that individuals with trust issues
and significant privacy concerns do not involve in social media activities. The study further
indicated that there are a limited number of privacy options available on social networking sites,
which do not offer any alternative to users to control their privacy and manage conflicts.
evaluating 360,000 MySpace profiles. The study discovered that the number of inactive profiles
increased a significant amount from 2006 to 2007. On the other hand, active accounts grew
linearly. The study's findings attributed privacy concern as the cause due to inactive profiles on
MySpace. The data from 2007 to 2008 also revealed that the active accounts grew linearly, and
Shin (2010) evaluated privacy concern based on the user's behavior and found that the
users showing a negative attitude towards social networking sites had a high level of privacy
concerns. The study also proposed that social networking sites should develop a strong privacy
policy so that users develop a positive attitude towards social media and have less privacy
concern. Lin & Lu (2011) proposed that trust and privacy have a positive impact on the social
media usage and information sharing behavior, where trust played a role of mediator in a
relationship of privacy and social media usage behavior. Since trust and privacy are important in
28
direct communication and the establishment of a relationship, similarly privacy and trust have
been used significantly in several studies (Goettke & Christiana, 2007). In addition, Dwyer,
Hiltz, & Passerini (2007) conducted a detailed study comparing users' views on privacy concern
and trust, and their effect on user readiness to share information and make new friends on social
networking sites. The study included two famous social networking sites of MySpace and
Facebook. The study explored the impact of privacy concern and trust in sharing behavior on
social media. The results showed that the users of both websites depicted a similar degree of
privacy concern but had different levels of trust and exposure on these websites. The research
also showed that people would make new friends on these websites when trust and privacy
concern is strong.
In research by Almadhoun, Dominic, & Woon (2011) the influence of security and privacy
concern was analyzed on an individual's acceptance towards social networking sites. The results
of the research revealed that security and privacy concern have a positive influence on trust and
behavioral intentions towards social networking sites. In contrast, the study of Cha (2010) found
a negative relationship between privacy concern and usage behavior towards social media. The
research further revealed that privacy concern has no significant impact on some people using
aspects of privacy concern in the context of social networking sites usage; therefore, privacy
Further exploratory studies by Park, et al., (2014), and Kern, et al., (2014) posited that
privacy concern as the most indirect relationship with behavioral intentions. It was extensively
studied that privacy concern has an impact on attitude, which in turn determines the user's
behavior toward social networking sites. Privacy concern is one of the behavioral beliefs
29
similarly to personality trait affecting the attitude of a person (Almadhoun, et al., 2011). Few
studies suggest that privacy concern in social networking sites lead to a negative attitude towards
social media, which in turn negatively impacts behavior (Almadhoun, et al., 2011; Gupta &
Dhami, 2015; Shin, 2010). Privacy concern is also referred to as a type of perceived risk. There
are several researchers highlighting risk in using social media from a technical perspective based
on different security issues related to risk protection. According to Mannuka & Jarvi, (2014),
perceived risk has a strong impact on how users perceive value, and therefore, negatively
impacts perceived benefits. Perceived risk also reduces the perceived advantages of a specific
can be divided into social risk, security risk, and time risk. Social media users can opt out of
information which deemed risky (Chen, et al., 2011), including engagement behavior in social
The current literature and empirical research show that individuals anticipating a
significant threat will take measures to avoid those threats including taking protective measures
or refraining from risky actions (Herath, et al., 2014). In the social media environment, if the
individual perceives threats and risks in using social networking websites, it is most likely that he
or she will stop using those websites. If individuals perceive fewer threats and risks in using
social networking websites, it is most likely that he or she will continue using those websites.
Trust
Trust is defined as the second of two mediation factors which can be defined as a readiness
of one party to rely on the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other party's
efforts will be according to the trust (Almadhoun, et al., 2011). Trust may play an important role
30
as mediator in determining whether a person is concerned about his/her privacy or not (Tsoi &
Chen, 2011). Trust will be explored as a potential mediating variable in this quantitative analysis.
Trust also defines the user's behavior towards social networking websites if an individual were
concerned about the fact that a third party uses information; thus he/she will not trust the social
networking site and as a result not provide his personal information. As such, the trust will also
affect an individual's degree of gratification when using social networking sites. This suggests
that the user's trust is determined by the privacy concern of that user, which in turn predicts his
social media behavioral intentions and social gratification. Fogel and Nehmad (2009) studied the
impact of privacy concern on behavioral intentions towards social networking sites and
discovered that privacy concern positively influences the future behavioral intentions toward
social media. The study further concluded that males have less privacy concern compared to
females, and therefore they share personal information more readily on social networking sites
compared to women.
With the exponential growth of social media usage that allows interacting socially any time
of a day, there are risks, and concerns involved in using those media. Therefore, trust plays an
important role in the online environment for the usage of social networking sites (Chellappa,
2008). Many people have disapproved of social media due to the lack of trust in website security.
Trust is present when one party is sure that the second party in an exchange relationship is
reliable (Luo, et al., 2011). Trust has been studied and tested for social media usage behavior in
different contexts. Research conducted on the internet environment has demonstrated that trust is
significant construct for the formation of positive behavioral intentions to use social media in the
31
Furthermore, trust is an essential factor when there is a slight chance of risk (Pavlou,
2012). It is the basis of an exchange between two parties that continues the engagement and
exchange. This study will explore the impact of trust as a mediator between the Big Five
personality traits and behavioral intentions. The concept of trust comes with numerous aspects.
Trust has a vital role in determining information sharing and establishing new relationships when
perceived risk. High level of trust would result in low perceived risk; on the other hand, a low
level of trust would result in a high-perceived risk. Research on relational exchange showed that
trust is a prerequisite for information sharing behavior because it has lower perceived risks in
sharing private information. Trust will be explored as a potential mediating variable in the
proposed study.
Existing studies show trust as a mediating factor in the research of social media usage. The
study of Gupta & Dhami (2015) reveals trust as a mediating variable in a relationship of
perceived security and privacy with information sharing behavior in a social media context. The
security options provided by social networking sites are also an important factor in establishing
trust and the belief that the experience will be secure. The Gupta & Dhami (2015) study
suggested that privacy has no direct effect on behavioral intentions, but privacy has a significant
impact on trust, which in turn determines behavioral intentions toward social media. The study of
Yaseen, Dajani & Fadhil (2012) also supports the above findings where trust acts as a mediating
variable in the relationship between privacy concern and behavioral intentions towards social
media.
Moreover, studies related to the five personality traits and social media usage indicate that
trust acts as a mediating factor between them. A study conducted by Gerris, Delsing, and Oud
32
(2010) examined the impact of personality trait on behavioral intentions by studying trust as a
mediating variable. The results showed that agreeableness is the strongest predictor of trust,
which in turn affects behavioral intentions towards social media. Similarly, a study discovered
that conscientiousness has a positive impact on perceived trust. In line with the finding of Gerris,
Delsing, and Oud (2010), Ping, Mujtaba, Whetten, & Wei, (2012) also found a positive
relationship between conscientiousness and trust. This shows that an individual with a high level
of conscientiousness tends to trust social networking sites and has a positive behavior toward
social media. This supports the selection of three variables of conscientiousness, agreeableness
and extraversion but all the Big Five personality traits will be examined in this study.
Establishment of trust in the context of perceived risk in the social media environment is
very limited. While signing up for any social networking site, users must share their personal
information to create an account. By sharing personal information, users surrender their privacy
to those websites who use personal data. (Tsoi & Chen, 2011), highlighted that an individual's
interaction with the SNWs providers, surrounding social contracts, which is not often stated, and
therefore, there needs trust in the service provider. Previous studies have not provided enough
evidence that websites misuse the information of an individual to benefit the third party.
However, Facebook was discovered as the website which shares user information with
companies for advertisement purpose. The literature proves that perceived risk has a strong
impact on trust. Low levels of perceived risk mean a high level of trust and vice versa
behavioral intentions.
Hypothesis:
33
H1a: Conscientiousness will have a negative impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
trust such that high levels of conscientiousness will lead to lower trust which will have a direct
H1b: Conscientiousness will have a negative impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by privacy
concerns such that high levels of conscientiousness will lead to higher privacy concerns which will have
H2a: Extraversion will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
trust such that high levels of extraversion will lead to higher trust which will have a direct positive effect
on behavioral intentions.
H2b: Extraversion will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
privacy concerns such that high levels of extraversion will lead to lower privacy concerns which will
H3a: Agreeableness will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
trust such that high levels of agreeableness will lead to higher trust which will have a direct positive
H3b: Agreeableness will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
privacy concerns such that high levels of agreeableness will lead to lower privacy concerns which will
H4a: Openness will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by trust
such that high levels of openness will lead to higher trust which will have a direct positive effect on
behavioral intentions.
34
H4b: Openness will have a significant positive impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by
privacy concerns such that high levels of openness will lead to lower privacy concerns which will have a
H5a: Neuroticism will have a negative impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by trust such that
high levels of neuroticism will lead to lower trust which will have a direct negative effect on behavioral
intentions.
H5b: Neuroticism will have a negative impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by privacy
concerns such that high levels of neuroticism will lead to higher privacy concerns which will have a
Figure 1
Privacy Concerns
Personality Traits
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Behavioral
Agreeableness Intentions
Openness
Trust Towards
SNWs
Neuroticism
35
Theoretical Foundation
This study will use Social Cognitive Theory as theoretical frameworks while exploring
other theories such as Social Monitoring Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory to help build the
to evaluate the motivation, actions, and thoughts that includes an interrelated framework of
causality where behavior, reasoning, and other individual factors, and the environment impacts
all function as integrating factors affecting each other bi-directionally. Bandura's (1986)
developed social cognitive theory to provide an autonomous for examining the human
determinants and mechanisms effects. Human behavior has been explained in terms of
environment (Bandura, 1986, 2001). In social media and communications informing, enabling,
motivating, and guiding participants assume systems have two pathways, which promote
changes. As such, social media influences are used to link participants to social networks and
community settings. These places provide continued personalized guidance, as well as natural
incentives and social support for desired behavioral change (Bandura, 1997, 2001).
While the role of regulatory focus theory represented the consideration of how a second
theory may affect the relationship between two other variables, regarding people's perceptions in
a decision-making process and effect in motivation, may be confusing. As such in research, there
36
was potential confusion with regulatory relevance, message matching and nonverbal
communications and persuasion. While the theory has noteworthy implications for increasing
the value of life, the right "fit" experience may satisfy a committed outcome and feel right about
what they are doing in the way they are doing it. However, consecration may be construed to the
expected mediation effect of building trust in managing consumer information exchange. It was
not an applicable secondary theory in this study as constructed by this investigator while social
cognitive theory appears to more directly assess the dominate of variables cognition and
behavior under investigation (Bandura, 2001; Dholakia, Gopinath, Bagozzi, & Nataraajan, 2006;
Higgins, 2002; Wirtz & Lwin, 2009; Werth & Foerster, 2007).
The Baron and Kenny (1986) mediation model has been highly regarded and widely used
in psychological research, which includes several requirements that must be met to form a true
mediation relationship. A mediator variable explains the relationship between two other
variables. Mediators may explain how a variable account for the relationship between the
predictor and criterion. Mediators explain how physical events assume internal psychological
importance (Baron & Kenny, 1986). There are seven reasons supporting the use of mediating
variables in intervention research, which included the following: (a) mediation analysis provided
a check on the intervention effect of trust in the mediating variable that is was intended to
invalid mediator to detect a change such as lack of trust, (d) assessment of behavior change by
which the intervention factor achieved the desired effect on the outcome, (e) refined theory by
testing to prove or disprove through causal inferences, and (f) practical implications whether an
intervention should be continued was too expensive to use to effect an outcome (MacKinnon,
2011).
37
The social cognitive theory is based on personal and group behavior, which is also known
as social learning theory (Pincus, 2004). It is a model widely recognized to help determine
behavior and evaluates why a person engages in a particular behavior. The theory suggests that
behavior is analyzed through a person's expectancy towards the outcome of the behavior, driven
by their experience and can be intervened by the observations (La rose & Eastin, 2008).
Therefore, the underlying concept of this theory is that people can affect their behavior
Due to the dynamic nature of the Social Cognitive Theory, it has been used throughout
various disciplines because it postulates that human behavior is continuously changing. The
theory is also applied in the context of technology and the internet (Robert & Jennifer, 2014).
The major transformation of the internet environment suggests that social cognitive theory is an
important theoretical framework to comprehend behavioral intentions (Pelling & White, 2009. ).
The theory supports that the usage of social networking sites involves motivating people to make
sure that they have the necessary knowledge and positive attitude when using social networking
websites. Lee and Ma (2012) found that personality plays a vital role in determining the behavior
of a person in the social media environment. Since social media environment is comprised of
different types of people who are involved in different activities, risky behavior, or may possess
antisocial tendencies, it is reasonable to assume that behaviors are determined by user personality
Social cognitive theory suggests a person's conduct mainly affects the behavior and
expectations through the direct, indirect, and collective experiences of the behavior (Bandura,
2002). In addition, to examine expected outcomes, the theory explores several factors that affect
an individual's behavior. It is safe to say that various constructs, such as privacy concern, trust,
38
and attitude of an individual have an impact on social media usage. In past studies, the theory
has been used in finding determinants of internet usage behavior (LaRose & Eastin, 2004).
Thus, it merits examining social cognitive theory's applicability to social media usage
behavior by comparison or contrast with previous findings. This study is attempting to explore
the social cognitive perspective as an antecedent of social media behavior. This study is
by an evaluation of the proposed model alongside other forms of media usage behavior. An
behavior, such as sharing, posts, commenting, and liking content on social media (Cao & Su,
2016). Therefore, the social cognitive theory provides an important theoretical foundation for the
study.
Consideration was given to the assessment for another relevant theory social monitoring
theory (SMT) to help provides the theoretical basis of the study. Social monitoring theory refers
to the way people monitor their behavior, expressions, thinking, and personality (Snyder, 1974).
This investigator determined that SMT would not be included in the analysis and relationship
between the constructs and mediation factors. The theory of SMT further defines five types,
which are motivation, courtesy, skill, use of the ability, and behavior (Fuglestad & Snyder,
2010). Both high and low self-monitor are different from each other based on these dimensions,
which may be explored in future research and studies, by this investigator. As such, SMT is
defined as the ability to regulate behavior to accommodate social change and social situations
possibly influenced by the notion of how other people or individuals may perceive their actions.
This was founded on the belief that people are sensitive to what they see and not see. In addition,
39
According to self-monitoring theory, individuals differ in the extent to which people are
willing and able to control their self-expression in many social situations, as they see fit
depending on the perceived circumstance. Others may be actors or politicians in their ability to
find the appropriate dialogue for a range of quite different social situations with "chameleon-
like" ease; they present the right image for the right audience, whiles do not change Mehra,
Mediation
The above literature review discussed social media channels, behavioral intentions of
people, and the influence of different personality traits on the behavioral intentions of social
media users (Boekaerts & Niemivirta, 2000). Moreover, a mediator variable describes the
relationship between two other variables. Mediators may explain how a variable account for the
relationship between the predictor and condition. Mediators explain how physical events assume
internal psychological importance (Baron & Kenny, 1986). In addition, mediator variables such
as self-efficacy in this research specify how and why a particular relationship took place and
described the psychological processes that created the dynamic connection (i.e., beliefs,
emotions, feelings, behavior) by an individual that may lead to a specific behavior. A single
mediating model represented the addition of a third variable (M) as an X affects Y in the causal
sequence. As such, X caused changes in the mediator (M) which in turn caused a change in Y.
Mediating variables were central to the field of healthcare and Medication Adherence to
understand the process by which independent variable such as trust was related to
40
a b
X M Y
The use of social media platforms is deduced to understand the changing behaviors and trust of a
person, which is not just momentary, but also it can lead the person to act emotionally and
improve the relationships with other people. Different personality traits influence the sales and
services of brands and businesses, and active and extrovert people are more likely to buy
products online compared to people who are less open and introvert. Preibusch & Hoser, (2007)
showed that the personality aspects that increase the trust of individuals toward social media
content and information support the behavioral intentions of the people. It leads people to have a
higher level of trust towards the content and users on social networking sites (Akter, 2014). To
understand the levels of trust of a person as it relates to their behavioral intentions, the following
1. X predicting Y to test for significance of c alone, where X is the independent variable and Y is the
41
3. M (Mediation of trust and/or privacy) predicting Y to test for significance of pathway b, alone,
where M is the mediator of the indirect effect on the Dependent variable of Behavioral Intentions.
4. Analysis of X and M predicting Y will include variables of X followed by M (trust and/or privacy)
5. If M (trust and/or privacy) are significant mediators, the relationship between X and Y
Summary
This study will use Social Cognitive Theory as theoretical frameworks, while
exploring other theories such as Social Monitoring theory and Regulatory Focus Theory to build
the foundation for the proposed research. The chapter also showed the review of the relevant
literature by providing empirical evidence of relevant variables. Hypotheses to be tested are also
highlighted in the chapter. The next chapter outlines the research methodology to provide
Chapter 3:
the Big Five personality traits (Conscientiousness, Extraversion & Agreeableness, Neuroticism
and Openness) and the use of social media. To understand the impact personality traits on Social
42
Network Websites (SNWs) user behavioral intentions and the mediating effect trust and privacy
concerns on behavioral intentions, primary data will be collected via an online survey. More
specifically, quantitative data will be collected pertaining to individual personality traits and
related participation with social media using deduction and induction methods (Blumberg, et al.,
2008). This design allows the use of closed-ended questions. While open-ended data-driven
questions are well established in large data sets, this investigator of large datasets combined with
established psychological theory will measure significant with recognized Likert scale format in
quantitative examination to further understand the human psyche in the use of social media
The survey will be created using the electronic survey platform Qualtrics and distributed
using M-Turk, an Amazon provider that administers surveys to its pool of active consumers. The
participant will be paid $1 each for their participation. The survey will aim to garner responses
from adults 18+ with a sampling of approximately 300 participants of SNWs such as Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Data will be collected for three weeks.
Respondents will have the ability to provide consent prior to taking the survey. The survey will
begin with a statement guaranteeing participants of full confidentiality and will explain the
purpose of the study and how their participation will be used for science. Although participants
are aware the survey is for an academic research project, they are not privy to the intent of the
survey. This information will be intentionally withheld to avoid bias in the responses.
Questionnaire
The objective of this research is to understand the relationship between the Big Five
43
on behavioral intentions using social media and the effect of mediating variables such as privacy
concerns and trust. The online questionnaire will consist of closed-ended questions to facilitate
the collection of data and the statistical analysis of data. The questions are close-ended usually;
therefore, it is easy to analyze and interpret the responses from the respondents. In addition, it is
considered as a cost-effective and time-saving method, which can survey many sample sizes.
gender and age. In addition, two questions will be related to possible moderating variables of the
study, specifically, the type of SNWs and time spent on SNWs. The questions of moderating
variables are multiple response questions where the respondent can provide multiple answers.
The survey asks respondents to identify the social networking sites they actively use: Facebook,
Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and LinkedIn and the time spent on sites. In
Section, B constructs will be measured. All scale items in this study will be on a 5-point Likert-
type scale, ranging from 1=" strongly disagree'' to 5=‘‘strongly agree.'' Participants will be asked
to rate the extent to which they agree or disagree with each statement.
Scales
The following scales will be used for measuring the data collected from the survey: The
International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and NEO Personality Inventory to evaluate the type of
personality of the respondent. Thirty items will be used to identify the different personality type
with relationship to behavior and the possible effect of trust as a mediator. Moreover, the
respondents will be asked to indicate the level of agreement with the statements that describe
them. The IPIP was constructed by (Goldberg, et al., 2006) & Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R.
44
(1992) NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R scales were created and later revised by many
other authors including (Tan, et al., 2012) and Osatuyi, B (2015). There are question items
related to each personality trait i.e. openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism. The investigation will include relevant traits: consciousness, extraversion and
agreeableness. Items related to privacy concern will be taken from the study of (Tan, et al.,
2012). Behavioral Intentions items will come from (Ramdani, 2014; Tan, et al., 2012).
Additionally, items related to Trust will be taken from Dwyer et al. (2007) & Ramadani (2014),
reliability and validity of the variables in the study. AMOS statistics software will be used for
structural equation modeling to test the relationship of the variables within the model.
Appendix A – Questionnaire
Male
Female
2. Respondent’s Age:
18 – 24
25 – 34
35 – 44
45 – 54
45
55 – 64
65+
Snapchat
YouTube
10-30 minutes
30 minutes – 1 hour
describe how accurately each statement describes you. Describe yourself as you generally are
now, not as you wish to be in the future. Describe yourself as you honestly see yourself, in
relation to other people you know of the same sex as you are, and roughly your same age. So that
you can honestly describe yourself, your responses will be kept in absolute confidence.
46
Please read each statement carefully, and then click on the bubble that corresponds to your
S D N A SA
STATEMENT D
BIG FIVE PERSONALITY - (GOLDBERG, ET AL., 2006; TAN, ET AL., 2012) AND
BABAJIDE OSATUYI (2015) INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY ITEM POOL
HTTP://IPIP.ORI.ORG
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
1. Am always prepared 1 2 3 4 5
2. Pay attention to details 1 2 3 4 5
3. Get chores done right away 1 2 3 4 5
4. Like order 1 2 3 4 5
5. Follow a schedule 1 2 3 4 5
6. Make plans and stick with them 1 2 3 4 5
EXTRAVERSION
7. Feel comfortable around people 1 2 3 4 5
8. Make friends easily 1 2 3 4 5
9. Start conversations 1 2 3 4 5
10. Talk to a lot of different people at parties 1 2 3 4 5
47
20. Do not like poetry 1 2 3 4 5
21. Avoid philosophical discussions 1 2 3 4 5
22. Enjoy wild flights of fantasy 1 2 3 4 5
23. Can say things beautifully 1 2 3 4 5
24. Am not interested in abstract ideas 1 2 3 4 5
25. Enjoy thinking about things 1 2 3 4 5
26. Do not enjoy going to art museums 1 2 3 4 5
NEUROTICISM
27. Feel comfortable with myself 1 2 3 4 5
28. Often feel blue 1 2 3 4 5
29. Get stressed out easily 1 2 3 4 5
30. Am not easily bothered by things 1 2 3 4 5
31. Am relaxed most of the time 1 2 3 4 5
32. Dislike myself 1 2 3 4 5
33. Seldom feel blue 1 2 3 4 5
34. Fear for the worst 1 2 3 4 5
TRUST – DWYER, ET AL., (2007) & RAMADANI ET AL., (2014)
35. I trust that the privacy of my personal information 1 2 3 4 5
(2007)
37. I trust the information shared with me by people I 1 2 3 4 5
et al. (2014)
38. Social media channels are trusted with personal 1 2 3 4 5
48
to my private information on this online social
network.
BEHAVIOR INTENTION - [CITATION XIN12 \L 1033 ] - TAN, QIN & HSU
42. If I could, I would like to stop using this online 1 2 3 4 5
social network.
43. I intend to continue using this online social 1 2 3 4 5
network.
in the future.
49
References
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Almadhoun, N. M., Dominic, P. D. D. & Woon, L. F., 2011. Perceived security, privacy, and
trust concerns within social networking sites: The role of information sharing and
IEEE, .
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