Utilitarian and Hedonic Values of Social Network Services

Social network services (SNS) have simplified social interactions between users. However, some SNS attract many users in the early stages, but suffer from turn over later. SNS of practice should aim to retain its existing users and attract potential users by providing superior customer value which leads to greater satisfaction and loyalty. This empirical study applied SEM to explain the impacts of hedonic and utilitarian value on satisfaction and loyalty by providing an integrated model within the SNS context. Findings reveal that utilitarian and hedonic value of SNS is positively related to satisfaction which leads to positive word-of-mouth and repatronage intention