The Effects of Network Externality and Flow Experience on Mobile SNS Continuance

Facilitating users' continuance usage and retaining them are crucial to the success of mobile social networking sites (SNS). Drawing on both perspectives of network externality and flow, this research examined the factors affecting mobile SNS continuance usage. Network externality includes two factors: referent network size and perceived complementarity, which represent direct externality and indirect externality, respectively. The results indicated that both factors of network externality have significant effects on flow, which further affects satisfaction and continuance usage. The results imply that service providers need to deliver a positive network externality and an engaging experience in order to facilitate users' continuance usage.