Examining the role of perceived social benefit and trust matter in sustainability of online social networking community - social exchange theory perspective

Based on social exchange theory (SET), the current study examines how perceived social benefit from social networking community (SNC) activities influences community members' affective commitment to the SNC via satisfaction. Additionally, we investigated how SNC members' trust defined as securing personal privacy and information in the community moderates the relationships between satisfaction and affective commitment. Analysing survey data collected from Facebook users, our findings reveal that SNC members' perceived social benefit and trust play salient roles in explaining members' affective commitment to SNCs. Moreover, trust plays an important role in moderating the relationships between SNC members' perceptions. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge on social networking, web-based communities and social exchange theory literature. Detailed implications and limitations are discussed. © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.