Information Sharing on Social Media by Multicultural Individuals: Experiential, Motivational, and Network Factors

Drawing upon social cognitive and social network theories, this study examines individual-level and network-level factors which potentially affect multicultural individuals' information sharing behavior via social media. The data has been collected from the foreigners (multicultural individuals) who visited visa centers in three different cities in China. The proposed model tests a combined effect of past sharing experience (PE), trust (TR), perceived benefit (PB), perceived richness (RI), and information sharing attitude (ATT) on information sharing behavior (Beh). The data has been analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results illustrate PE, TR, and PB positively affects ATT which further influences Beh. Since scant studies focus on information sharing behavior of multicultural individuals, this research contributes to the IS literature, particularly to the information sharing via social media in a multicultural perspective. The results are likely to be useful guidance for practitioners and scholars intending to evaluate social media information sharing behavior.