KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL: PROMOTING LOCAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS THROUGH FACEBOOK

This study examines Facebook page "events" as a medium for promoting special events to consumers. It proposes a Social Technology Acceptance Model, an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model, to examine the influence of Trust, Strength of Relationships (knowledge-sharing factors), and Perceived Enjoyment in forming consumer attitudes toward Facebook and consumer intentions to attend an event. A total of 155 data were collected through a survey administered on a special event organizer's Facebook "page." Findings suggest that users' Trust, Strength of Relationships, and Perceived Enjoyment significantly affect users' acceptance of Facebook and their intentions to attend an event. The theoretical impact of the current study of knowledge sharing can be valuable to understanding Facebook usage behavior. Moreover, by integrating concepts of Trust and Strength of Relationships, empirical support illustrates that social media provides event marketers a means to benefit from the strong and weak ties of individual social networks.