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EXAMINING FACTORS INFLUENCING SNS NEWS CONSUMPTION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN

SOMALIA: A MODIFIED MOTIVATIONAL MODEL

BY

ISMAIL SHEIKH YUSUF AHMED

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences

International Islamic University Malaysia

JULY 2018

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ii

ABSTRACT

News consumption through social networking sites (SNS) is still in a stage of infancy.

Scholars have argued that the SNS platforms are no longer used for entertainment alone. They are also used for instrumental and purposeful activities such as learning, business and news consumption, among others. Past studies and reports have established that SNS platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are used as news sources for the public in numerous countries. Even though many studies and reports on SNS news consumption are documented, it was observed that theory-based research on SNS news consumption is not only in its infancy stage but is meagre.

Most past research on this subject was guided by the uses and gratifications (U&G) approach, whose explanatory power is limited. Moreover, the majority of prior studies on the subject are conducted in advanced nations such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia. Little is known about SNS news consumption patterns in less developed nations or about the contributing factors.

Consequently, this study examines the utility of an integrated model in explaining news consumption through SNS platforms among university students. It employs the motivational model (MM) as the main theoretical framework and integrates it with additional elements derived from the U&G approach and the theory of reasoned action (TRA). Therefore, this study proposes an integrated model to determine the factors that contribute to SNS news consumption among university students. The data were collected from two leading universities in Banadir region in Somalia, using quota sampling of gender, faculty and university as the main strata. The data were analysed using statistical softwares such as the SPSS programme and partial least squares of structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The SPSS programme was used for reporting descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and reliability tests, and the PLS-SEM with SmartPLS software was employed to validate and test the hypothesized conceptual model. The study's findings indicate that the subjective norms positively predicted perceived usefulness (PU, β = 0.259, t = 4.683, p = .000), perceived enjoyment (PE, β = 0.383, t = 5.778, p = .000), attitude (ATT, β = 0.463, t = 8.433, p = .000), continuous intention (ATT, β = 0.249, t = 3.037, p = .002), motives for instrumental news use (MIN, β = 0.542, t = 10.741, p = .000) and motives for ritualized news use (MRN, β = 0.558, t = 11.873, p = .000). Both news motives (MIN, β = 0.129, t = 2.178, p = .029, and MRN, β = 0.239, t = 4.031, p = .000) and CI (β = 0.599, t = 10.700, p = .000) significantly contributed towards SNS news consumption.

In addition, news motives have positively determined PU, PE and ATT. Further, ATT positively predicted CI (β = 0.463, t = 8.433, p = .000), while perceptual factors (PU and PE) did not exert any impact on CI. The study also found mediating effects of news motives, perceptual-attitudinal factors and continuous intention. The findings of this study proved the utility of the integrated model in explaining SNS news consumption. Finally, the study presents its major contribution and theoretical implications as well as its key findings.

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iii

صلخم ثحبلا

ABSTRACT IN ARABIC

لا ت لاز تاسارد كلاهتسا

وأ رم في يعامتجلاا لصاوتلا عقاوم تاصنم برع رابخلأا ةعباتم ا

لح ةيئادتبلاا اه .

،كلذ مغرو يرشي

طقف مدختست دعت لم تاصنلما هذه نأب لاصتلاا ءاملع ا ضارغلأ

تل يلس ءاضقو ةعتلماو ة

تقولا لأ لب ، ةطشنأو ضارغ ةفداهو ةديفم

و .رابخلأا ةعباتمو ،ةراجتلاو ،ميلعتلا لثم ت

ريراقتلاو تاساردلا رهظ

نأ ةقباسلا م

يرتوتو كوبسيف لثم تاصن تراص

ةيرابخإ رداصم سيئر

ة .نادلبلا فلتمخ في سانلا نم يرثكلل

و نم مغرلا ىلعو ةرف

،تاصنلما هذه برع رابخلأا كلاهتسا لوح ريراقتلاو تاساردلا لاإ

لأا نأ ابحا ينبلما ىلع ة

رم في تسيل ةيملع تايرظن ا

لح ةيلولأا اه بسحو

نكلو اه بلغأ نأ ظحلالما نمو .ةحيحش ةقباسلا تاساردلا

لىإ دنتست رامضلما اذه في ادختسلااو عابشلإا ةيرظن

م اهفصوب راطإ ا ا يرظن تيلاو ، اهفنتكي لازي لا اتهاذ ّدح في

.ضومغلا ضعب ،كلذ ىلع ةولاعو

بلغأ نإف اسلا تاساردلا

ةقب نوؤشب نيعت عوضولما اذه لوح

تايصوصخو لو ،ايلاترسأو ،ايناطيربو ،ةيكيرملأا ةدحتلما تايلاولا لثم ةمدقتلما لودلا

يرسيلا رزنلا لاإ انيدل سي

.كلذ في مهست تيلا لماوعلاو اروطت لقلأا نادلبلا في رابخلأا كلاهتسا طانمأ نم و

ةسرادلا هذه لاإ يه ام

ارفلا اذه ءللم ةلوامح ىلع زيكترلا للاخ نم يثحبلا غ

ةيمادختسا ىدم ةدئافو

لماوعلا حرش في لماكتم جذونم

.تاعمالجا بلاط ينب يعامتجلاا لصاوتلا تاصنم برع رابخلأا كلاهتسا في ةرثؤلما ت

مدختس ةساردلا هذه

لأا ( يزيفحتلا جذونم Motivational Model, MM

) هفصوب راطإ ا ا يرظن ا سيئر ثم نمو ت ذه جمد ا

لأا م ةيفاضإ رصانع عم جذونم ةاقتس

( مادختسلااو عابشلاا ةيرظن نم Uses and Gratifications

Theory, U&G ( لوقعلما لعفلا ةيرظنو ،)

Theory of Reasoned Action, TRA .)

ةساردلا هذه حترقت ،كلذلو أ

تاصنم برع رابخلأا كلاهتسا في رثؤت تيلا لماوعلا ديدحتل لاماكتم لاجذونم

وتلا .تاعمالجا بلاط ينب يعامتجلاا لصا و

نم ةنوكم ةنيع نم تانايبلا عجم تم دقل 336

في ينتعماج نم

ةنيعلا مادختسا برع لاموصلا في ردانب ميلقإ ةيصصلحا

،سنلجا بسح بلاطلا دادعأ فلاتخا ةاعارم عم

.ةعمالجاو ،ةيلكلاو و

نرب لثم ةمدقتم ةيئاصحإ جمارب مادختساب تانايبلا ليلتح تم ( جما

SPSS ةجذنمو ) لما

ةلداع

( ةيئانبلا Partial Least Squares of Structural Equation Modeling

"

PLS-

SEM

") . و راشأ ت ةيئاصحإ ةللاد تاذ تاقلاع دوجو لىإ ةساردلا جئاتن امك ،ةسيئرلا تايرغتلما ينب ةرشابم

تاقلاع دوجو اضيأ جئاتنلا ترهظأ ينب ةرشابم يرغ ةيئاصحإ ةللاد تاذ

.تايرغتلما كلت و

هذه جئاتن تتبثأ

ةسرادلا ىدم ةعانج لأا تاصنم برع رابخلأا ةعباتمو كلاهتسا في ةرثؤلما لماوعلا حرش في حترقلما لماكتلما جذونم

و .يعامتجلاا لصاوتلا ايرخأ

هماسم ةساردلا تشقان ، راثلآاو ثحبلا تا

ينماضلماو ةبتترلما

ل تايرظنل تيلا

ةساردلا اهيلإ تدنتسا

.

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APPROVAL PAGE

The thesis of Ismail Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed has been approved by the following:

_____________________________

Syed Arabi Idid Supervisor

_____________________________

Zeti Azreen Ahmad Co-Supervisor

_____________________________

Mohamad Sahari Nordin Internal Examiner

_____________________________

Takashi Inoguchi External Examiner

_____________________________

Mohammed Zin Nordin External Examiner

_____________________________

Saim Kayadibi Chairperson

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Ismail Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed

Signature ... Date ...

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COPYRIGHT

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

EXAMINING FACTORS INFLUENCING SNS NEWS CONSUMPTION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN

SOMALIA: A MODIFIED MOTIVATIONAL MODEL

I declare that the copyright holders of this thesis are jointly owned by the Student and IIUM.

Copyright © 2018 Ismail Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved.

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Ismail Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed

……..……….. ………..

Signature Date

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Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to:

My parents Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed and Hasnah Moalim Suleiman, for their love, nurturance, inspiring, motivation, and prayers.

My siblings, for their financial and moral support during my different educational levels.

My wife Fozia Ali for her patience, love, understanding, motivation and support.

My beloved daughters, Nawal & Nasra.

My lecturers, for their guidance, teaching, and motivating me during this programme.

My co-workers for their support, motivation and inspiration

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I’m grateful to Allah S.W.T for his uncountable blessings upon me. This include my health, Islam, Iman, and strength, which allowed me to successfully complete my doctoral programme.

Second, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and deep gratitude to my honourable supervisor, former rector of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Prof. Dato' Sri Dr. Syed Arabi bin Syed Abdullah Idid, whose support, guidance, constructive comments, mentoring and encouragement has made this thesis come to its final conclusion. I am also indebted to him for his support in my career.

Third, my appreciation also goes to my co-supervisor Dr. Zeti Azreen Ahmad for her understanding, assistance, advice, constant encouragement and guidance.

Without her support, I wouldn’t be able to achieve one of my ambitious goals.

Fourth, my sincere thanks are also extended to all lecturers and postgraduate colleagues at the communication department, IIUM, for their mentoring and encouragement as well as Prof Mohamad Sahari Nordin from Kulliyah of Education, IIUM, who allowed me to attend his SEM classes. My special thanks and appreciation are also due to the Head of Department of communication Dr. Aini Maznina A. Manaf for her support, advice and encouragement. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Dr. Saodah Wok for the valuable assistance, mentoring and support she provided me regarding my programme and current career. Furthermore, I also appreciate the encouragements and supports offered by my colleagues at Qatar University’s Mass Communication Department. May Allah bless you all and reward you on your prayers, help and advice.

Fifth, I highly appreciate the helpful hands offered by numerous people.

Specifically, to Sr. Hartini Wakichan (IIUM), Br. Said Mohamud Mohamed (IIUM) for their logistical support and Dr. Ali Yassin Sheikh Ali from SIMAD University for his endless support throughout my Doctoral Programme.

Last but not least, I am thankful to my parents for their support, encouragement and constant prayers. Without them, I would have not been able to achieve what I’ve achieved today. Not forgetting my sister Hanan and brother Abdullah for their financial support during the course of different study periods. My deepest gratitude also goes out to my wife Fozia Ali for her love, support, patience and understanding.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ... .ii

Abstract in Arabic ... iii

Approval page ... iv

Declaration ... .v

Copyright ... vi

Dedication ... vii

Acknowledgements ... viii

Table of Contents ... ...ix

List of Tables ... xiii

List of Figures ... xvi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1 Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ... 4

1.3 Research Objectives ... 8

1.4 Research Questions ... 9

1.5 Significance of the Study ... 9

1.6 Scope of the Study ... 10

1.7 Chapter Outline ... 11

1.8 Chapter Summary... 12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ... 13

2.1 Introduction ... 13

2.2 Social Networking Sites (SNS) and Online News Consumption... 13

2.2.1 SNS Background: History and Types of Sites ... 13

2.2.2 SNS Use: The Somalia Context ... 17

2.2.3 SNS Scholarship ... 20

2.2.4 SNS Use and Online News Consumption ... 21

2.3 Information System Models, Motivation and Social Psychology Theories ... 22

2.3.1 Overview ... 22

2.3.2 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) ... 23

2.3.3 Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) ... 30

2.3.4 Motivational Model (MM) ... 36

2.3.5 Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G) ... 45

2.4 Discussion on the Above Theories and Models ... 54

2.5 Conceptual Framework ... 57

2.5.1 Subjective Norms ... 57

2.5.2 Motives for Instrumental News Use ... 60

2.5.3 Motives for Ritualized News Use ... 63

2.5.4 Perceptual and Attitudinal Factors ... 66

2.5.5 Continuous Intention ... 70

2.6 Chapter Summary... 73

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ... 74

3.1 Introduction ... 74

3.2 Background on Somalia ... 74

3.3 Research Design ... 79

3.4 Population of the Study ... 82

3.5 Sampling Procedure and Sample Size... 83

3.6 Research Instrument ... 88

3.6.1 Translation of the Instrument ... 90

3.7 Research Measures and Operational Definitions ... 91

3.7.1 Motives for Instrumental News Use ... 91

3.7.2 Motives for Ritualized News Use ... 92

3.7.3 Perceived Usefulness ... 93

3.7.4 Perceived Enjoyment ... 94

3.7.5 Attitude ... 94

3.7.6 Subjective Norms ... 95

3.7.7 Continuous Intention ... 95

3.7.8 SNS News Consumption ... 96

3.8 Validity and Reliability ... 97

3.9 Common Method Bias ... 98

3.10 Pilot Study ... 100

3.10.1 Reliability Test ... 100

3.11 Data Collection... 106

3.12 Data Analysis Techniques ... 108

3.13 Chapter Summary... 109

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS - SPSS ANALYSIS ... 111

4.1 Introduction ... 111

4.2 Data Entry and Screening... 111

4.3 Demographic Profile ... 112

4.4 Social Networking Sites Usage ... 114

4.4.1 Facebook Usage Patterns ... 114

4.4.2 Patterns of Facebook Activities ... 120

4.4.3 Twitter Usage Patterns ... 124

4.4.4 Patterns of Twitter Activities ... 128

4.5 Descriptive Statistics on News Motivations ... 131

4.5.1 Motives for Instrumental News Use ... 131

4.5.2 Motives for Ritualized News Use ... 133

4.6 Descriptive Statistics on Perceptual, Social, Attitudinal and Behavioural Factors ... 135

4.6.1 Perceived Usefulness of SNS News ... 135

4.6.2 Perceived Enjoyment of SNS News ... 137

4.6.3 Attitude Towards SNS News ... 137

4.6.4 Subjective Norms ... 139

4.6.5 Continuous Intention ... 140

4.6.6 SNS News Consumption ... 141

4.7 Reliability Analysis ... 143

4.8 Normality Test ... 146

4.9 Zero-Order Correlations ... 148

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4.9.1 Zero-Order Correlations for the Variables Proposed In the

Main Thesis Model ... 148

4.9.2 Zero-Order Correlations for the Sub-Dimensions of SNS Activities ... 150

4.10 Regression Analysis ... 152

4.10.1 Overview ... 152

4.10.2 Regression Assumptions ... 153

4.10.3 Subjective Norms ... 154

4.10.4 Motives for Instrumental News Use ... 156

4.10.5 Motives for Ritualized News Use ... 157

4.10.6 Perceptual and Attitudinal Factors ... 159

4.10.7 SNS News Motives and Continuous Intention ... 160

4.10.8 Limitations of Regression Analysis ... 161

4.11 Chapter Summary ... 164

CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS - SEM ANALYSIS ... 166

5.1 Introduction ... 166

5.2 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) ... 166

5.2.1 Overview of SEM ... 166

5.2.2 Covariance-Based SEM Versus Variance-Based PLS-SEM ... 168

5.3 Stages of Analysis Using the PLS-SEM Approach ... 170

5.3.1 Model Specifications ... 171

5.3.2 Outer Model for the Hypothesized Conceptual Model ... 172

5.3.3 Inner Model for the Hypothesized Conceptual Model ... 186

5.4 Alternative Model ... 201

5.5 Chapter Summary... 206

CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ... 208

6.1 Introduction ... 208

6.2 Summary of the Study Findings ... 208

6.2.1 Demographic Profile ... 208

6.2.2 SNS Usage ... 209

6.2.3 Patterns of SNS Activities ... 211

6.2.4 SNS News Motives ... 212

6.2.5 Perceptual, Social, Attitudinal and Behavioural Factors ... 213

6.3 Discussion of the Main Findings: Results of the Hypotheses Testing ... 215

6.3.1 Subjective Norms ... 216

6.3.2 SNS News Motives ... 219

6.3.3 Perceptual and Attitudinal Factors ... 221

6.3.4 Continuous Intention ... 224

6.4 Conclusion ... 225

6.4.1 Study Contribution and Theoretical Implications ... 225

6.4.2 Limitations, Suggestions and Future Research ... 229

REFERENCES ... 232

APPENDIX A: CHI SQUARE TEST FOR FACEBOOK ACTIVITIES ... 253

APPENDIX B: CHI SQUARE TEST FOR TWITTER ACTIVITIES ... 254

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APPENDIX C: PREDICTIVE RELEVANCE FOR INDIVIDUAL

ITEMS ... 255

APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ... 257

APPENDIX E: QUESTIONNAIRE IN ARABIC LANGUAGE ... 264

APPENDIX F: CONFERENCE PRESENTATION (CERTIFICATE) ... 273

APPENDIX G: JOURNAL ARTICLE (SCOPUS-INDEXED) ... 274

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Most recent studies that extended TRA to explore SNS

phenomenon 28

Table 2.2 Most recent studies that extended TPB to explore SNS

phenomenon 34

Table 2.3 Studies that incorporated element from Motivational Model 44 Table 2.4 Recent literature on SNS motives using U&G approach 52

Table 3.1 Population of the study 83

Table 3.2 Sample from SIMAD University 87

Table 3.3 Sample from University of Somalia 87

Table 3.4 Source of items for motives for instrumental news use 91 Table 3.5 Source of items for motives for ritualized news use 92

Table 3.6 Source of items for perceived usefulness 93

Table 3.7 Source of items for perceived enjoyment 94

Table 3.8 Source of items for attitude 95

Table 3.9 Source of items for subjective norms 95

Table 3.10 Source of items for Continuous intention 96

Table 3.11 Source of items for SNS news consumption 97

Table 3.12 Reliability test for motives for instrumental news use 101 Table 3.13 Reliability test for motives for ritualized news use 102

Table 3.14 Reliability test for perceived usefulness 103

Table 3.15 Reliability test for perceived enjoyment 103

Table 3.16 Reliability test for attitude 104

Table 3.17 Reliability test for subjective norms 104

Table 3.18 Reliability test for continuous intention 105

Table 3.19 Reliability test for SNS news consumption 106

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xiv

Table 4.1 Respondents’ demographic characteristics 113

Table 4.2 Facebook usage patterns 117

Table 4.3 KMO and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (Facebook) 120 Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics and communalities for Facebook

activities 121

Table 4.5 Exploratory factor analysis for patterns of Facebook activities 123

Table 4.6 Twitter usage patterns 126

Table 4.7 KMO and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (Twitter) 129 Table 4.8 Descriptive statistics and communalities for Twitter activities 130 Table 4.9 Exploratory factor analysis for patterns of Twitter activities 131 Table 4.10 Distribution of respondents by motives for instrumental news

use 133

Table 4.11 Distribution of respondents by motives for ritualized news use 135 Table 4.12 Distribution of respondents by perceived usefulness 136 Table 4.13 Distribution of respondents by perceived enjoyment 137

Table 4.14 Distribution of respondents by attitude 138

Table 4.15 Distribution of respondents by subjective norms 139 Table 4.16 Distribution of respondents by continuous intention 141 Table 4.17 Distribution of respondents by SNS news consumption 143 Table 4.18 Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient 145

Table 4.19 Normality test for the main variables 147

Table 4.20 Zero-order correlations among variables of the conceptual

model 149

Table 4.21 Zero-order correlations among sub-dimensions of SNS

activities 152

Table 4.22 A series of simple regression analysis on effects of Subjective

norms 155

Table 4.23 A series of simple regression analysis on effects of MIN 157 Table 4.24 A series of simple regression analysis on effects of MRN 158

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Table 4.25 A multiple regression test on effects of PU, PE, ATT on CI 159 Table 4.26 A multiple regression test of predictors of SNS news

consumption 161

Table 5.1 Convergent validity and reliability of SNS news motives 174 Table 5.2 Convergent validity and reliability of PU, PE, ATT, SN, CI &

SNC 176

Table 5.3 Discriminant validity (Fornell-Larcker technique) 179

Table 5.4 Discriminant validity (Cross-loadings) 179

Table 5.5 Discriminant validity (Zero-order correlations among main

variables) 182

Table 5.6 Discriminant validity (HTMT.85 & HTMT.90) 182

Table 5.7 Discriminant validity (HTMTinference) 183

Table 5.8 Collinearity issues 187

Table 5.9 Results of the direct path coefficients 190

Table 5.10 Results of the indirect effects 193

Table 5.11 Explanatory power by the study constructs 194

Table 5.12 Effect size for the path coefficients 197

Table 5.13 Q2 for the blindfolding procedure 199

Table 5.14 Effect size for the predictive relevance of the hypothesized

model 201

Table 5.15 Summary of hypotheses testing 207

Table 6.1 Variance accounted for SNS usage as reported in the literature 229

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Theory of Reasoned Action 24

Figure 2.2 Theory of Planned Behaviour 30

Figure 2.3 Motivational Model 38

Figure 2.4 Conceptualized hypothesized Model 72

Figure 3.1 Formula sample size calculations 85

Figure 4.1 Scree plot for patterns of Facebook activities 122 Figure 4.2 Scree plot for patterns of Twitter activities 129

Figure 5.1 Structural Model (Path coefficients) 189

Figure 5.2 Structural Model (Bootstrapping t values) 189

Figure 5.3 Blindfolding procedure by means of cross-validated

redundancy 199

Figure 5.4 Alternative Model for SNS News Consumption (path

coefficients) 203

Figure 5.5 Significant values for the alternative model 205

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1

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Technological advancements of media and communication have dramatically influenced people. The internet, which is a great invention, has been incorporated into the daily lives of much of the world's population. It has had a huge impact on many aspects of society and has reshaped the economic, political and social aspects of both developed and developing countries (The World Bank, 2016). The internet has also been described as an important means of acquiring information and a communication platform for various individuals and organizations. There is an increasing dependency on the internet for news consumption especially in obtaining specific information (Flanagin & Metzger, 2000; Székely & Nagy, 2011).

People are able to perform numerous activities on the internet, such as surfing news websites, entertaining themselves, communicating with others, seeking knowledge and information, engaging in interpersonal and political issues with others, passing the time, fulfilling certain needs, purchasing air tickets and making banking transactions, among other functions (Flanagin & Metzger, 2000; Lankes, 2008; Zizi Papacharissi & Rubin, 2000). The use of the internet has not been confined to developed nations alone but has extended to developing nations as well. For example, the data from the Internet World Statistics (2016) indicate that there are more than 500,000 internet users and more than 500,000 users of Facebook in Somalia, accounting for 4.7% of the Somali population (out of 14.3 million) in 2016. Facebook and Twitter have been identified as the most popular social networking sites (SNS) in Somalia (BBC, 2016; StatsMonkey, 2015).

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SNS platforms are a growing offshoot of the internet. It has been defined as “a type of networked public with four properties that are not typically present in face-to- face public life: persistence, searchability, exact copyability, and invisible audiences”

(Boyd, 2008; p. 2). Furthermore, the SNS platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube are popular among internet users. Facebook and Cyworld, for example, are the most popular among American and Korean youths, respectively (Kim, Sohn, & Choi, 2011). SNS are used for different purposes, such as information seeking, entertainment, passing the time, interpersonal utility, social interaction, communication with others, seeking of specific information and self-expression (Aladwani, 2014; Dunne, Lawlor, & Rowley, 2010; Kim et al., 2011).

Even though SNS were primarily designed for social interaction and entertainment, they are also used for learning purposes, news consumption and a wider communication platform for the community (Media Insight Project, 2015;

Székely & Nagy, 2011; Xu, Ryan, Prybutok, & Wen, 2012). For instance, YouTube was primarily designed for entertainment (video sharing), but it was adopted for educational, informational and learning purposes as well, in addition to news consumption. It has been recently argued that SNS are not meant only for having fun but also for other instrumental purposes (Xu et al., 2012). An SNS is “no longer simply social. It has become a way of being connected to the world generally” (Media Insight Project, 2015, p.13). Others argue that the SNS are also used for informatics (i.e. gathering information on certain topics (Tokunaga, 2011), meaning that people can follow public affairs news and specific content news through SNS in order to stay updated.

A number of theories and models was proposed to study and understand the SNS phenomenon. These include the uses and gratifications theory (U&G) (Aladwani,

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2014; Huang, Hsieh, & Wu, 2014; Karimi, Khodabandelou, Ehsani, & Ahmad, 2014), extended elements from motivational model (MM) (Heijden, 2004; Igbaria, Parasuraman, & Baroudi, 1996; Lin & Bhattacherjee, 2008; Lin & Lu, 2011); theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Kwon, Park, & Kim, 2014; Mouakket, 2015; Oliveira, Huertas, & Lin, 2016; Tan, Shao, & Yu, 2014) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Chen & Yen, 2015; Nasri & Charfeddine, 2012; Praveena & Thomas, 2014; Yoon &

Rolland, 2015), among others. Some of these studies use integrated models to overcome their limitations. Much of the SNS usage was examined from the perspective of information system (IS) scholarship.

The U&G theory proposes that audiences actively seek from the media to fulfil certain needs and purposes and that they are selective in their choices of media content. Whereas, the MM perspective postulates that an individual's intention to adopt and accept a new technology or information system is directly determined by their intrinsic (perceived enjoyment) and extrinsic (perceived usefulness) motivators, which in turn determine the actual behaviour. The TRA posits that an individual's intention to perform a given behaviour is predicted by two factors, namely, attitude (intrinsic motive) and subjective norms (extrinsic motive). Where the intention, in turn, predicts the actual behaviour under investigation. The TPB is an extension of TRA, where the same postulations are posited. The only difference is related to one additional construct in TPB.

The aim of this study is to examine the utility of the motivational model (MM) in explaining SNS news consumption. In order to carry out this purpose, the study has been conducted on Muslim Somali students only. The MM used in the study has been extended with other concepts derived from the U&G and TRA to examine online news consumption through SNS among the study's respondents. Furthermore, MM

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was employed because of its ability to explain user acceptance of information system and new media technologies from both internal and external dimensions (intrinsic and extrinsic motivations).

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Studies have established that the SNS have become a source of news among users across the globe, specifically in North America and Europe (Casero-Ripollés, 2012;

Media Insight Project, 2015; Ofcom, 2015; Pew Research Center, 2016; Reuters Institute For the Study of Journalism, 2016).

The American Pew Research Center (2016) recently analysed news consumption patterns across nine social networking sites among adults in the United States of America (USA). They discovered that Facebook, the largest social networking site, was rated as the first option among US adults' online news consumption, followed by Reddit, YouTube and Twitter. About two-thirds of Facebook users in the USA received their news from Facebook, and almost six in ten of Twitter users accessed the news through Twitter.

In United Kingdom (UK), it has been reported that news consumption over the internet has dramatically increased compared to television, radio and newspaper consumption (Ofcom, 2015). The report also states that the young generation (between 16–24 years) leads news consumption through social media platforms, accounting for nearly two-thirds of news consumers on such platforms (61%). Among social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been reported as the most popular news consumption platform among UK respondents, because their main reason for news access is to stay updated with recent events in UK and the world (Ofcom, 2015).

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A more recent report (Reuters Institute For the Study of Journalism, 2016) also highlighted on this growing access of news through social networking sites. The report, which was based on a sample drawn from 26 countries across North America, Europe, Australia, South America and Asia, suggested that about 51% of the entire sample (over 50,000 people) accessed news on social media sites every week. Again, Facebook was leading among the SNS news accessed by those surveyed, who reported that they use the site for getting, reading or watching and sharing news with others (44% of the entire sample). However, as for the young generation (18–24 years), social media was generally the main source of news compared to television (which was very crucial for the older groups). A higher rate of news access through social media has been reported in Turkey, Brazil and Greece (Reuters Institute For the Study of Journalism, 2016).

News consumption in developing countries has also been explored and documented. A study by Aref (2013) found that the SNS are predominantly used in Egypt for getting breaking news as well as forwarding news to others while commenting on and discussing about the news with the others virtually. In Malaysia, using a sample of 500 students drawn from two universities, Freeman (2013) found that the students regularly read online news and that they showed a great interest in the news. It has also been found that the youth in Malaysia access political and academic-related news and share such news through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Saodah Wok, Idid, & Norealyna Misman, 2012). In the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt), a report by Associated Press revealed that people encounter the news through social media and that they extensively use SNS for news. The majority (97%) of those surveyed are at the age

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between 18–45 years in the Middle Eastern countries discuss the news and comment on it on a daily basis (Associated Press, 2014).

SNS platforms lead traffic to websites. A report by ShareAholic Company suggested that eight social networking sites (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube) together accounted for almost one-third (31.24%) of overall traffic to websites in 2014 (Wong, 2015). This lower dependency on homepages and search engines to access the news (Wong, 2015) indicates that news access is compulsory even if one is not particularly seeking the news.

As for news organizations, a great presence on social networking platforms has been observed (Petty, 2016; Reuters Institute For the Study of Journalism, 2016), and such organizations have benefitted greatly from Facebook's Newsfeed feature in distributing their content and news to Facebook visitors (Petty, 2016). Not to mention that Facebook has launched another feature (known as instant article) in April 2016, which the news industry sees it as an important feature, hence, allowing potential readers to access the complete news article through the site without needing to click on any external links (such as the homepage of the news portal). The live video feature has also helped celebrities and news organizations reach wider audiences and attract the attention of site visitors (Petty, 2016). News organizations with a stronger reputation are more likely to be top listed in social media platforms (Reuters Institute For the Study of Journalism, 2016).

Despite the numerous studies and reports on SNS news consumption, there is a paucity of theory-based research on this subject. A few studies were conducted on theoretical continuum (Lee, 2013; Shim et al., 2015; Tran, 2013), and there is a need for a research that uses a theoretical framework to explain news consumption via SNS

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(Mitchelstein & Boczkowski, 2010; Van Osch & Coursaris, 2015). Mitchelstein and Boczkowski (2010) point out the need for an all-embracing empirical, theoretical and methodological refinement in the context of online news consumption in order to get a better understanding of the issue. A more recent meta-analysis (Van Osch &

Coursaris, 2015) suggests that research on social media generally lacks a theoretical foundation, and about “three-quarters of all 610 social media related articles did not reference any theory” (p. 1673), indicating that the assumptions about social media are built merely upon personal judgements and opinions.

Similarly, inadequate scholarly focus was given to SNS use for news consumption, as much of the literature stream has focused on SNS motives (Aladwani, 2014; Dunne et al., 2010; Huang et al., 2014), the uses and characteristics of SNS (Brandtzaeg & Heim, 2011; Kang, Song, Yoon, Lee, & Park, 2014) and the influence of SNS on variables such as academic performance, social capital and political behaviours (Chang & Zhu, 2012; Raoof, Zaman, Ahmad, & Al-qaraghuli, 2013).

Additionally, most studies on SNS news consumption were carried out in advanced nations, particularly in USA and countries in Europe. For a global view of SNS news consumption, it is necessary to study this phenomenon in countries with different demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

From a methodological point of view, a few studies on news consumption have applied advanced statistical tools such as structural equation modelling (SEM) (Lee, 2013; Shim et al., 2015; Tran, 2013), and the application of SEM in analysing the findings of the current study would provide a better understanding of the factors influencing SNS news consumption among the study's respondents.

To summarise, this study examines SNS news consumption using the motivational model integrated with constructs derived from U&G and social

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psychology literature to examine online news consumption through SNS platforms among university students.

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this study is to investigate the utility of the extended motivational model in explaining SNS news consumption among Somali students.

Other specific objectives include the following:

1. To investigate the SNS activities of students.

2. To determine students' motives for SNS news consumption.

3. To determine the factors that influence SNS news consumption among students.

4. To examine the mediating effects of subjective norms on perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and attitude through news motives.

5. To examine the mediating effects of news motives on continuous intention through perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and attitude.

6. To examine the mediating effects of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, attitude and subjective norms on SNS news consumption through continuous intention.

7. To develop an integrated model for SNS news consumption among students.

Kulliyyah of

Rujukan

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