| Social network sites (SNSs) have changed the way people interact and network, and many users have integrated SNSs into their daily practices. Then, are SNSs able to be used for the benefits of the society and organizations as well as for personal daily usage? If SNSs are able to be used for the society and organizations, how do we utilize them and what factors influence the utilization of them? This dissertation examines whether the use of SNSs is positively related to users' relational social capital (trust, norms, obligations, and identification), and knowledge sharing and electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM). This dissertation also examines the factors, specifically social rewards, altruism, and social influence, affecting knowledge sharing in SNSs.;The results show that the SNS usage increases trust and identification, and trust and identification are positively related to eWOM quality which is positively related to knowledge sharing. The results also show that reputation, altruism, and subjective norms are the motivators for knowledge sharing intention in SNSs, and knowledge sharing intention influences users' perceived knowledge sharing in SNSs.;One interesting result is that women experience stronger relationship between trust and eWOM quality, between identification and eWOM quality, and between eWOM quality and knowledge sharing in SNSs than men. In addition, subjective norms have a positive effect more strongly for women than men. These results indicate that women emphasize maintaining relationships more than men.;This dissertation provides a theoretical model for researchers to test a new framework examining the relationships between social capital, eWOM and knowledge sharing in SNSs; and a new framework examining the factors, specifically, reputation, altruism, and subjective norms, influencing knowledge sharing in SNSs. This dissertation also provides rationale for practitioners to utilize SNSs internally for organizational intra-networking and organizational learning, and externally for marketing purposes. |
