Adoption of Social Networking Sites

Abstract

The adoption of social networking sites has become an international phenomenon. This encyclopedia entry synthesizes the literature concerning adoption of social networking sites. It offers a definition about adoption of social networking sites. It provides an overview on historical development by specifying the pioneering scholars of danah boyd and Nicole Ellison and current knowledge status of the adoption of social networking sites. It introduces the current scientific knowledge by specifying leading scholars’ researches from five representative areas, namely adopters’ characteristics, adopters’ motivation, antecedents of adoption, adopters’ behavior and consequences of adoption. It also concludes the entry and outlines future directions.