Exploring activities of social influence asserted through Social Networking Sites: a stage theory approach

The advent of Social Networking Sites (SNS) took social influence to a new level allowing a large number of individuals to interact, and influence each other unlike the traditional society bound by face-to-face interactions. While this substantial change generated by SNS has motivated information systems researchers to examine social influence and attitude and behavioural change in individuals in the context of SNS, the studies have not paid adequate attention to exploring how individuals behave in light of the social influence s/he receives. As such, adopting a literature meta-analysis approach, and reviewing 65 studies, this research identified four distinct categories of responses to social influence given by individuals in SNS, based on social influence theoretical perspective. While the study was completed in SNS context, the broader implications of this study are applied to research development and methodology, where the study implications apply broadly across all research contexts.