Summary
An empirical study was undertaken to determine the origins of teen Web-use. High school students (n = 200) from two diverse American cities answered questionnaires about their values and innovativeness (proposed antecedents of Web-behavior). As predicted, teen values relate to innovativeness and, in turn, innovativeness relates to hedonic- and utilitarian-Web-consumption behavior; innovativeness fully mediates the relationship between values and Web-use. Results support theories arguing that intervening variables act between highly conceptual variables (e.g., personal values) and actual behavior. Implications are offered for youth development specialists, parents, and educators.
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Extract
Impact of Personal Values and Innovativeness On Hedonic and Utilitarian Aspects of Web Use: An Empirical Study Among United States Teenagers
Introduction
Today's adolescents are becoming Web-savvy in ever-growing numbers. For example, 83% of American and Canadian youth (12-21 years) use instant messaging vs. only 32% of adults (Schadler, 2006). As the literature has suggested for nearly two decades, technology will exert a strong influence on teen futures and identity development (DeSantis & Youniss 1991 ; Montgomery 2000).This notwithstanding, little empirical research has probed adolescent Web-consumption behavior (Hartman et al., 2004) in particular, and teen consumer behavior in general. Discovering the antecedents of Web-use could facilitate the creation of helpful approaches and tactics for teens. This study sought to determine if the two domains of adolescent Web-consumption behavior (hedonic and utilitarian) can be predicted, and if so, by what underlying factors.The literature demonstrates that personal values are at the core of human cognitive and behavioral processes (Homer & Kahle 1988). Personal values are generalized beliefs about desired end states and motives that control goal-directed conduct (Feamer, 1995). Personal values impact attitude, choice, judgment, conduct (Feather, 1995), and innovativeness, which is essential to the diffusion of technological products and services (Schiffman, Sherman & Long, 2003). Research also indicates that personal values affect human behaviors such as Web-consumption behavior. However, it is unlikely that an abstract phenomenon such as personal values would exert a direct influence on a phenomenon as concrete as behavior. The literature has, for some time, demonstrated that consumption behavior is influenced by innovativeness (e.g., Ram & Jung, 1989; Venkatraman, 1991). More recent stuthes (Hartman & Samra, 2006; Steenkamp, Hofstede & Wedel, 1999) suggest that the source of innovativeness is personal values. Thus, we postulate that personal va...See the full content of this document
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