連結強度與關係對Facebook台灣使用者的資訊交換行為之影響 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University. 立. 政治大碩士論文. ‧. io. Thesis Topic. n. a. y. sit. Nat. 論文題目. er. ‧ 國. 學. Master’s Thesis. v. i Tie strength and lguanxi on Taiwan C U nFacebook users’. hengchi. information exchange behavior. Student: Chong Chui Fen 張翠芬 Advisor: Professor Georgette Wang 汪琪教授. 中華民國 99 年 7 月 July 2010.

(2) 論文題目 Thesis Topic Tie strength and guanxi on Taiwan Facebook users’ information exchange behavior 研究生：張翠芬. Student: Chong Chui Fen. 指導教授：汪琪. Advisor: Professor Georgette Wang. 國立政治大學. 國際傳播英語碩士學程. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. ‧. 碩士論文. er. io. sit. y. Nat. A Thesis. a. n. v l C Master’s Program Submitted to International n i in International hengchi U. Communication Studies National Chengchi University In partial fulfillment of the Requirement For the degree of Master in International Communication Studies 中華民國 99 年 7 月 July 2010.

(3) Title of Thesis. Tie strength and guanxi on Taiwan Facebook users’ information exchange behavior. 立. A Master Thesis 政治. 大. National Chengchi University. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. iv. n C h FulfilmentUof In Partial engchi. the Requirements for the Degree Master of Art. by Chong Chui Fen July 23, 2010.

(4) Acknowledgement First and foremost I would like to thank my parents and family members, for without their love and support I would not have been able to study full time again in Taiwan. My three years here in National Chengchi University have been both enjoyable and illuminating. Admittedly, thesis writing was a long and challenging process - the ultimate test of determination.. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Professor Georgette Wang, without whose enlightening guidance and generous support, I doubt I'd have been able to see it through. I. 政治大. learned a lot from her, and am thankful to have her as my mentor.. 立. I would also like to express my gratitude to Committee Members: Dr. Chen-Chao Tao, Dr.. ‧ 國. 學. Christine Pao-fang Chang and Dr. Katherine Yi-ning Chen for their participation and constructive suggestions.. ‧. Many thanks to Huiting, assistant in IMICS office, as well as other friends and course mates,. y. Nat. sit. for their efforts and contributions. Last but not least, those anonymous respondents to my. al. er. io. questionnaire, I appreciate the time and effort you took. What I learned in the past three. n. years along with the memories of positive and challenging moments will remain a part of me for the rest of my life.. Ch. engchi. 1. i Un. v.

(5) Abstract Tie strength and guanxi on Facebook users‟ information exchange behavior By Chong Chui Fen Granovetter proposed that weak ties connect different sections of social networks, thus function as the channel for individuals to gain access to useful information unavailable at existing social circles. The first motivation of this. 政治大. study is to explore to what extent strength of ties theory explains information. 立. exchange behaviour of Taiwanese Facebook users. According to past research,. ‧ 國. 學. Chinese rely on those with close guanxi, such as family members and close friends to satisfy individual‟s needs. This leads us to ask if guanxi would also. ‧. play an important role in satisfying individual‟s needs for information. Thus the. sit. y. Nat. second motive of this study is to explore the significance of guanxi for Chinese. io. er. Facebook users in selecting the counterpart for information exchange. It is hoped that the results of this investigation will contribute to social networks,. n. al. iv. n guanxi, information behaviour C research sites users‟ study, h and socialUnetwork engchi. especially in Taiwan. Based the data collected via online survey, this study found that respondents tend to rely on strong ties as their primary sources of information. If their strong ties were not able to provide the information, respondents would rely on the connections of these strong ties, rather than the weak ties in their network, to find the information they needed. Thus strong ties are the key to information exchange in a social network. Keywords: tie strength, social network theory, guanxi, Chinese interpersonal relationships, Facebook, social media. 2.

(6) TABLE OF CONTENTS. Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................. 1 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... 3 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ...................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 General background ...................................................................................................... 1. 政治大. 1.2 Development of Social Network Sites.......................................................................... 2. 立. 1.3 The usage of social network sites ................................................................................. 3. ‧ 國. 學. 1.4 Information behavior .................................................................................................... 4. ‧. 1.5 Research Motive and Aim ............................................................................................ 5. Nat. sit. y. Chapter 2 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 7. n. al. er. io. 2.1 Information exchange ................................................................................................... 7. Ch. i Un. v. 2.2 Social network analysis ................................................................................................ 9. engchi. 2.3 Social network theories .............................................................................................. 11 2.5 Interpersonal relationship in Chinese societies .......................................................... 18 2.6 Strength of ties and guanxi ......................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3 Research Method ................................................................................................. 25 3.1 Research framework ................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Operational definition of key concepts ....................................................................... 27 3.3 Questionnaire design .................................................................................................. 30 3.

(7) 3.4 Data collection ............................................................................................................ 32 Chapter 4 Results ................................................................................................................. 33 4.1 Description of sample ................................................................................................. 33 4.2 Comparison of strong and weak ties........................................................................... 35 4.3 Data analysis ............................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 5 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 42 5.1 Implications on research ............................................................................................. 42 5.2 Implications on social media marketing ..................................................................... 44. 政治大. 5.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 45. 立. 5.4 Limitations and further research ................................................................................. 46. ‧ 國. 學. References ............................................................................................................................ 47. ‧. Appendix 1 ....................................................................................................................... 54. Nat. sit. y. Appendix 2 ....................................................................................................................... 55. n. al. er. io. Appendix 3 ....................................................................................................................... 56. i Un. v. Appendix 4 Taiwanese Facebook users‟ using behaviour survey 2010 ........................... 58. Ch. engchi. Appendix 5 台灣 Facebook 用戶者使用行爲問卷調查 2010 ........................................ 63. 4.

(8) LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 Comparison of tie strength and guanxi .................................................................................... 23 Table 2 Demographics distribution of the sample ................................................................................ 34 Table 3 Paired sample t-test results on information source and tie strength ......................................... 37 Table 4 Paired sample t-test results on information types and tie strength ........................................... 38 Table 5 Paired sample t-test results of guanxi and ties ......................................................................... 39 Table 6 Multiple linear regression analysis results of demographics, Facebook usage, and guanxi on information source ................................................................................................................................ 40 Table 7 The background of strong and weak ties ................................................................................. 54. 政治大. Table 8 Frequency tabulation of guanxi items and tie strength ............................................................ 55. 立. Table 9 Respondents‟ attitude on information exchange in view of tie strength .................................. 56. ‧ 國. 學 Figure 2 Possible information route ......................... 26. ‧. Figure 1 Forbidden triad. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 5. i Un. v.

(9) Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 General background In recent years, the prevalence of internet, along with popularity of cyber culture contributed to fast development of social network sites (SNSs), both in the number of service providers and user population. It is considered one of major developments in the age of Web 2.0. According to 2009 online entertainment behavior survey of Taiwanese internet users conducted by Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), 65% of the respondents had visited social network sites; 48.7% of them use the social networking service at least once a day. The motivations behind include “keeping in touch with friends or stay updated on their. 治政 respondents indicated that they had been introduced to the大 sites by relatives or friends (Online 立 entertainment behavior survey, 2009). status (72.9%)”; and “sharing thoughts with friends (61.9%)”. Sixty percent of the. ‧ 國. 學. The driving force underlying the popularity of social network sites can be attributed to the need to stay connected with people. Internet has provided the convenience and cost efficiency. ‧. to fulfil the need. In short, SNS refers to websites or services that enable individuals to. sit. y. Nat. establish social network online. Haythornthwaite (2005) defined social network as below:. n. al. er. io. A type of exchange or interaction is known as a social network relation, and pairs who maintain one or more types of relations are said to maintain a tie. Across a set of individuals, person-to-person connectivity builds into social networks (p.127).. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. The preliminary form of online community may dated back to Usenet in 1979. However, contemporary SNSs contain several features that mark the departure from the previous mode of online community. Boyd and Ellison (2007) define SNSs as online services that enabled individuals to “(1)construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse his or her list of connections and those made by others within the system” (p.211). SNSs usually require users to provide basic identity information for registration. However, it is the decision of users as to what extent they will disclose their personal information in their personal profile. It can range from the basic information such as name, school information, photos to extensive personal information including email address, relationship status, phone 1.

(10) number, and home address. Facebook users can also join different networks and groups base on shared interest. The information in the profile is self-reported by the users. The site management company lacks motivation and resources to verify the accuracy of the information. This is on the assumption that because of the intertwine nature of online and offline social connection, most users reveal their true personal details, thus raising the question of online privacy protection. The second major characteristic of SNSs is visible social connections. These online connections are called Friends. The articulated list of Friends on SNSs is capitalized to differentiate from the friends in daily life (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Donath and Boyd (2004) indicated that most SNSs share a similar model of Friends link. The. 政治大 example, when someone sent a Friend Request, an individual has to confirm it in order for the 立. four common features for links are mutual, public, unnuanced and decontextualised. For link to be established. Thus this contact is included in one‟s Friends network. This articulate. ‧ 國. 學. connections are visible to others even users out of the network. But only Friends can view the full profile. Once the link is established, there is no distinction between close Friends or. ‧. acquaintances. They are all treated equivalently as Friends. The links are decontextualised,. y. sit. io. al. er. 2004).. Nat. one cannot choose to show part of the network to certain contacts only (Donald & Boyd,. n. The visible social connection is the significant feature that distinguishes SNSs from other. Ch. i Un. v. modes of CMC. It serves several purposes that lend credibility for self presentation in users‟. engchi. profile. The visible social connection is assumed to be an implicit verification of identity thus contributes to ensure honest self-representation in profile. This is based on the assumption that it requires too much effort or difficulties to fake his or her Friends connection (Donald & Boyd, 2004).. 1.2 Development of Social Network Sites SixDegrees.com, launched in 1997, was the first recognizable social network site. Its users were allowed to create personal profile, list their Friends, and later also surf the Friends list. While these functions were available in other online communities, SixDegrees.com was the first to integrate them into a new social networking platform (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). 2.

(11) The early stage of SNSs development was slow. SNSs users were limited to computer geek and a small portion of internet users. It was not until the launch of Friendster in 2002, SNSs hit the mainstream. Friendster was launched as a social complement for a business networks site. It was designed to facilitate friends-of-friends to meet (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). The popularity of Friendster has inspired other online service providers to follow suit. MySpace, launched in 2003, allows users to personalize their profile, in addition to regularly adding features to the site. It became very popular among teenagers, musicians and postcollege urbanites (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Facebook was launched in February 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg and his friends from the dormitory room of Harvard University and soon expanded to other universities in United. 政治大. States. At that stage Facebook usage was limited to college networks only, as individual must have an .edu email address to sign up as member. This made Facebook a relatively closed. 立. network, but user population already reached one million by December 2004 (Facebook.com).. ‧ 國. 學. Facebook has surpassed MySpace in its visitor base for the first time with the rapid growth of 153% as compare to 3% for MySpace, from June 07-June 08 (comScore, August 2008).. ‧ y. Nat. sit. 1.3 The usage of social network sites. al. er. io. Boyd and Ellison (2007) indicated that online personal social network may reflect the offline. v. n. social structures to a certain extent. Donath and Boyd (2004) propose the number of weak ties. Ch. i Un. an individual can form and maintain will increase substantially with the help of new. engchi. communication technology. But the technology will not result in the similar positive effect on an individual‟s strong ties. This is because of the new communication technology makes touching base with wide variety of people sporadically in a relatively cheaper, easier way. In the case of Facebook, users regularly receive notification on updates on their Friends‟ profile via Newsfeed function. If some updates catch his attention, he can click into Friends‟ profile and find out more about it, or response by leaving a message, comment for him or her. This helps the users in maintaining a large and diverse social network online or offline, with minimum efforts. Although making new connection is not the primary goal of using SNSs, as indicated by Lampe, Ellison, & Steinfield (2006), the use of SNSs is not limited to the maintenance of 3.

(12) existing offline social network only. It also provides the opportunity for establishing connection between individuals that otherwise may not be. This potential connection is called latent ties (Haythornthwaite, 2005). Haythornthwaite (2005) further referred latent ties as ties that are possible but not yet activated. The latent ties are inactive until something happens to tip them into weak ties, or less likely, strong ties. However this usually happens by chance rather than individual‟s initiative. In the case of Facebook usage, users may browse through Friend list on Friends‟ profiles, and send Friend request to add someone to his/her contact list. Thus activated the latent ties. Computer networks connect computer as well as users, thus formulate social network (Wellman, 1997). Information exchange and interpersonal interaction are the two major components of social networks. Information behavior is a social act (Burnett, 2000), whether. 政治大 exchange and interpersonal interactions often occur simultaneously, and social networks are 立. face-to-face or computer-mediated (Haythornthwaite & Wellman, 1998). Information. important sources of information in addition to media sources. Thus it is impossible to study. ‧ 國. 學. information behavior in isolation. In fact, contacts in the social networks often function as information intermediaries for each other. This leads to the discussion of information. ‧. behavior in the next section.. io. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. 1.4 Information behavior. i Un. v. What is information? Christopher Fox (1983) captured the vagueness of information:. Ch. engchi. Information seems to be everywhere…..disseminated by media of communication ….. exchanged in conversation…..contained in all sort of things…..libraries are overflowing with it, institutions are bogged down by it, and people are overloaded with it…..no one seems to know exactly what information is (p.3). This description is even more salient in the age of information, particularly the prevalence of internet. Information behavior is the totality of human behaviour in relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive information seeking, and information use. Thus, it includes face to-face communication with others, as well as the passive reception of information as in, for example, watching TV advertisements, without any intention to act on the information given (T. D. Wilson, 2000). 4.

(13) Research in information behavior had captured attention from information scientists. The Royal Society Scientific Information Conference in 1948 marked the beginning of modern study of information behavior, when a number of papers on the topic of information behavior were presented. However, the term information behavior was not used in the papers. Seven years later the term “information science” was coined by Christ Hanson (T. D. Wilson, 1999). There is a long history of research on information seeking, especially on the use of the sources like books and newspaper or information systems such as libraries and the mass media. The information needs and uses of scientists and engineers were the target of investigation in the information seeking research in the 1960s. In the 1970s the research on information shifted its focus from formal channels and task-oriented needs toward the individuals as finder, creator and user of information (Case, 2002).. 政治大. Dervin‟s sense-making methodology also contributed to the literature of information behavior. 立. by placing the emphasis on information users rather than sources. It “is integral to. ‧ 國. 學. understanding how human beings derive meaning from information” (Tidline, 2005). The principle of least effort, which predicts that individuals make choices to minimize their. ‧. work in performing task is also applied in information behavior research. This principle. y. Nat. points out that individuals tend to return to the sources they have used in the past rather than. er. io. sit. exploring new sources of information (Case, 2005).. According to Granovetter‟s strength of weak ties theory (Granovetter, 1973), weak ties are. n. al. Ch. i Un. v. the major sources of the new information as they are the links that connect different sections. engchi. of social networks. The theory had been widely used for the studies of information resources exchange in social networks. However, little is known about how strength of ties conditioned the information exchange behaviour of social network users. This first objective of this study is to explore to what extent the weak ties concept explains information exchange behaviour of Taiwanese Facebook users.. 1.5 Research Motive and Aim Guanxi, literal translation of relation in Chinese, is the cornerstone of the Chinese societies which plays significant role in social and economic interactions (Chen & Chen, 2004). 5.

(14) According to past research, Chinese also rely on those with close guanxi, such as family members and close friends to satisfy individual‟s needs on economy, religion, education and recreation (Hsu, 1953; Hwang, 1987). This leads us to ask if guanxi would also play an important role in satisfying individual‟s needs for information. If yes, how would guanxi help us understand the relation of Chinese Facebook users with the strong ties and weak ties in their networks. Thus the second motive of this study is to explore the significance of guanxi for Chinese Facebook users in selecting the counterpart for information exchange. It is hoped that the results of this investigation will contribute to social networks, guanxi, information behaviour research and social network sites users‟ study, especially in Taiwan.. This paper particularly focuses on the Facebook users in Taiwan because it is high popularity. 政治大. among internet users. According to comScore, Facebook is the world largest social networking site and the fourth largest site in the world. It captured 5.1% of the total time. 立. spent online worldwide in September 2009, scored an increase of 2.9 % compared to. ‧. ‧ 國. Worldwide," 2009).. 學. September, 2008 ("Microsoft Sites Captures Largest Share of Time Spent Online. Facebook users in Taiwan have grown over five millions in November 2009. Gender. sit. y. Nat. distribution is nearly equal. The major age groups of the audience includes 39.1% (age 25-34) and 33.4% (age 18-24) ("Facebook marketing statistics, demographics, reports and news,". io. al. n. further academic research.. er. November 3, 2009). The large population of Facebook users provides a fertile ground for. Ch. engchi. 6. i Un. v.

(15) Chapter 2 Literature Review This paper will investigate information exchange behaviour on Facebook. Social network theory-- the strength of weak ties will be used to form the analytical framework. Based on the research question, this chapter will begin with a brief review of literature on information exchange. Because personal networks are considered one of the important information sources, the next section will present the major findings in social networks research. Because the primary interest of this paper is placed on Taiwanese Facebook users, the literature on interpersonal relations--guanxi will also be reviewed.. 政治大 The concepts of information seeking, 立 and information sharing have often been used in human 2.1 Information exchange. ‧ 國. 學. information behavior research. These are closely related concepts but can still be differentiated. Information seeking is “a conscious effort to acquire information in response to a need or gap in your knowledge” (Case, 2002). Facebook users are usually not. ‧. purposively seeking information when they interact with their Facebook contacts. Thus this. sit. y. Nat. concept may not have reflected the information behavior of Facebook users. However, the. io. al. er. literature on information seeking could shed some lights on human information behavior.. v. n. Information exchange is including both active and purposive and less goal oriented and. Ch. i Un. implicit information diffusion. Information sharing is limited to giving information that. engchi. someone already acquired (Talja & Hansen, 2006). Thus it falls short in describing the information behavior of Facebook users. Interaction between Facebook users may involve both receiving and giving of information. Information exchange includes giving and receiving information. Thus provides a wider scope of coverage in describing Facebook users‟ information behavior. Thus this study will use the concept of information exchange to explore information behavior of Facebook users. Information and communication are the two major features in virtual communities. Interpersonal interaction and access to information are provided by virtual communities. They function as platform for open sharing and exchange of information. Social network sites are one of the most popular types of virtual communities. Through the synchronous and 7.

(16) asynchronous communication in Facebook, the users can find both socio-emotional support and an active exchange of information (Burnett, 2000). Blanchard & Horan (2000) suggested information exchange and the accessibility of information are the two primary aspects of virtual communities. Despite the availability of libraries and various information services，a large body of studies in library and information science (LIS) indicate people rely on personal networks (for example, friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbor) as the sources of various information. This is because interpersonal information sources are considered more accessible, credible, reliable, and applicable to the each unique situation (Lu, 2007). Williamson (1998) pointed out in everyday life, people seeking information to monitor their. 治政大 idea of “incidental information acquisition” from Wilson (1977). 立. life. He constructs an ecological model of use for everyday life information by borrowing the. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Information is in part acquired because it is deliberately sought….it is also found where is not specifically sought, as an accidental concomitant of routine activities with other purposes or as pure accident….it is clear that we could describe individual patterns of information-gathering activity, both where the search for information was the primary motive and where it was incidental (P. Wilson, 1977, p.37). y. Nat. sit. The Williamson‟s (1998) model consists of concentric circles with the user at the core. There. al. er. io. are four layers of information sources heading toward different use of the information at the. v. n. outer layer. The layer closest to the core is intimate personal network, the next layer is wider. Ch. i Un. personal networks, followed by mass media and institutional sources. The user performs both. engchi. purposeful information seeking and incidental information acquisition respectively with each layer of information source, except for institutional sources. The institutional sources are only used for purposeful information seeking. The model shows that factors such as socioeconomic circumstances, values, lifestyles, physical environment and personal characteristics may influence to what extent the information is sought, acquired and used. From the model, it is clear that personal network is an important source of information. Hall‟s (1959, 1966, 1976, 1984) cultural model on the level of context in communication may be applied to information exchange as well. In the high context culture, the communicated message may contain little information, the unspoken meaning is more important. While in low context culture, thoughts are expressed explicitly in messages transmitted. Information 8.

(17) flow is fast in high-context cultures where relationships and information are valued more than schedules, in comparison to low-context cultures (Komlodi, 2005). Because of the importance of social networks as an informal information source, the next section will be dedicated to the literature on social networks. This perspective has often been used to explore information behavior.. 2.2 Social network analysis Social network theory and social network analysis have been used interchangeably in many studies. However, there are significant differences between the two. A social network theory. 政治大 (Schultz-Jones, 2009). On the 立 other hand, social network analysis is an approach and set of is a premise for predicting network behaviour that aims to explain the operation of networks. ‧ 國. 學. techniques used to the study of the relational aspects of networks (Schultz-Jones, 2009). To use this technique to study the behaviour of networks it is essential to identify the roles and positions of the members of the network. There are some terminology shared by both theory. ‧. and analysis in network research. However, the function of social network theory and social In this study, social network theory will constitute the. sit. y. Nat. network analysis is different.. io. contributes to the understanding of network behaviour.. n. al. Ch. engchi. er. theoretical framework while features of social network analysis will be discussed because it. i Un. v. From the perspective of social network analysis, a network is defines as “a set of nodes and the set of ties representing some relationship or lack of relationship, between the nodes. In the case of social networks, the nodes represent actors, i.e., individuals, groups, organizations” (Brass, 1995, p.42-43). Social network analysis views individuals‟ access to information in terms of exposure to and control of information. The central idea of social network analysis is examining the patterns of contacts, ties and connections between actors in terms of their positions in the network. These relations connect pairs of actors into larger relational systems (Scott, 2000). Social network can be analyzed in terms of their structure, i.e. whole network and egocentric network. “The perspective assumes that actors (whether they be individuals, groups, or 9.

(18) organizations) are embedded within a network of interrelationships with other actors. It is this intersection of relationships that defines an actor‟s position in the social structure, and provides opportunities and constraints on behaviour” (Brass, 1995).Thus actors‟ behaviour, norms should be interpreted in terms of structure rather than personal attributes. The operation of dyadic relationship is determines by social structures. Thus similar structures are presumed to create similar outcome (Wellman, 1988c). Relationship is the basic element of social network analysis. Measures have been developed to depict the links, or ties from the perspective of network, such as strength, and symmetry (reciprocity), and direction (work flows from A to B, but not the other way), stability, indirect links.. These measures may not indicate the relationships of individual actors, but their. relationship within the network. Social network analysis categorizes individual actors. 政治大 the network; a bridge who is a member connecting two or more groups (Brass, 1995). 立. according to their different roles in the network. For example a star who is highly central to. ‧ 國. 學. A whole network approach is examining the relationships among members from the perspective of an outside observer. The strength of this approach is it allows simultaneous. ‧. view of the social system as a whole and its components, allowing researchers to trace the flow of information. However, the whole network approach is not always feasible because it. y. Nat. sit. requires the information and participation of every member in the network (Wellman, 1988c).. er. evolving.. io. It is not feasible to study online social networks because networks are dynamic, constantly. al. n. iv n C Egocentric or personal networks on thehother i Uthe point of view of an individual. e n hand g c hdefine An individual is the center for each personal network. This approach offers the individual view of networks. Through these egocentric networks, a researcher can describe how individuals are linked by strong and weak ties in a network. These networks form the social systems and influence the flow of resources channeled to and from them. “The world is composed of networks, not groups”, in fact a networks of networks (Wellman, 1988c). A may provide B with the information he obtained from C. Thus the relationship between A and B may be influence by connection between A and C. The relationship between A and C has to be considered in order to examine relationship between A and B (Brass, 1995).. 10.

(19) 2.3 Social network theories There is a very large volume of social network research, in various disciplines, accumulated since the idea of tie strength was proposed by Granovetter in year 1973. Most of it involved social network research in organizational behaviour, including leadership, power, turnover, job satisfaction, job performance, entrepreneurship, stakeholder relations, knowledge utilization, innovation, profit maximization, vertical integration, and so on (Borgatti & Foster, 2003). Major findings from these studies will be discussed in the next section as they offered some substantial insights to social network research.. 政治大 community. Participants‟ sense of community is essential for establishing strong community. 立. In order to understand social network, it is necessary to know the building blocks of Membership is important in building the feeling of belonging to a group. Members‟ feeling. ‧ 國. 學. toward group or the group to its members as perceived generate influence on their behavior. Communication among members facilitate resources exchange and integration, thus fulfill. ‧. al. er. io. sit. Nat. emotional closeness among members (McMillan & Chavis, 1986).. y. their needs. Frequent interaction, shared experience and anticipation on the future create. n. There are two primary streams among network studies, to examine the causes of network. Ch. i Un. v. structures or the consequences. The studies that examine the consequences of networks are. engchi. parallel with the structuralist idea that actor‟s behaviour is conditioned by networks in which the actor was embedded; while studies that examine the causes of network explore the network in terms of actor personalities and latent propensities (Borgatti & Foster, 2003). Relational perspective of network research saw interpersonal transmission as taken place among those with pre-established social ties. The structuralists suggested that two nodes have similar outcome (shared the same attitude) because their positions in networks are the same, even if direct connection between them is unavailable (Borgatti & Foster, 2003). Social capital concept had been used in a wide range of research in terms of a person‟s ties or network position in bringing substantial outcome. It is also often used to explain the information transmission in social structures. Social capital has been the central idea of social 11.

(20) networks and the associated norms of reciprocity are valued by people who are in them. Putnam (Putnam, 1995) defines social capital as the “features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” (p. 66). Coleman (1988) sees social capital as a resource for individuals defined by its function and is context specific. The social capital that facilitates certain actions may be useless to others. Information channel, prospects for acquiring information that facilitate action, is one of the three major forms of social capital. Social relations that are maintained for other purposes can also be used to obtain information. While social capital research is primarily individual-based, how research treats ties and their. 政治大. function had distinguished two major streams of the studies. For example, the studies Coleman (1990) and Burt (1992) focus on structure of ties in ego-network, and tend to ignore. 立. the content of ties. In contrary, Lin (2001) and others focus on the resources that flow through. ‧ 國. 學. social ties. Social ties are seen as channels of information and other types of resources flow (Borgatti & Foster, 2003).. ‧. Social influence studies (N. E. Friedkin & Johnsen, 1999) and network diffusion studies. y. Nat. embodied the structuralist traditions by placing the emphasis on constraint (DiMaggio &. io. sit. Powell, 1983), while social capital literature emphasized on opportunities (Gargiulo &. er. Benassi, 2000) and individuals are seen as actively exploiting his/her network position for the. al. n. iv n C U (i.e., performance or reward) h e variation out,“[S]ocial capital studies seek to explain n g c hini success benefits of him/herself (Borgatti & Foster, 2003). As Borgatti & Foster (2003) pointed. as a function of social ties, whereas diffusion and social influence studies seek to explain homogeneity in actor attitudes, beliefs and practices, also as a function of social ties.” (p.1002). Burt (1992) proposed the concept of structural holes, in which the lack of ties among contacts in individual‟s ego-network is considered social capital. In other words, individuals can maximize the volume of useful information from their social networks if there is no connection among their contacts. The underlying assumptions are: the amount of ties an individual maintained is limited, and information will be shared among friends. If A and B are friends, they will have similar information, as a result it would be more efficient for an 12.

(21) individual to link to just one of the pair meanwhile try to link to someone unconnected to them (Borgatti & Foster, 2003). Social network theory had also been used in conjunction with other related theories in research human information behaviour, for example, small world theory, social exchange theory. Travers and Milgram (1969) conducted an experimental study to examine the density of social networks. The design of the study is each starting person was provided with a document and asked to begin moving it by mail toward the target person. Two individuals may not directly know each other, but they may share one or more acquaintances, that link them indirectly. The information about target person is communicated through social networks.. 政治大. Two randomly selected American can be connected with average of 5.2. intermediaries. The “small world theory” (Milgram, 1967) states that social networks are. 立. tightly knitted, plentiful of unexpected strings that link individuals far apart physically or. ‧ 國. 學. socially (Travers & Milgram, 1969).. Blau (1964) defines exchange behaviour as “voluntary action of individuals that motivated by. ‧. the returns they are expected to bring and typically do in fact bring from others”. The central. y. Nat. idea of social exchange theory is social structure observed as configuration of social relations. io. sit. between actors (individuals and organizations), where the relations involve the exchange of. al. n. & Whitmeyer, 1992).. er. valued items, both material and non-material ones (informational, symbolic, and etc) (Cook. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Homans (1958) investigates the relations between reward and the performance a particular action. Emerson (1976) emphasizes the concept of “reinforcement” in social exchange. Reward refers to positive reinforcement. The more a certain action is rewarded, the more likely the repetition of the action. Homans (1958) indicates that a person who gives much to others will try to get much from them, and a recipient who receives much is also put under reciprocal pressure. This is consistent with the concept of reciprocity in interpersonal relationship in Chinese societies. Information exchange in social networks is a type of social exchange. It involves a primary principle: when a favour was granted to a person, despite the general expectation of being reciprocated in future of the favour-giver, the specific form does not formulate in advance. 13.

(22) Thus the nature of reward is non-negotiable, and is up to the person who is supposed to reciprocate to decide. Thus trust plays an important role in the process of social exchange (Blau, 1964; Homans, 1958). Exchange relation develops gradually in a steady process. It usually starts with a small exchange that requires little trust due to its low risk. If the favour is not returned, the exchange relation could be terminated. If the favour is returned with value higher than expectation, then a person has proved that he or she is trustworthy. Thus the prospect of receiving bigger assistance in future is higher. The process of social exchange generates trust in social relations through its cyclical and expanding features (Blau, 1964). While the literature reviewed in prior paragraphs provides general ideas about social network. 政治大. research, “the strength of weak ties” proposed by Mark Granovetter is one of the theories that provides theoretical framework for viewing network behavior (Schultz-Jones, 2009).. 立. He investigates how the types of ties are involved in the diffusion of job-related information.. ‧ 國. 學. Generally, interpersonal ties could be categorized in three forms: strong, weak and absent. The strength of ties is the combination of the amount of time, emotional intensity, intimacy. ‧. and the reciprocal services which characterize the tie (Granovetter, 1973). Strong ties. y. Nat. typically involve close friends, team-mates and other relationship that is intense and stable.. io. sit. They tend to share information, resources, contacts and experience from the same pool. There. er. is a high level of intimacy and self-disclosure between them. The ties are both instrumental. al. n. iv n C h erefer emphasized. By contrast, the weak ties h i U and casual contacts. People n gtocacquaintances and emotional. Resource and information exchange are frequent and reciprocity is. connected by weak ties are situated in different social circles with less similarity between them. Resources and information exchanges are infrequent. The ties are primarily instrumental, share few types of information or support (Haythornthwaite, 2005). The weak ties theory suggests that individuals usually rely on weak ties to receive new information about job mobility. This is because only weak ties can bridge the gap between different sections by creating more and shorter paths between them. Members from different social circles are the resources for new information not already available in existing social circles (Granovetter, 1973).. 14.

(23) In the case of job related information diffusion, he agrees that the instinct is those with strong ties are more motivated to assist with job information. However, individuals are more likely to obtain job information from those he or she maintains weak connection. This is because of those with strong ties are usually come from similar social background and pooling from the same information sources. Thus strong ties may not be able to channel new information about job opening. On the other hand, the different social background of weak ties may access to fresh job information that is unavailable with the existing social circles. He suggests labormarket information diffusion is byproduct of other social processes rather than the results of searching through social networks (Granovetter, 1974). Social network sites such as Facebook are one of the most popular types of virtual community. Thus the literature on virtual communities will be presented next. 2.4 Virtual communities. 立. 政治大. Virtual communities generally refer to communities that form through computer mediated. ‧ 國. 學. communication (CMC). A variety of terms have been used to describe them including electronic and online communities (Blanchard & Horan, 2000). Virtual communities also. ‧. refer to a number of people communicating through CMC based on shared interests. sit. y. Nat. (Mousavidin & Goel, 2009).. al. er. io. Virtual communities can be generally distinguished into two major categories. The first type. n. is electronic community that supplements the traditional physically based community. For. Ch. i Un. v. example a website of city hall, schools or community organization that provides electronic. engchi. resources for residents‟ use. The second type of virtual community is geographically dispersed members connected on the basis of shared interest in certain topics. Communication between members of these communities may be limited to online interaction and never meet in person (Blanchard & Horan, 2000). Both geographically dispersed and physically based virtual communities facilitate the connection of previously unknown people on the basis of shared interests. Geographically dispersed communities tend to establish sparsely knit networks as the members scatter in different areas. Physically based virtual community create network with higher density through overlap with face to face networks (Blanchard & Horan, 2000).. 15.

(24) It is useful to investigate the nature of virtual community with the knowledge/theory from social networks of offline community. Although CMC can overcome the space distance, but it is just one of the channels people use to interact. The communication baggage from real life is still dominates online interactions, such as gender, cultural background, socioeconomic status and offline connections with others (Wellman & Gulia, 1999). Virtual community can be examined from three approaches. It can be analyzed as a community as a whole with the focus on sense of community felt by all members. Discourse level of analysis is the second approach to studying virtual community. Third, social network analysis focus on the ties and links among members (Mousavidin & Goel, 2009) which have been discussed in previous section.. 政治大. A popular research theme about virtual community is the resemblance or difference between online and offline social networks. For in-person community, social support such as. 立. companionship, emotional aid, information, services, even financial support and tangible. ‧ 國. 學. material/goods channel through social networks. However, the supports do not come from one source. People maintain multiple connections with different people to access to a variety. ‧. of resources. Similar to in-person community/social networks, various social resources can be found online. Online social network can find social resources pool through specialized. y. Nat. er. io. 1999).. sit. relationships as well as pooling resources from a virtual community (Wellman & Gulia,. al. n. iv n C he face community. Reciprocating support andnsocialhresources g c i U ensures that more is available Virtual community is also explored in terms of norm of reciprocity that is common in face to. when needed in the future. There are concerns of the lack of motivation in providing support in virtual community. Because of the social or geographical distance, and the large and disperse social networks online, internet users may be less likely to be rewarded or receive support in return (Constant, Kiesler, & Sproull, 1996; Thorn & Connolly, 1987) (Wellman & Gulia, 1999). The prevalence of user generated content and booming online social networks has shown these concerns are unnecessary. Non-tangible social resources are available in online social networks including emotional support, information and providing a sense of belonging. This may be due to the fact that it can be done conveniently at home and does not require a huge investment of time, financial or energy (Wellman & Gulia, 1999).. 16.

(25) The advance of transportation, communication and internet transform the concept of inperson community. Neighborhood and kinship ties are only part of individual‟s overall community networks. Communities exist as social networks consist of kin, friends, and coworkers, regardless of geographical distance. Defining community in terms of space has been replaced by the concept of social networks ((Wellman, 1988a, 1993; Wellman & Gulia, 1999). Strong ties in online social networks carry characteristics similar to strong ties in offline social networks (Wellman & Gulia, 1999). Bases on “small world theory” (Milgram, 1967, Travers & Milgram, 1969),. Dodds, et al (2003) performed a experimental study to. investigate the online social networks by using email instead of chain letter. Their findings are global social networks are searchable in an average of five to seven steps.. 政治大. Some of Wellman observations for virtual communities in general are applicable to social network sites. The ties people build and maintain in online social networks are quite similar. 立. to their face to face community ties: intermittent, specialized and varying in strength. ‧ 國. 學. (Wellman & Gulia, 1999). The online ties may be specialized, but the combination of large and disperse connections maintain online apt to provide a wide range of support (Wellman &. ‧. Gulia, 1999).. y. Nat. Communities of different size, composition and structure exist online. The nature of online. io. sit. communication enables the virtual communities to become more global and local. er. simultaneously as global connectivity and local matters intersect. The internet support. al. n. iv n C h eoffline personal communities operate online and n g (Wellman c h i U& Gulia, 1999).. densely-knit group communities as well as personal communities. Group communities and. For information transmission in virtual communities, Burnett (Burnett, 2000) proposes a typology that illustrates various information behavior in virtual communities. He sees information exchange as social act that forms the foundation of virtual communities. Burnett (2000) points out despite virtual communities‟ lack of face-to-face interaction among their members compared to traditional communities, information exchange creates opportunities for socializing and other types of interactions. Information sharing itself is considered a social act (Burnett, 2000). Previous studies have shown tie strength mediating information behavior in social networks. However, tie strength may be insufficient to explore information exchange in social networks 17.

(26) of Chinese societies. Chinese social network is operated under a complex cultural mechanism. Guanxi as an indigenous construct of interpersonal relationship may shed some lights on understanding the way social networks function in Chinese societies. The most fundamental idea underlying the Chinese social networks is concept of lun (倫). Understanding it is significant for exploring Chinese social networks. Thus the discussion Chinese social networks will start from lun concept.. 2.5 Interpersonal relationship in Chinese societies There are two major concepts in any discussion of social networks in Chinese societies: “lun” (倫) and guanxi (關係). The origin of lun concept can be traced back the classical text of. 政治大 the relevant studies began to receive research attention at the early stage of economic reform 立 in China. However, the scope of guanxi research has extended over the decades from. Confucianism. Guanxi is relatively a modern expression. The usage of the term “guanxi” and. ‧ 國. 學. dominantly instrumental to the general perception of interpersonal relationships in Chinese societies. The two concepts are related but not the same, it is like the two sides of a coin. ‧. Pan (1948) indicates the major features of lun in Confucianism are differentiation between. Nat. sit. y. individuals and the types of relations which should be built between individuals. The most. al. er. io. fundamental idea underlying the concept of lun is differentiation (別)(King, 1991). Role. n. relations for individuals distinguish in accordance to different lun. Social order is maintained. Ch. when everyone behaves in the appropriate role.. engchi. i Un. v. In the Book of Rites (禮記), the ten relationships: gods and ghost, ruler and subject, father and son, the noble and humble, the close and distant, the rewarded and punished, husband and wife, public and private affairs, seniors and juniors, superiors and inferiors are fundamental types of human relationships. Everyone should know his or her place and behave accordingly (Fei, 1992). Based on lun concept, Fei (1992) was the first anthropologist to propose the concept of different mode of association (差序格局) to explain interpersonal relationship in Chinese societies in 1947. Interpersonal relationships in Chinese societies are base on different foundation. Different bases lead to different principles in interaction. Kinship is the primary determining factor for the closeness or distance, those related by blood or marriage located in 18.

(27) the circle closest to the core. This is called zijiren ( 自己人 ). However it is not an impermeable circle. Zijiren is often used to indicate the closeness between the two, and anyone can be added to that primary circle under different circumstances or context. The networks in Chinese societies are elastic with the self constantly at the core of circle (Fei, 2007) Fei (1992) made a comparison on the concept of relations between Western and Chinese societies. He points out that all members in an organization of Western societies are equivalent, similar to straws in a bundle. He called it organizational mode of association (團體格局). By contrast, social relationships in Chinese societies are self-centered, “like the ripples formed from a stone thrown into a lake, each circle spreading out from the center becomes more distant and at the same time more insignificant” (Fei, 1992).. 政治大 The fundamental idea of lun is still deeply embedded in the Chinese social system today. 立 Chen and Chen (2004) point out the various aspects of lun in Chinese societies. First meaning. ‧ 國. 學. of lun is about human relationships. Human is not seen as independent entity, but exist in relation to others. The second meaning of lun is social order. Social order can be interpreted. ‧. hierarchically and horizontally. In hierarchical differentiation, certain members enjoy some. y. Nat. privilege, such as ruler over subject, father over son, husband over wife, senior over junior.. sit. Horizontally, everyone is the core of their own social network. Others are differentiated in. er. io. terms of their closeness to the self. Lun also refers to moral principles dominating the. n. al. i n C U the differentiated relationships (Chen &hChen, e n g2004). chi. v. interaction between individuals. Moral principles are differentiated in correspondence with. At early stage of economic reform in China, the mechanism of market economy is far beyond mature. Law and regulation system is in transition period. There are things that cannot be done or achieved by proper procedures, people rely on guanxi to achieve their goals (King, 1991). According to a Chinese saying: “It is not who you are, it is who you know that counts”. This shows the importance of guanxi in Chinese societies. Guanxi is constituted of two characters, “guan” (關) literally means close, barrier, concern, involve; “xi” ( 係 ) means connection, bind and relation. Literally guanxi means “particularistic ties” (Jacobs, 1979), “personal connections,” “interpersonal relationships”.. 19.

(28) Guanxi research at this early stage is perceived as instrumental ties between individuals. The scopes of guanxi behaviour/norm are focused on the gift-giving behaviour as the primary means to gain access to limited resources (Yan, 1996a). Mayfair Yang (1994) pointed out the exchange nature of guanxixue by saying “guanxixue or art of guanxi places an emphasis on the binding power and emotional and ethical qualities of personal relationships” (p.4). Fieldwork had been conducted in various villages/cities in different part of China. Yan (1996b) investigates the moral principles and cultural logic underlying the gift-giving structure/system in a village in northern China. The concept of guanxi takes a turn as the economic power of China becomes stronger. Attracted by the huge market potential, Western investment started to channel into Chinese market. However, some of the initial explorations were baffled. Cultural difference is. 政治大 research attention had been paid to guanxi and organizational communication. On the other 立. considered one of the major problems. Thus guanxi caught the attention of Western academia,. hand, research on guanxi from a larger scope, seeing it as indigenous construct of. ‧ 國. 學. interpersonal relationships also prospered. This enables the guanxi concept to develop beyond the limitation of instrumental ties in a gift economy.. ‧. Guanxi has been interpreted “as an indigenous Chinese construct and define it as an informal,. y. Nat. sit. particularistic personal connection between two individuals who are bounded by an implicit. er. io. psychological contract to follow the social norm of guanxi such as maintaining a long term relationship, mutual commitment, loyalty, and obligation” (Chen & Chen, 2004, p.306) .. al. n. iv n C h e n gimportant Luo (2000) indicates that there are several c h i Uprinciples underlying building and maintaining guanxi. First, guanxi is transferable. Two individuals that have a shared acquaintance may initiate guanxi through the introduction or recommendation of the connecting person. Guanxi is reciprocal and intangible. People in a guanxi are committed to the invisible reciprocity norm in the long run. Guanxi is a utilitarian concept that emphasizes exchange of favors, instead of sentiment. Guanxi is also personal ties building on the anticipation for long term development (Luo, 2000). Luo (2000) examines guanxi from the instrumental perspective which portrayed guanxi as an instrument for resources/social exchange. Hwang (1987) develops a theoretical model of interpersonal relationship of Chinese societies. He categorizes interpersonal relationships into three types: the expressive tie, the instrumental 20.

(29) tie, and the mixed tie. The types of tie will determine which interaction principle is applicable. The expressive tie generally refers to extended and stable social relationship, including immediate family members, and close friends. This is the core group of an individual‟s guanxi network. The need rule dominates the interaction within expressive ties. The instrumental tie refers to the relationship one has to establish with others outside of the core circles target to fulfil his or her material or service needs. This relationship is usually unstable and temporary, for example between salesmen and customer. The equity rule is fundamental for this type of guanxi in which one will question what are the cost and reward (Hwang, 1987). Next is the mixed tie, also called particularistic tie, is the mixture of expressive and instrumental ties. The perception of favor (人情) and face (面子) are most frequently used in. 政治大 The bases perspective considered 立guanxi is determining not only the interaction pattern also. this type of relationship. It occurs chiefly among relatives, neighbours, colleagues and so on.. ‧ 國. 學. the potential development of guanxi. It is easier for a relationship of instrumental tie to become mixed tie, but always difficult to change from relationship of mixed tie to expressive tie. This is because expressive tie involves a much deeper sense of trust between members. ‧. that may not exist in mixed tie (Hwang, 1987).. y. Nat. sit. Yang (1995) also distinguishes relationship into three categories: family, acquaintance and. al. er. io. strangers. There are different principles of interaction associate with different ties,. v. n. responsibility for family, favor for acquaintances as well as gain and loss for strangers.. Ch. engchi. i Un. Ye (2004) distinguishes two most distinctive dyads of complementary interpersonal relationships in Chinese societies: acquaintance (熟人) vs. stranger (生人) and one of us (自己人) vs. outsider (外人). Through frequent social interaction over a period of time, a stranger may become acquaintance but does not necessarily shift from outsider to one of us which has fixed boundary. Viewing guanxi as mechanism to facilitate social exchange may be an oversimplification of concept of guanxi. It overlooks the rich cultural connotation and complexity of guanxi and the sentimental attributes of guanxi. Seeing interpersonal relations in Chinese societies simply performing the role imposed by hierarchy or obligation prescribed by lun in maintaining social order also disregards the dynamics of dyadic relationship between 21.

(30) individuals. Thus the dyadic perspective may contribute to understanding of information sharing as it is integral part of interaction between individuals (Chen & Chen, 2004). Yang (2001a) points out that the limitation of categorical view on guanxi is seeing the core circle with fixed boundary that eliminates the possibility of others to become one. The boundary of various circles is flexible in correspondence with the context, and it is up to the individual to define and distinguish. The emphasis of categorical approach is placed on connection between guanxi categorization and interaction mode. Guanxi or the interaction itself and their operation model are unexplored. Interpersonal interaction is largely determined by self-other relationship. Although individuals generally consider themselves as members of a collective which is a central. 政治大. feature of collectivism, however the concept of the collective is non-existent in Confucianism. The absence of “group” concept leads to a void of guiding principle for interaction between. 立. self and those with no relationship. Individuals are the central of their own social network in. ‧ 國. 學. a concentric pattern. The layer closest to the core is the strongest tie, and as layers move further away from the core they become less and less significant. Moreover, each relationship. ‧. is unique one way or another (Wang & Liu, 2010).. y. Nat. The definition of relationship between individuals is fluid and roles can change following. sit. reciprocal interactions between the self and the “other” involved. Underlying this fluidity of. n. al. er. io. relationships is the principle of reciprocity or “報” (repay, retribution) in the Chinese culture. i Un. v. (Wang & Liu, 2010). The concept of bao is not only applicable in self-significant others. Ch. engchi. relations, it is generally applied in all self-other relations.. Confucianism emphasizes both interdependence and self-reliance (Wang & Liu, in press). At first glance, the Confucian seems to put conflicting demands on Chinese individual. On one hand, individual is supposed to fulfil one‟s obligations impose by social position. On the other hand, the individual self is at the core of concentric circles, relationships are determine by the psychological distance self and other (Chen & Chen, 2004). Take a deeper look at the Confucianism socially interdependence and concentric circles of social network, will find out selfism plays a central role in both concepts. An individual has to know his/her social position to know the social role before fulfilling it. One also has to know the closeness in self-other relations to response properly during the interaction. Thus 22.

(31) Confucianism socially interdependence consist of vertically upward levels and concentric circles are horizontally outward movement from an individual self.. 2.6 Strength of ties and guanxi Strength of ties and guanxi can be distinguished conceptually. Based on the understanding of tie strength and guanxi, the reseacher compiled the table below to show the conceptual difference between the two.. Table 1 Comparison of tie strength and guanxi Features. Tie strength. Bases. Based. Guanxi. on. example, similar and hobby.. 立. same township.. ‧ 國. 學. intensity. interest, for Based on shared identity, for 治政 political stance, example 大 same surname, came from. shared. Strong, and weak ties. Strong ties Blood related, close, and distant are intense and stable relationships （遠近親疏）. Blood relations are. ‧. limited to blood relations only. Close friends may be seen as. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. while weak ties are feeble and short the closest connections for an term connections. individual. However, guanxi is not. Reciprocity. Ch. i Un. v. brothers or sisters even though they. engchi. are not blood related.. Instant reciprocity. A favour may be The concept of favor （人情） reward by a meal, or a gift enables delayed reciprocity. A immediately. favour may be earned, owed, and repaid/returned. A favour may be returned in different forms, for example giving information, and initiating guanxi with third party. The value of favour is measured by the efforts put in to accomplish it. 23.

(32) Transferability. Non-transferable.. Transferable, for example a guanxi person is trusted, thus his/her friends are trusted.. Governing. Same principles for all ties. General Different principles associated with. rule. principles such as being fair and different guanxi person. Individuals kind may be applicable for all ties.. may go to a great extent to help those with close guanxi but ignore those not include in the same guanxi network.. Development. Develop in stages. Weak ties may be An act of benevolence may nurture a. 治政 frequent interaction, and emotional absence 大 of frequent interaction. 立 ties may be faded supports. Strong. developed into strong ties with lifelong relationship even in the. ‧ 國. 學. away and become weak ties with less interaction.. ‧ y. Nat. sit. Source: (Chiu, Hong, Zhu, & Chih, 2007; Granovetter, 1973; Haythornthwaite, 1996; Hwang,. n. al. er. io. 1987; Jacobs, 1979 ; Luo, 2000; Wellman, 1988c). i Un. v. Ties strength and guanxi concepts are originated from different social and cultural. Ch. engchi. background, and both are used to explain network behaviour in respective society. Despite the differences as described above, the two described relations that may be built in similar contexts. For example, colleagues in the same company, classmates in the same school, and neighbours in the same community. Both concepts endorsed the idea of reciprocity, and trust. Strength of ties may be conceptually different from guanxi, however, is this the situation for Taiwan Facebook users? Do they rely on weak ties for information as described in the weak ties theory? Is there any connection between guanxi and tie strength? If yes, what is the nature of this connection? This study tries to provide some insights to these questions.. 24.

(33) Chapter 3 Research Method 3.1 Research framework Granovetter (1973) proposed in weak ties theory that weak ties link different sections of social networks, thus individuals are able to access information and other social resources unavailable at the existing social circles. After Granovetter (1983) reviewed the articles testing the hypotheses of weak ties theory, he maintained that while strong ties are more motivated to share information weak ties are still the major sources of new information. From the study on faculty members of various disciplines of University of Chicago and. 政治大 roles in information flow. While strong ties are more central in contributing to information 立 flow about activities within groups, weak ties are more central in diffusing information about Columbia University, Friedkin (1982) concluded that strong ties and weak ties play different. ‧ 國. 學. activities outside the group. “In both types of information flow, the contribution of weak ties is impressive since person tend to maintain more weak than strong ties……The strength of. ‧. weak ties lies not in their individual efficiency but in their numbers (Friedkin, 1982, p.284).. Nat. sit. y. The predominant underlying assumption of weak ties theory is that social contacts individuals. io. er. weakly linked have information and wishes to share with anyone that needed them. However, there may be a gap between information possession and information diffusion. The weak ties. n. al. Ch. i Un. v. might possess niche information currently unavailable in the existing social circles.. engchi. Nonetheless, they may lack motivation or communication channels to diffuse the information. Thus in theory, weak ties function as the shorter path of information flow, however in practical weak ties may not perform the role as often as predicted. Weak ties theory proposed the only path for information to flow between A and B is the link between A and B regardless of the strength of their ties. Thus the link that connect A and B assumed a great significance (Please refer to Fig. 1, Granovetter, 1973).. 25.

(34) C. C. A. B. A. Figure 1 Forbidden triad. B Figure 2 Possible information route. (Source: Granovetter, 1973). (Projection of current research). 政治大 claim to have guanxi because 立 they have a common friend. This substitute guanxi may be. In Chinese societies, common third party is a type of guanxi bases. Two individuals can. ‧ 國. 學. initiated by the common friend or either of the two parties for the purpose of getting assistance, or solving problems (Chen & Chen, 2004).. ‧. If B and C are both acquainted with A, a connection may be established between B and C, even though there are no other direct guanxi bases between them. The connection can be the. y. Nat. sit. bridging ties that function as an information path. Information from B may be transferred. er. io. directly to C without going through A (Please see Fig. 2). Information flow between A and B. al. v. n. may have more than one route, for example from A to B, or from A to C then to B, as. i n Cweak opposed to the only path proposed by ties theory. U hengchi. When seeking help, including advice, information and other forms of assistance, individuals consider the contacts in their guanxi network, and select one or more that are most likely to help. Based on the estimation of guanxi closeness between them, the help seeker already held some of expectations on the possibilities of the favour being granted before a formal request had even been made of the favour. The closer guanxi generates higher expectation. “The extent to which such expectation is met serves as a feedback on the quality of the guanxi and bases for deciding if adjustment is needed” (Chen & Chen 2004). If the input efforts are exceeding the expectation, it may result in closer guanxi. If the outcome of input is below expectation, such as a favour not returned, the guanxi quality may deteriorate.. 26.

(35) Given the above analysis, we are led to ask of the weak ties theory is indeed applicable to Chinese online social networks? The question leads to our first hypothesis, H1: The importance of weak ties as source of information is significantly greater than that of strong ties. Our analysis above also shows that tie strength is conceptually different from guanxi, yet in Chinese societies guanxi plays a major role in social networks and resources are often shared among in-group members in the same guanxi network (Shin, Ishman, & Sanders, 2007). Trust and communication were also found to be two important elements in information diffusion (Ramasamy, Goh, & Yeung, 2006).. 政治大. This leads us to question if Chinese Facebook users‟ guanxi with strong ties and that with weak ties is different, and if guanxi plays a role in selecting counterpart for information. 立. exchange:. ‧ 國. 學. H2 There is significant difference between Facebook users‟ guanxi with strong ties and their guanxi with weak ties, and. ‧. H3: Strong guanxi positively predicts respondents‟ selection of strong ties in exchanging. sit. y. Nat. information.. al. n. information.. er. io. H4: Weak guanxi negatively predicts respondents‟ selection of weak ties in exchanging. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. 3.2 Operational definition of key concepts Tie strength A “tie” in this study refers to a “contact person” or a “Friend” on respondents‟ Facebook Friend list. Since the publication of Granovetter's weak ties theory (1973), the volume of research using tie strength concept to examine information resources exchange in social networks are overwhelmingly larger than empirical studies attempted to measure or test the concept (Mathews, White, Soper, & von Bergen, 1998; Petróczi, Nepusz, & Bazsó, 2007). Likewise, different dimensions of tie strength have been discussed widely for social network 27.