It is the holy grail of digital marketing: the viral entertaining video, a pitch that
large numbers of viewers decide to share with family and friends. It is a social
exchange process between senders and receivers. However, exactly what motivates
internet users to share viral videos is unknown. Using self-enhancement theory, this
study empirically tests the proposition that online users share online videos, and
electronic word of mouth to construct and express their self-concepts when they
perceive benefits from a video. We also applied the Theory of Reason Action (TRA)
and tested their actual sharing and WoM buzzs. The result shows that perceived
usefulness and enjoyment positively influenced self-enhancement, which produced
sharing intentions. Then, the intention to share influenced actual sharing behavior
and WoM. Surprisingly, we found that perceived enjoyment can directly influence
intention to share. These findings have both theoretical and managerial implications.

3


Table of Content

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2 Literature Review............................................................................................ 8
2.1 Social exchange theory ......................................................................................... 8
2.2 Video sharing ........................................................................................................... 9
2.3 Self-enhancement theory ...................................................................................... 10
2.4 Entertaining value.................................................................................................. 11
2.5 Involvement ........................................................................................................... 12
2.6 Personality traits .................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 3 Conceptual Frameworks ............................................................................... 14
3.1Perceived usefulness and self-enhancement ......................................................... 15
3.2 Perceived enjoyment and self-enhancement ....................................................... 16
3.3 Self- expressiveness and Sharing ........................................................................... 17
3.4Intention to share and actual share and WoM ...................................................... 17
3.5Control variables .................................................................................................... 18
3.5.1 Media sharing Self-efficacy ............................................................................ 19
3.51. Enjoying sharing: ............................................................................................ 19
3.5.2. Extraversion ................................................................................................... 20
3.5.3. Egocentricity: ................................................................................................. 20
3.5.4. Media fashion leadership and consciousness ............................................... 21
CHAPTER 4 Data Analysis and Result ............................................................................... 22
4.1 Research Setting .................................................................................................... 22
4.2 Data collection ....................................................................................................... 22
4

4.3 Measurement model results ................................................................................. 23
4.4 Structure model analysis ....................................................................................... 29
4.5 Hypothesis testing ................................................................................................. 29
Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................. 33
5.1 Summary of findings .............................................................................................. 33
5.2 Theoretical implications ........................................................................................ 33
5.3 Managerial Implications ........................................................................................ 35
5.4 Limitations and Future Research ........................................................................... 37
Appendix .......................................................................................................................... 38
Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 38
Appendix B ................................................................................................................... 38
Reference ........................................................................................................................ 40

40

EFFICACY.2
I have confidence in responding or adding
comments to video or articles posted
by other members in virtual community.
Enjoying sharing ENJOYSHARING.0 I enjoy sharing information.
ENJOYSHARING.1 I enjoy helping others by sharing information.
ENJOYSHARING.2
It feels good to help someone by sharing
information.
ENJOYSHARING.3 Sharing information with friends is pleasurable.
Actual sharing ACTUAL.0 I showed the video to other people.
ACTUAL.1 I shared the video on a website for others to see.
ACTUAL.2 I shared a link for the video with others.
WoM TALK.0 I recommended the video to others.
TALK.1 I mentioned this video to others.
TALK.2 I told others about what I saw in the video.

TALK.3 I mentioned some ideas from the video to others.



Reference
Asch, S. E. (1956). "Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one
against a unanimous majority." Psychological Monographs: General and Applied
70(9): 1-70.

Baumeister, R. F. (1982). "A self-presentational view of social phenomena."
Psychological bulletin 91(1): 3.

Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life, Transaction Publishers.

Bock, G. W. and Y.-G. Kim (2002). "Breaking the myths of rewards: an exploratory
study of attitudes about knowledge sharing." Information Resources Management
Journal (IRMJ) 15(2): 14-21.

Brockman, B. K. and R. M. Morgan (2003). "The role of existing knowledge in new
product innovativeness and performance." Decision Sciences 34(2): 385-419.

Brown, J. D. (1986). "Evaluations of self and others: Self-enhancement biases in
41

social judgments." Social Cognition 4(4): 353-376.

Chen, P.-Y., et al. (2006). "All reviews are not created equal: The disaggregate
impact of reviews and reviewers at amazon. com." Com (May 2008).

Connolly, T., et al. (1990). "Effects of anonymity and evaluative tone on idea
generation in computer-mediated groups." Management science 36(6): 689-703.

Constant, D., et al. (1994). "What's mine is ours, or is it? A study of attitudes about
information sharing." Information Systems Research 5(4): 400-421.

Constant, D., et al. (1996). "The kindness of strangers: The usefulness of electronic
weak ties for technical advice." Organization science 7(2): 119-135.

Davenport, T. H. "Prusak. L.(1998)." Working knowledge: How organizations
manage what they know.

David G. Taylor, D. S., and Kenneth Thompson (2012). "SELF-ENHANCEMENT AS A
MOTIVATION FOR SHARING ONLINE ADVERTISING " Journal of Interactive
Advertising, 12: 13-28.

Deci, E. L. and R. M. Ryan (1980). "The empirical exploration of intrinsic
motivational processes." Advances in experimental social psychology 13(2): 39-80.

Dichter, E. (1966). "{How word-of-mouth advertising works}." Harvard Business
Review 44(6): 147-160.

Evans, M. (1989). "Consumer behaviour towards fashion." European Journal of
Marketing 23(7): 7-16.

Godes, D. and D. Mayzlin (2009). "Firm-created word-of-mouth communication:
Evidence from a field test." Marketing Science 28(4): 721-739.

Halder, S., et al. (2010). "The influence of personality traits on information seeking
behaviour of students." Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science 15(1):
41-53.

Heider, F. (1946). "Attitudes and cognitive organization." The Journal of psychology
42

21(1): 107-112.

Hennig-Thurau, T., et al. (2004). "Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion
platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet?"
Journal of interactive marketing 18(1): 38-52.

Kankanhalli et al 2005, A., Tan, B. C., & Wei, (2005). " Contributing knowledge to
electronic knowledge repositories: an empirical investigation." Mis Quarterly,
113-143.

Kollock, P. (1999). "The production of trust in online markets." Advances in group
processes 16: 99-123.

Krebs, J. (1976). "Habituation and song repertoires in the great tit." Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 1(2): 215-227.

Matzler, K., et al. (2011). "Personality traits, affective commitment, documentation
of knowledge,and knowledge sharing." The International Journal of Human
Resource Management Vol. 22, No. 2.

McCracken, G. (1987). "Advertising: meaning or information?" Advances in
consumer research 14(1): 121-124.

Mead, G. H. (1934). "Mind." Self and Society, Chicago.

Mehl, M. R., et al. (2010). "Eavesdropping on Happiness Well-Being Is Related to
Having Less Small Talk and More Substantive Conversations." Psychological Science
21(4): 539-541.

Meng-Hsiang Hsu, T. L. J., Chia-Hui Yen, Chun-Ming Chang (2007). "Knowledge
sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust,
self-efficacy, and outcome expectations." Int. J. Human-Computer Studies.

MILKMAN, J. B. a. K. L. (2012). "What Makes Online Content Viral?" Journal of
Marketing Research XLIX 192 –205.

Molm, L. D. (1997). Coercive power in social exchange, Cambridge University Press.

43

Newcomb, T. M. (1953). "An approach to the study of communicative acts."
Psychological review 60(6): 393.

Purvis, R. L., et al. (2001). "The assimilation of knowledge platforms in
organizations: An empirical investigation." Organization science 12(2): 117-135.

S.Shim, P. W. (2000). "An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between
Product Involvement and Brand Commitment." Psychology & Marketing 17(9):761–
782.

SPROTLES (1986). "A Methodology for Profiling Consumers' Decision‐Making
Styles." Journal of Consumer Affairs 20(2): 267-279.

Tai-Kuei Yu , L.-C. L., Tsai-Feng Liu (2010). "Exploring factors that influence
knowledge sharing behavior via weblogs." Computers in Human Behavior: 32–41.

Teh, P.-L., et al. (2011). "Do the Big Five Personality Factors affect knowledge
sharing behaviour? A study of Malaysian universities." Malaysian Journal of Library
& Information Science 16(1): 47-62.

Teixeira, T. (2012). "The New Science of Viral Ads." Harvard Business Review.

Vallerand, R. J. (1997). "Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation." Advances in experimental social psychology 29: 271-360.

Wasko, S. F. (2005). "Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge
contribution in electronic networks of practice." MIS quarterly: 35-57.

Zaichkowsky, J. L. (1994). "The Personal Involvement Inventory: Reduction,
Revision, and Application to Advertising." Journal of Advertising.