What motivates people to continuously engage in online task-oriented check-ins? The role of perceived social presence

Abstract

PurposeOnline task-oriented check-ins (i.e. OTOCs) are popular means of tracking personal progress in certain fields. This study focused on the use of OTOC platforms and explored the predictors of individuals' continuing usage intention.Design/methodology/approachA model was proposed to understand Chinese users' continuous intention of OTOCs based on the UTAUT framework. Perceived social presence was also incorporated as a predictor of continuance intention of OTOC platforms. A survey of 397 users of the OTOC platforms was conducted in Nanjing, China.FindingsPerformance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit had direct, positive influence on the continuous use intention, whereas effort expectancy and social influence were not significant predictors of continuance intention of OTOCs. Perceived social presence was a significant, indirect predictor of intention to continuously use the OTOCs, and the relationship was mediated by performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit.Originality/valueThis study distinguished OTOCs from other modes of self-tracking and extended the UTAUT framework by incorporating perceived social presence as a predictor of continuous technology use in the context of OTOCs. This study also provided a deeper understanding of the interrelations between the explanatory variables of the model that have been identified as robust in previous literature on technology use.