How the 'uses and gratifications' theory explains the usage of professional networking sites: comparison between individual members and companies members

Abstract

Social media continues to gain enormous popularity. Therefore, it is not surprising that this attracts the interest of researchers to study this cyber-social phenomenon. Previous contributions focused hugely on Online Social Networks (ONS), but this paper uses the ‘Uses & Gratifications’ Theory to explain the member behaviour in the field of Professional Networking Sites (PNS) by considering the motivations usage for both individuals and companies. For this purpose, a qualitative research was conducted using the ‘Uses & Gratifications’ Theory to explain the user behaviour in the field of professional networking sites. To collect data, we conducted 8 face-to-face interviews with companies and 5 focus groups with individuals. The results permit to identify two types of motivations: contextual motivations and generic motivations in which a comparison with those previously found in the field of OSNs may be done. A discussion of the results is presented in the light of the rewards and gratifications gained from using professional networking sites.