Understanding social media users' engagement intention toward emergency information: the role of experience and information usefulness in a reciprocity framework

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate how social media users' experience of seeking emergency information affects their engagement intention toward emergency information with a reciprocity framework integrated with information adoption model.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on reciprocity theory, indebtedness theory, and information adoption model, an integrative research model is developed. This study employs a questionnaire survey to collect data of 325 social media users in China. Structural equation modeling analyses are conducted to test the proposed theoretical model.FindingsSocial media users' experience of seeking emergency information has a strong effect on their perceived information usefulness and indebtedness, while perceived information usefulness further influences community norm, indebtedness, and engagement intention. The authors also found that perceived information usefulness mediates the relationships between experience of seeking emergency information and community norm/indebtedness.Originality/valueThis study offers a new perspective to explain social media users' engagement intention in the diffusion of emergency information. This study contributes to the literature by extending the theoretical framework of reciprocity and applying it to the context of emergency information diffusion. The findings of this study could benefit the practitioners who wish to leverage social media tools for emergency response purposes.