An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Social Networking Sites and Students’ Engagement in Higher Education

Abstract

This article investigates how students’ online social networking relationships affect knowledge sharing and how the intensity of knowledge sharing enhances students’ engagement. It adopts the social capital theory as the basis for investigation, and the partial least square structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized model. Responses from 586 students in higher education were analyzed. The findings provided empirical evidence which contradicts the argument that students perceive social networking sites as an effective tool for learning. Also, contrary to previous studies which posit that knowledge sharing impacts engagement, it was observed that there is no relationship between the two. However, as social networking sites differ in terms of member behavior norms, it is envisaged that if a similar study is conducted and limited to a specific academically inclined social networking site such as Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, and so on, different findings may be observed.

Persuasive social features that promote knowledge sharing among tertiary students on social networking sites: An empirical study

“…Again, since members of ASNS seek to acquire knowledge (Koranteng et. al., ) and social networks become beneficial when they are used to make meaningful connections (Clark, Algoe, & Green, ), the interaction between members further promotes knowledge sharing. Positive affection and fondness are developed as members interact more frequently and share ideas (Dubos, ).…”

“…Consequently, effective knowledge sharing requires communication opportunities and good interaction among members within a community (Zheng, ). Social factors such as trust, interaction, identification, and shared objectives have been identified as the foundations for relationship building and they also have significant impacts on knowledge sharing among individuals (Chiu, Hsu, & Wang, ; Chow & Chan, ; Koranteng, Wiafe, & Kuada, ; Tsai & Ghoshal, ; Wasko & Faraj, ). Also, there are suggestions that factors such as monetary rewards and incentives influence knowledge sharing behaviour (Bartol & Srivastava, ).…”

Cyber-Crime and its Effects on E-Commerce Technologies

“…Trust demonstrates partners' commitment to trust business contract Lee, et al [46]. Koranteng, et al [47] argue that, the fear of being exploited by others is eliminated when trust exists between individuals. Thus, confidence in business relationship in increased by trust and plays a significant role in the quality and nature of business transactions that often exist between sellers and buyers Lee [48].…”

A hope to trust. Educational leadership to support mature students’ inclusion in higher education: an experience from Surrey, England

“…Hope is here defined as a capability to project oneself in the future with some degree of indifference towards the risk of failure (Milona, 2019). Hope is therefore particularly necessary for mature applicants who leave safer, more familiar, life worlds (Taylor & Harris-Evans, 2018) to move into the unfamiliar, where their social networks are often unable to offer protection or support (Koranteng, Wiafe, & Kuada, 2018). However, hope can be harmed from the beginning of the journey, when the selection for accessing HE is not designed to value the skills and knowledges of mature applicants if they do not meet academic standards (Ramsey & Brown, 2018).…”