Why DO citizens engage in government social media accounts during COVID-19 pandemic? A comparative study

Tahir Islm; Hu Meng; Abdul Hameed Pitafi; Abaid Ullah Zafar; Zaryab Sheikh; Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik; Xiaobei Liang

doi:10.1016/j.tele.2021.101619

Why DO citizens engage in government social media accounts during COVID-19 pandemic? A comparative study

Telemat Inform. 2021 Sep:62:101619. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2021.101619. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Authors

Tahir Islm^{1

2}, Hu Meng¹, Abdul Hameed Pitafi³, Abaid Ullah Zafar⁴, Zaryab Sheikh⁵, Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik⁶, Xiaobei Liang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
² Faculty of Business Administration, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University.
³ School of Management, Hefei University of Technology, Jinazhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 200092, PR China.
⁴ Shenzhen-Audencia Business School, Shenzhen University, Nanhai Avenue 51, Shenzhen, PR China.
⁵ NUST Business School, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
⁶ College of Business Management, Institute of Business Management, PR China.

Abstract

The worldwide COVID-19 outbreak that crushed the global economy and healthcare increased the public willingness to acquire more information and enthusiasm to engage online among billions of users through social networks. As more towns, cities, and regions turn to lockdown, government social media accounts (GSMAs) develop as a trustworthy source to obtain information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, investigating the determinants and consequences of citizens' participation behavior on GSMAs is essential. Drawing on the self-determination theory (SDT) and civic volunteer model (CVM), we examine the influence of motivational factors (i.e., intrinsic extrinsic) on citizens' participation behavior on GSMAs, which leads to online civic behavior. Comparative research between China and Pakistan is carried out using data collected through an online survey. This study shows that information-seeking, political benefits, self-development, altruism, and perceived reciprocity are the critical antecedents of citizens' participatory behavior on GSMAs in both countries, resulting in online civic behavior. Furthermore, moderating results reveal that perceived connectivity moderates the relationship between certain motivational factors (intrinsic and extrinsic) and citizens' participatory behavior on GSMAs, whereas trust in government moderates the relationship between participatory behavior on GSMAs and online civic behavior during COVID-19. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in detail.

Keywords: Citizens Participatory Behavior on GSMAs; Extrinsic factor; Intrinsic Factor; Online Civic Behavior; Trust in Government.