ABSTRACT
There has been some controversy about the effectiveness of Social media on students’ hedonic consumption. Since the evolution of Social Networking sites, parents and educators have shown great interests on its effects on student’s hedonic consumption. Hence, the study examined the effect of social media on hedonic consumption among students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU). The specific objectives were to: examine the effect of Facebook on hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU; evaluate the effect of Whatsapp on hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU; determine the influence of Twitter on hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU and to examine the influence of Youtube on hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU. The study adopted survey research design and simple random sampling technique. Primary data were used through the distribution of questionnaire. The total population of the study were 11232 students of MOUAU. Taro Yamane formula were adopted to determine a sample size of 386 student from the population. In effect, 386 questionnaire distributed but, 365 were recouped form the respondents which form the sample size of the study. A test-re-test were conducted to ensure validity and reliability of the data. The data were presented using 5point Likert scale, simple percentage and frequency. The hypotheses were tested using multiple regression technique. The empirical result revealed that Facebook, Whatsapp and Youtube application has positive and significant effect on hedonic consumption among students in MOUAU, Abia State. However, Twitter social media application has no significant effect hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU. The study recommended that there is need for student of MOUAU to create Twitter accounts since it helps expression of identity and showing belonging and affiliation with others. This is because, when students feel a sense of belonging and affiliation with others, they will stick online longer and pay more attention to pleasures and catching fun.
Key Words: Social media, hedonic consumption, MOUAU Students.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page i
Dedication ii
Acknowledgement iii
Declaration iv
Certification v
Table of Content vi
List of Tables viii
List of Figures x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study 4
1.4 Research Questions 5
1.5 Research Hypothesis 5
1.6 Significance of the study 5
1.7 Scope of the study 5
1.8 Definition of Terms 6
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 7
2.1.1 Concept
of Hedonic Consumption 7
2.1.2 Hedonic Consumption Vs
Utilitarian Consumption 11
2.1.3 Concept of Social Media 11
2.1.3.1 Features of Social Media 13
2.1.3.2 Examples
of social media 13
2.1.4 Sources and Determinants of Pleasure 15
2.1.5 Pleasure in the Product 16
2.1.6 Pleasure from Person–Product Interactions 17
2.1.7 Pleasure from expectations 18
2.1.8 Pleasure from engagement 18
2.1.9 Pricing Pleasure 18
2.1.10 Hedonic Attitudes and
Consumption 19
2.1.11 Social Media and Hedonic Consumption 21
2.1.12 The
Direct Impact of Social Media Intensity on Hedonic Consumption 21
2.2 Theoretical
Background 21
2.2.1 Operant Conditioning Theory 21
2.2.2 The Aesthetics of Cool by Vito Campanelli
(2001) 22
2.3 Empirical Review 23
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 24
3.2 Area of Study 24
3.3 Population of the Study 25
3.4 Sample Size Determination 25
3.5 Sampling Technique 26
3.6 Method of Data Collection 26
3.7 Validity of Instrument 26
3.8 Reliability of Test Instrument 27
3.9 Method of Data Presentation and Analysis 27
3.10 Model Specification 28
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION/RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Rate of Return Questionnaire 29
4.2 Socio-economic characteristics of students of Michael Okpara
University
of
Agriculture, Umudike 30
4.2.1 Frequency Distribution of buying/selling
goods/services via social media 32
4.2.2 Deriving pleasure through buying
goods/services via social media 33
4.2.3 The level of pleasure derived from using
social media 34
4.2.4: Effect of Facebook
on Hedonic Consumption among Students of MOUAU35
4.2.5 Effect of Whatsapp
on Hedonic Consumption among Students of MOUAU36
4.2.6: Effect of Twitter
on Hedonic Consumption among Students of MOUAU37
4.2.7: Effect of Youtube
on Hedonic Consumption among Students of MOUAU38
4.3 Test of Hypotheses 39
CHAPTER FIVE:
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
of Findings 43
5.2 Conclusion 43
5.3 Recommendations 44
References
Appendix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Return of distributed questionnaires from the
students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike 31
Table 4.2.The socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents are discussed in
this
section as follows 32
Table
4.3 Do
you buy/sell goods via social media 34
Table
4.4.Do
you derive any pleasure buying goods via social media 35
Table
4.5.The
level of pleasure derive from buying goods via social media. 36
Table 4.6: On the basis of effect of Facebook on hedonic consumption
among
students of MOUAU 37
Table 4.7: On the basis of effect of Whatsapp on hedonic consumption
among
students of MOUAU 38
Table 4.8: On the basis of effect of Twitter on hedonic consumption
among
students of MOUAU 39
Table 4.9: On the basis of effect of Youtube on hedonic consumption
among
students of MOUAU 40
Table 4.10 Multiple
Regression Coefficients of effect of Social media on hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU 41
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig 1.Conceptual Framework 8
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Background
of the Study
A paradox of everyday life is that
happiness and pleasure states that should be easy to maximize due to the
frequency and variability with which consumers pursue them and the unambiguous
feedback that experience provides are nonetheless pursued sub-optimally by even
the most highly motivated and capable consumers. Consumer researchers recognized
the importance of enjoyment, pleasure, and happiness and consumption's role in
obtaining them at a relatively early stage, most notably by Hirschman and Holbrook (2012)
Hedonic consumption consists of “those
facets of consumer behavior that relate to the multisensory, fantasy, and
emotive aspects of one's experience with products.” Many researchers instead
have adopted less expansive operationalization’s that facilitate experimental
inquiry but present a different set of challenges. Consider, for example, the
seemingly straightforward product-based approach, which is well represented in
consumer research via the distinction between utilitarian and hedonic products
(Strahilevitz&Myers, 2010)
or virtues and vices (Wertenbroch, 2014).
A prototypically utilitarian product may possess hedonic characteristics, as
when detergent is marketed based on its scent rather than its cleaning ability
(Chaker, 2011); a prototypically
hedonic product such as chocolate could be consumed for its cardiovascular
benefits; and a product initially consumed to achieve euphoria may subsequently
be consumed to reduce the unpleasant cravings caused by addiction (Linden, 2011).
Consumer activities suffer the same problem, inasmuch as the same overt
activity can be primarily hedonic or primarily utilitarian. Yard work may be
viewed as toil or a relaxing hobby, and toil itself may be viewed as aversive
or a source of satisfaction and pleasure (Crossen,
2006)
Social media are computer-mediated technologies
that facilitate the creation and sharing of information,
ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.
The variety of stand-alone and built-in social media services currently
available introduces challenges of definition; however, there are some common
features.
Hedonic consumption is consumption of
products by individuals for experiencing happiness after satisfying basic needs
of food, clothing and shelter. Consumption of items which are necessary for
survival is called utilitarian consumption. So after satisfying utilitarian
needs, if individual is left with resources, they can spend it on enhancing
emotional pleasure which is known as hedonic consumption in consumer behaviour
theory (www.mbaskool.com). The emotional pleasure generated by hedonic
consumption can vary with every individual unlike in utilitarian consumption
where satisfaction level is same for every individuals as they are basic needs
((Linden, 2011).
Social media safes students the stress of
having to go to a company that is far from their jurisdiction just to purchase
a product.Students derives lots of pleasures using social media as a means of
purchasing what they need. Social media safes time and cost, and it’s a more
reliable means of buying since it has to be delivered to our door post.
The ability to share photos, opinions,
events, etc in real-time has transformed the way we do life and it is also
transforming the way we do business. Students who engage social media as
part of their purchasing/marketing strategy have seen great results. But the
key to success with social media is to treat it with the same care, respect and
attention you do to all of your purchasing/marketing (Larocheet al., 2012).
Observers have noted a range of positive
and negative impacts of social media use. Social media can help to improve
individuals' sense of connectedness with real or online communities, and it can
be an effective communication (or marketing) tool for corporations,
entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, including advocacy groups and political
parties and governments. At the same time, concerns have been raised about
possible links between heavy social media use and depression,
and even the issues of cyberbullying,
online harassment and "trolling".
Currently, about half of young adults have been cyberbullied and of those, 20
percent said that they have been cyberbullied regularly (Evans, 2010).
Social media is becoming an integral part
of life online as social websites and applications proliferate. Most
traditional media include social components, such as comment fields for users.
In business, social media is used to market products, promote brands, connect
to current customers and foster new business(Maschio,
2016).
Social media marketing, or SMM, is a form
of internet marketing that involves creating and sharing content on social
media networks in order to achieve marketing and branding goals. Social media
marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and
other content that drives audience engagement, as well as paid social media
advertising (Evans, 2010).
1.2
Statement of the Problem
There has been some controversy about the
effectiveness of Social media on students’ hedonic consumption. Since the
evolution of Social Networking sites, parents and educators have shown great
interests on its effects on student’s hedonic consumption. In a school like
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, where Social Networking has
attained great heights, there is a belief that most students use the time they
are supposed to read to stay online, looking for products that will give them
maximum emotional satisfaction and pleasure while consuming it. Moreover, there
is a feeling that because of too much involvement on Social media by students,
they find it difficult to concentrate on their studies and most of them tend to
regret at last because the product theypurchased physically does not perform as
appeared on the internet. The problem of delay in delivery of a product
purchased via social media has been militating against the hedonic consumption
among students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
Based on the different views on the
effects of Social media and hedonic consumption, the need for an effective
study of Social media is relevant as a strategy for effective and efficient
students’ hedonic consumption.
1.3
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of the study is to
examine the effect of social media on hedonic consumption among students of Michael
Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU).The specific objectives are
to:
i.
examine the effect of Facebook on hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU
ii.
evaluate
the effect of Whatsapp on hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU
iii.
determine the influence of Twitter on
hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU
iv.
examine the influence of Youtube on
hedonic consumption among students of MOUAU.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions was
addressed:
i.
How does Facebook affect hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU?
ii.
How does Whatsapp affect hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU?
iii.
How does Twitter affect hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU?
iv.
How does YouTubeaffects hedonic
consumption among students of MOUAU?
1.5
Research Hypothesis
The following research hypotheses were
tested to ascertain the objectives that is raised. The hypotheses are stated in
null (Ho) terms.
H01:
Social media elements have no significant effect on hedonic consumption among students
of MOUAU.
1.6 Significance of the study
The quality of research work lies on the relevance
to the society being studied. The importance is the ability to draw a
relationship between Social media and hedonic consumption among
the students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, whether
social media has any impact on hedonic
consumption.
Again, this research will be of immense value to
students in the Universities, since it will educate them on the roles of
Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Youtube etc. on Hedonic consumption.
The studyprovides literature for further
research studies for students and others in the field of social media and
hedonic consumption.
1.7
Scope of the study
This study focuses on effect of social media on
hedonic consumption among students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,
Umudike, where the study was carried out.
1.8
Definition of Terms
Social: Relating
to or involving activities in which people spend time talking to one another;
it can also be seen as a connection with activities in which people meet one
another for pleasures.
Hedonic consumption:
is a concept that underlines the consumers’ behavior which is tied to the
multisensory, fantasy and emotional aspects of product usage experience; where
individuals purchase products not only for what they can do, but also for what
they mean.
Social media: is
the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based
input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration.
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