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How does social overload lead to withdrawal behavior? The case of social communities on social networking sites

Van Thac Dang et al.

Information Technology & People2025https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-02-2024-0224article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.52

Abstract

Purpose On the basis of the conservation of resources theory (CORT), this study investigates the relationship between social overload and users’ withdrawal intention from social communities on social networking sites (SNSs), with the serial mediating mechanisms of social-psychological distance and emotional exhaustion and the moderating mechanism of (similar) linguistic style. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 489 users in different social communities on SNSs in an emerging market. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the sample data and test the hypotheses. Findings Results show that social overload has a positive influence on withdrawal intention from social communities on SNSs. Furthermore, social-psychological distance and emotional exhaustion have a serial mediating effect in this relationship. In addition, (similar) linguistic style negatively moderates the link between social overload and emotional exhaustion and that between social overload and withdrawal intention. Originality/value This study extends CORT to propose and test a unique research model that clarifies the mechanisms leading to users’ withdrawal behavior from social communities on SNSs. The findings of this study provide implications for researchers, individual users, administrators/managers of social communities, and SNS providers to understand and make better decisions to retain member users.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-02-2024-0224

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@article{van2025,
  title        = {{How does social overload lead to withdrawal behavior? The case of social communities on social networking sites}},
  author       = {Van Thac Dang et al.},
  journal      = {Information Technology & People},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-02-2024-0224},
}

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How does social overload lead to withdrawal behavior? The case of social communities on social networking sites

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Evidence weight

0.52

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.47 × 0.4 = 0.19
M · momentum0.68 × 0.15 = 0.10
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.