Abstract:

In the area of disaster management, social factors affecting technology adoption remain largely understudied. Little is known as to whether social media usage contributes positively to stakeholders’ psychological well-being and whether that reflects positively on user satisfaction. In this paper, we propose an empirical study that can help fill this gap. Our research model combines elements of social support theory, diffusion of innovation, institutional theory, and Kahn’s theoretical model of psychological conditions. We present relative advantage, compatibility, interactivity, and institutional pressure as drivers of social media. Furthermore, whether social media use impacts positively on users’ satisfaction depends on whether these platforms promote psychological conditions helping victims to better deal/cope with disasters. Finally, whether social media usage promotes beneficial psychological conditions will depend on whether the right kind of information/support is accessible when needed. We propose a mixed-method approach to test our model. An initial quantitative assessment using PLS-SEM will be followed by a qualitative study using interviews to help clarify/enrich our understanding of the results and the interrelationships between key variables.