Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems (APJIS)

menu05_sub01_ov.gif

Share this page

Current Issue

Date	June 2026
Vol. No.	Vol. 36 No. 2
DOI	https://doi.org/10.14329/apjis.2026.36.2.186
Page	186~209
Title	What Drives Monetary Gifting to Members of an SNS Group?
Author	So-Hyun Lee, Xiao-Wen Feng, Hee-Woong Kim
Keyword	Gift-giving, Monetary Gifts, SNS Groups, Social Exchange Theory, Social Network Services
Abstract	As the use of smart devices has become more widespread, monetary gifting through social network services (SNSs) has increasingly taken place in SNS group contexts. Despite the growing prevalence of such practices, the determinants of monetary gifting behavior in SNS groups remain underexplored. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study develops a research model that explains monetary gifting as a group-based exchange shaped by both SNS platform characteristics and group contexts. This study empirically validated the proposed model using both subjective and objective data gathered from an SNS platform across multiple time points. The findings show that benefit-related factors—reciprocity of SNS group monetary gifting, online social companionship, online social contribution, and convenience of SNS group monetary gifting—as well as a cost-related factor, social anxiety of SNS group monetary gifting, influence the frequency of monetary gifting in SNS groups through individuals’ assessments of perceived worth. This study contributes to the literature by providing a theoretically grounded explanation of monetary gifting behavior in SNS group contexts and by highlighting the combined role of SNS platform characteristics and group-based interaction dynamics. The findings also offer practical insights for SNS providers seeking to promote monetary gifting within group-based social interactions.

Home l Site Map l Abstracting/Indexing l FAQ l Publisher l Contact Us l Admin Login

© 2013 The Korean Society of Management Information Systems. All rights reserved.