A SELF-CONSTRUAL MODEL OF VOLUNTARY BLOGGERS

This paper develops a self-construal model containing both individual-and social-level variables to explain the internal motivations for bloggers to blog voluntarily. With an aim to bridge the gaps of previous blogger-related studies, this paper explores intrinsic and psychological benefits behind voluntary bloggers' sharing behavior via weblogs. The proposed structural equation model was tested with survey data from 452 bloggers in Taiwan, and all hypotheses were statistically supported. Our findings indicate that voluntary bloggers' involvement results from self-reassurance, which is induced by a self-construction process composed of both independent and interdependent self. This study enriches the extant literature on bloggers' behavior by incorporating the self-construction theory into the sphere of blogging. In essence, the self-construal model paves the way for future comprehensive psychological frameworks which may help researchers and practitioners to deepen their understanding of blogger enthusiasm in self-building.