Acceptance of corporate blogs by internet users

Social media activities have become part of corporations' communication strategies, seeking ways to use applications such as corporate blogs and social networks for relating to stakeholders and managing their (online) reputation. This study empirically investigates the application of the technology acceptance model to explain the individual usage of corporate blogs by Internet users. We test the Hypotheses derived from the model using a sample of 992 individuals from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Using structural equation modeling, the effects of cognitive factors on attitude, as well as the effect of attitude on usage intention and subsequently on actual usage are identified. The theoretical and practical implications of this are discussed. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.