Cross-Cultural Engagement on All-Service Vs. Focused Media Platforms

This study provides the first comparison of the complete group of variables in the expanded uses and gratifications theory on consumer engagement between all-service vs. focused social media platforms and further evaluates this comparison in a cross-cultural context. Consumer engagement on social media has been proven to be an important variable driving the development of brand equity. The expanded uses and gratifications theory provides an understanding of why people use social media by identifying six variables influencing consumer engagement: entertainment, integration/social interaction, personal identity, information, remuneration, and empowerment. Engagement is further measured through both psychological and behavioral dimensions. Psychologically, it is characterized by three dimensions: vigor, absorption, and dedication. Behaviorally, engagement is conceptualized across three levels of interactivity and involvement: brand consumption, contribution, and creation. This study investigates the factors influencing consumer engagement on WeChat, an all-service Chinese platform with 1.3 billion users worldwide, and compares it to engagement on two focused platforms: Xiaohongshu, a rapidly growing Chinese platform with over 200 million users, and Instagram, a widely used U.S. based platform. Through surveys distributed to users of these platforms, this study evaluates consumer engagement based on the six variables of the expanded uses and gratifications theory, as well as two new variables – convenience and shopping – which fit in the theory. The findings aim to provide insights into how engagement dynamics differ between all-service and single-service platforms and offer valuable implications to social media players that are interested in evolving toward all-service models.