How Consumer Perceptions of Network Size and Social Interactions Influence the Intention to adopt Peer-to-Peer Technologies

People join peer-to-peer networks for economic and social reasons. From an economic perspective, people join peer-to-peer (P2P) networks based on the size of the networks. However, from a sociological perspective, when people adopt technologies, they create an alternative social network motivated by extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. In this study, we develop a conceptual framework for measuring the impact of economic and social factors drawn from theories of network externalities and social exchange. The preliminary data analyses show that perceived size of network influences perceived network externalities, and in turn, network externalities have an impact on intention to adopt P2P technologies. In addition, we found that social benefit is also an important antecedent of adopting P2P technologies. Our preliminary results provide insights on how people reconcile economic and social considerations when choosing to adopt a P2P technology.