Untangling the complex role of guilt in rational decisions to discontinue the use of a hedonic Information System

The discontinuance of the use of hedonic information systems (IS) has become somewhat prevalent. Nevertheless, little is known about why some individuals might decide to discontinue using a technology which they often use frequently and the use of which is typically intrinsically rewarding. Prior research has alluded to the ideas that (1) IS discontinuance merits its own theorizing, possibly separate from continuance and that (2) guilt feelings is a unique driver of IS discontinuance decisions. However, the literature still lacks cohesive models that explain discontinuance and especially the complex processes through which guilt influences such decisions, and perhaps that further illuminate differences between the processes underlying IS discontinuance and continuance. This study bridges these gaps and proposes and examines a model that explicates the complex effects of guilt and theory of planned behavior (TPB) predictors on the discontinuance of an instance of mostly hedonic IS, namely Social Networking Sites (SNS). In order to develop this model it is proposed that guilt, which is a self-reflective moral emotion that can influence cognition, is associated with attitudinal, normative, and control perceptions regarding the discontinuance act in a complex network of partial-mediation and moderation effects. The proposed model was tested and largely validated with structural equation modeling applied to data collected from 487 SNS users. It also pointed to possible unique features of the TPB as applied to IS discontinuance. Applicability checks further illuminated sources of guilt in this context. Decomposing the guilt effects on discontinuance and integrating them with the TPB is important since it not only extends theory both in IS and social sciences and hints at differences in planned behavior processes between IS continuance and discontinuance, but also because the findings point to mechanisms which can be used for attenuating guilt and planned behavior effects on IS discontinuance. Overall, this study validates a rationale-based theory of IS discontinuance, and can serve as a platform for further studying this notable, yet under-examined corrective behavior.