Analysis of the key influencing factors of haze information dissemination behavior and motivation in WeChat

Purpose With the development of mobile internet, instant messaging (IM) applications have gradually changed the way to receive information and communicate with friends. Considered as one of the important social media platforms, WeChat is the most popular IM application in China. This paper aims to examine the influence factors of haze information’s dissemination in WeChat. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of information dissemination and the theory of motivation, three information dissemination elements including information source, information and information receiver were proposed in the structural equation model. The model was tested using data collected from both online and offline questionnaire survey results. The data analysis from 170 valid responses confirmed the path effects that emotional motivation, social motivation of information receiver and the credibility of information source positively influenced WeChat users’ re-transmission intention and information emotional tendency negatively influenced their re-transmission intention. Findings The research model revealed these key factors that affected dissemination of haze information in WeChat. More importantly, it provided a decision-making framework to release the public emergency information in WeChat. Hence, the paper made an important contribution to practical guidance to relevant decision makers. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on examining factors affecting the haze information transmission in WeChat. A framework was proposed to describe the information dissemination process which comprises information source, information and information receiver.