E-impression dimensions: A multi-phase research on the development of parsimonious measurements for online impression within blog domains

As cyberspace becomes a social space, users are increasingly more interested in how they are presented to others online. Nevertheless, the concept of online impressions has not been defined or empirically verified clearly. The main purpose of the study is to empirically verify a set of measurements for e-impressions, which is defined as impressions formed through interpersonal online interactions in blogs. The measurement should be parsimonious in order to be used efficiently by academics and practitioners. In: order to achieve the research goal, three consecutive studies were conducted. In: the first study, a large-scale online survey was conducted with 8,836 participants to explore important dimensions of e-impressions from a blog visitor's point of view. In: the second study, in-depth interviews with 52 blog authors were conducted to reorganize the dimensions into a parsimonious set of meta-dimensions from a blog author's view. Finally, in the third study, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted through a paper-based survey to verify the meta-dimensions of e-impressions. As the final result, four meta-dimensions of e-impressions consisting of fifteen adjectives were identified, and their validity and reliability were verified. This result will be the basis of developing the system of social network services.