Attributes of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s Facebook Page and Influence on Citizen’s Social Engagement and Participation on Posted Public Issues

Abstract

The Metro Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) Facebook page is among the top 15 government-associated pages in the Philippines. With its goal of widening its reach and promoting active involvement of its followers through their Facebook page, the study examined the attributes of the MMDA Facebook page that influenced active engagement and social participation. This study used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate and explain the followers' intention and use of the MMDA Facebook page. The data were obtained through an online survey to randomly selected followers, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics through building of regression models. The results demonstrated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influences have a significant effect on a user's behavioral intention to follow and use the MMDA Facebook Page, while facilitating conditions directly affects their usage behavior or engagement. This means that users believe that the MMDA Facebook page can help improve their performance, easy to use, and are supported by the people in their social circle; which resulted in the increase of their intention to use their page. Moreover, since the resources to use it are available, the more reason that they utilize the page, which improves engagement.