Search results

1 – 10 of over 166000
Article
Publication date: 14 June 2022

Haksin Chan, Kevin J. Zeng and Morgan X. Yang

This article aims to advance a new theoretical perspective on the basis of prosumption theory, namely, that online review platforms can be conceptualized as prosumer communities

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to advance a new theoretical perspective on the basis of prosumption theory, namely, that online review platforms can be conceptualized as prosumer communities (and online reviews as prosumer-generated content). This perspective meshes with message tuning research to suggest specific mechanisms through which peer-to-peer prosumption takes place in online review communities. Overall, this article enriches and deepens theoretical understanding of prosumption behavior in the product review context and offers practical advice for inducing high-value, prosumer-generated content in online communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory observations of current practices across a wide spectrum of review platforms were conducted. The observed platforms include independent review sites (e.g. Yelp) and review sites affiliated with e-tailers (e.g. Amazon), general review sites (e.g. Viewpoints) and product-specific review sites (e.g. Healthgrades), large-scale review sites (e.g. TripAdvisor) and review sites of a smaller scale (e.g. Judy’s Book) and review sites based in different geographic regions, including Australia (e.g. Productreview.com.au), China (e.g. Taobao), Europe (e.g. Reevoo), India (e.g. Zomato) and North America (e.g. Foursquare).

Findings

Theoretical analysis suggests that high-quality review content is the result of collaborative prosumption characterized by three distinct value-adding processes: history-based message tuning, audience-based message tuning and norm-based message tuning. In-depth observations reveal that today’s review platforms are leveraging these value-adding processes to varying degrees. The overwhelming diversity of the observed platform features points to the need for more research on platform design and management.

Research limitations/implications

This research identifies three distinct dimensions of review quality – novelty, relevancy and congruency – that can be systematically managed through platform design. The exploratory nature of this research necessitates follow-up work to further investigate how high-quality review content emerges in the historical, interpersonal and cultural contexts of online prosumer communities.

Practical implications

The prosumption-inducing mechanisms identified in this research have major consumer welfare and strategy implications. First, they may lead to novel, relevant and congruent consumer reviews. Second, they may enhance the value of brand communities (which rely heavily on collaborative prosumption).

Originality/value

This research addresses two intriguing questions pertinent to marketing theory and practice in the digital era. First, how do high-quality reviews emerge on product review platforms (which consist of ordinary consumers)? Second, what constitutes high-quality review content and how can platform managers facilitate the collaborative creation of high-quality review content by ordinary consumers?

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2020

Yani Wang, Jun Wang, Tang Yao and Ming Li

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of how peer review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities is established, drawing upon the internalization and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of how peer review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities is established, drawing upon the internalization and identification routes of persuasion effect.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on book reviews selected from Douban.com (a prestigious review community in China), this study used econometric models to investigate the effects of both reviews and reviewers’ characteristics on peer review helpfulness evaluation in review communities.

Findings

Review internalization is more persuasive than reviewers’ identification in peer evaluations, in terms of both short and long reviews. Reviews with extreme negative ratings tend to obtain higher level of helpfulness evaluation than those with positive or moderate ratings. The influence of reviewers’ characteristics is a significant cue in helping consumers to establish the trust perception in the context of short reviews, while its function diminishes in the context of long reviews, thus suggesting the importance of reviewers’ identification for short reviews in review communities.

Social implications

The findings will enhance current understanding of peer review review helpfulness evaluation in online review communities and help practitioners administrate community reviews intelligently, help members write better reviews and customers in their product browsing experience.

Originality/value

First, this study enriches review evaluation research in review communities by demonstrating the importance of internalization and identification lens of persuasion effect when explaining review helpfulness; second, this study helps to confirm the existing findings that reviews with extreme negative ratings are more helpful than those with moderate or positive ratings in review communities; third, this study proposes a new perspective pertaining to the relationship between reviewers’ identification and helpfulness evaluation.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 44 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Jing Liang, Ming Li and Xuanya Shao

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online reviews on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, with an eye toward extending knowledge exchange and community

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online reviews on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, with an eye toward extending knowledge exchange and community management.

Design/methodology/approach

Online reviews contain rich cognitive and emotional information about community members regarding the provided answers. As feedback information on answers, it is crucial to explore how online reviews affect answer adoption. Based on signaling theory, a research model reflecting the influence of online reviews on answer adoption is established and empirically examined by using secondary data with 69,597 Q&A data and user data collected from Zhihu. Meanwhile, the moderating effects of the informational and emotional consistency of reviews and answers are examined.

Findings

The negative binomial regression results show that both answer-related signals (informational support and emotional support) and answerers-related signals (answerers’ reputations and expertise) positively impact answer adoption. The informational consistency of reviews and answers negatively moderates the relationships among information support, emotional support and answer adoption but positively moderates the effect of answerers’ expertise on answer adoption. Furthermore, the emotional consistency of reviews and answers positively moderates the effect of information support and answerers’ reputations on answer adoption.

Originality/value

Although previous studies have investigated the impacts of answer content, answer source credibility and personal characteristics of knowledge seekers on answer adoption in virtual Q&A communities, few have examined the impact of online reviews on answer adoption. This study explores the impacts of informational and emotional feedback in online reviews on answer adoption from a signaling theory perspective. The results not only provide unique ideas for community managers to optimize community design and operation but also inspire community users to provide or utilize knowledge, thereby reducing knowledge search costs and improving knowledge exchange efficiency.

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Shampy Kamboj and Zillur Rahman

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of customer participation research specifically in online brand communities and summarize a number of basic issues as…

4576

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of customer participation research specifically in online brand communities and summarize a number of basic issues as important research gaps that future research should address.

Design/methodology/approach

By using the content analysis method, this paper explores, analyses and presents a literature review by closely examining 113 articles published during 2001-2016, primarily from the leading marketing and management journals.

Findings

The findings of this review show that regardless of the plenty of studies in this area, a conceptual framework for customer participation is undetermined. This review presents a framework describing various antecedents, mediators, moderators and consequences of online brand community participation. Apart from this, various theories and models used in the reviewed articles are being depicted. The literature classification presented in this paper portrays the current trends and patterns of research in this area. This review also addresses research gaps in this area and presents them in the form of future research directions.

Research/limitations/implications

This review of literature carried out by the authors suggests that customer participation in online brand communities needs more focused conceptual research and the implications of this study will help researchers in this direction. Moreover, the managers can use the identified variables as a checklist to their online brand communities’ activities.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to provide a systematic review of customer participation in online brand community area that presents a comprehensive knowledge regarding the current state of research in this area on a single platform and provides a conceptual framework.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Li-Chun Hsu, Wen-Hai Chih and Dah-Kwei Liou

The purpose of this paper is to explore the model of enhancing the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) effects through the virtual community by discussing the relationship among sense…

2627

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the model of enhancing the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) effects through the virtual community by discussing the relationship among sense of virtual community, social influence and eWOM effects.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted structural equation modeling to test the proposed model, and the structural model showed a good fit. This research sample consisted of 492 members who have used Facebook for at least half-a-year.

Findings

The results indicated that sense of virtual community had effects on normative influence, informative influence, and perceived eWOM review credibility. Both social influence and perceived eWOM review credibility had effects on eWOM review adoption. Social influence in virtual community partially mediated the relationship between virtual community members’ sense of virtual community and perceived eWOM review credibility. Virtual community members’ perceived eWOM review credibility partially mediated the relationship between normative/informative influence and eWOM review adoption.

Practical implications

This study discussed conclusions and managerial implications of the findings.

Originality/value

This research filled a void that most of the previous studies in this area focussed on a single social interaction perspective. The authors argued that community studies should incorporate and distinguish SOVC and social influence factors.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 116 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2022

Alana Hoare, Catharine Dishke Hondzel and Shannon Wagner

Higher education institutions are required to evaluate program quality through cyclical program review processes. Despite often being considered the “gold standard” of academic…

Abstract

Purpose

Higher education institutions are required to evaluate program quality through cyclical program review processes. Despite often being considered the “gold standard” of academic review, there persists dissatisfaction with the lack of integration of program review findings into other planning processes, such as budgeting, assessment and strategic planning. As a result, the notion of program review action plans “collecting dust on the shelf” is so ubiquitous that the concept is normalized as an expected outcome. The purpose of this paper is to describe a conceptual model whereby teams of faculty members receive education and training from quality assurance practitioners and educational developers, access to institutional resources, opportunities for cross-departmental collaborations and collective advocacy to increase the capacity of faculty members to implement improvement goals resulting from program reviews.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors theorize that a professional learning community is a meaningful approach to program review and present a conceptual model – the Academic Program Review Learning Community (PRLC) – as an antidote to hierarchical, fragmented, compliance-oriented processes. The authors suggest that the PRLC offers a reliable institutional framework for learning through formalized structures and nested support services, including peer learning and external coaching, which can enhance the catalytic capacity of reviews.

Findings

The authors argue that postsecondary institutions should create formal structures for incorporating learning communities because, without a reliable infrastructure for collective learning, decision-making may be fragmented oridiosyncratic because of shifting demands, priorities or disconnected faculty.

Originality/value

A learning community model for program review fits well with a new way to think about program review because faculty are most engaged when they feel ownership over the process. Furthermore, few models exist for conducting program review; as a result, chairs and academics often struggle to conduct reviews without a coherent framework to draw upon.

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2020

Penelope Van den Bussche and Claire Dambrin

This paper investigates online evaluation processes on peer-to-peer platforms to highlight how online peer evaluation enacts neoliberal subjects and collectives.

2638

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates online evaluation processes on peer-to-peer platforms to highlight how online peer evaluation enacts neoliberal subjects and collectives.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses netnography (Kozinets, 2002) to study the online community of Airbnb. It is also based on 18 interviews, mostly with Airbnb users, and quantitative data about reviews.

Findings

Results indicate that peer-to-peer platforms constitute biopolitical infrastructures. They enact and consolidate narcissistic entrepreneurs of the self through evaluation processes and consolidating a for-show community. Specifically, three features make evaluation a powerful neoliberal agent. The object of evaluation shifts from the service to the user's own worth (1). The public nature of the evaluation (2) and symetrical accountability between the evaluator and the evaluatee (3) contribute to excessively positive reviews and this keeps the market fluid.

Social implications

This paper calls for problematization of the idea of sharing in the so-called “sharing economy”. What is shared on peer-to-peer platforms is the comfort of engaging with people like ourselves.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on online accounting by extending consideration of evaluation beyond the review process. It also stresses that trust in the evaluative infrastructure is fostered by narcissistic relationships between users, who come to use the platform as a mirror. The peer-to-peer context refreshes the our knowledge on evaluation in a corporate context by highlighting phenomena of standardized spontaneity and euphemized evaluation language. This allows evaluation processes to incorporate a market logic without having to fuel competition.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 December 2018

Art Barnard, Thomas Pittz and Jeff Vanevenhoven

Over the past 30 years, enrollment in entrepreneurship programming within community colleges has grown substantially. The two-year context poses unique challenges and…

1305

Abstract

Purpose

Over the past 30 years, enrollment in entrepreneurship programming within community colleges has grown substantially. The two-year context poses unique challenges and opportunities for studying entrepreneurship, and the purpose of this paper is to use a narrative review approach to consider the vitality of entrepreneurship education in the community college system. This research captures and reflects key findings from the field and illuminates the current state of scholarship on entrepreneurship education in community colleges. Four key areas are highlighted that describe the primarily challenges and distinctiveness of entrepreneurship education in the community college setting: curricular effectiveness, emphasis, degree and non-degree programs. The general framework that emerges from this narrative review helps to identify gaps in the literature and provides a focal point for future studies.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured literature review methodology (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2008) was chosen for this study as the state of literature in the specific area of interest did not present general groupings of topics or activities. Given this lack of categorical clarity, the design was specifically focused on bringing together key groupings to provide a framework for further study. The specific methodology adopted standard SLR techniques in terms of article selection, choice and organization. No pre-conceived groupings were used as part of organization of information. The goal was to allow the disparate studies fall into natural categories as greater review and organization continued.

Findings

During the authors’ review and analysis of the extant literature, four focal areas emerge that appear to create a general framework for explaining the important matters in community college entrepreneurial education. Those areas are: overall effectiveness, education emphasis, non-credit educational programs, and for-credit educational programs. The following discussion offers a starting point for future investigation. Figure 2 presents this paper’s advocacy arguments and a full literature review follows this initial framework.

Originality/value

Entrepreneurship programs in universities have grown significantly over the last 30 years (Heriot and Simpson, 2007). In the early 1980s, approximately 300 schools had entrepreneurship and small business programs. By the 1990s, that number had increased to 1,050 schools and signaled the beginnings of rapid entrepreneurial education expansion (Solomon et al., 1994). By the early 2000s, entrepreneurship education had exploded to more than 1,600 schools offering over 2,200 courses including journals and mainstream trade publications as well as special issues devoted solely to entrepreneurship (Katz, 2003; in Kuratko, 2005). This growth trend has been mirrored in community colleges (DoBell and Ingle, 2009). Despite that growth, scholarship regarding entrepreneurship education in community colleges has been described as a “wild west” (Truit, 2017) highlighted by little communication or sharing of experiences or cooperative activities beyond limited partnerships both inside or outside of the community college. Existing studies tend to be scattered and practitioner-written while academic articles are often theoretical, focused more on entrepreneurial education in four-year universities and at times promote underspecified models of challenges community colleges face. Given the dearth of scholarly work in the domain, this review attempts to form a comprehensive classification of extant work in order to stimulate and direct future research in this domain. The goal is to provide a current “state of the literature” of entrepreneurial education in community colleges that shares findings, suggests potential areas of inquiry, and helps to structure research arguments. To accomplish this, in the spirit of Hammersley (2001) and Harvey and Moeller (2009), we present a descriptive, narrative review of entrepreneurship education in community colleges in order to gain a better understanding of its complexities.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2023

Yewande Adetoro Adewunmi, Margaret Nelson, Uchendu Eugene Chigbu, Lilias Makashini-Masiba, Sam Mwando, Lerato Mompati and Uaurika Kahireke

This study aims to ascertain the forms of social enterprises created for public services and the dimensions of community-based management of public facilities. It seeks to…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to ascertain the forms of social enterprises created for public services and the dimensions of community-based management of public facilities. It seeks to understand how community-based facilities management (CbFM) can apply to the management of public services created by social enterprises in developing communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines research studies on CbFM through a scoping review of papers published between 1997 and 2022.

Findings

The scoping review revealed that there are five dimensions of CbFM for developing communities: CbFM, urban facilities management, sustainable CbFM, urban infrastructure management and management of community hubs. It also revealed that social enterprises have been used to manage services, and for social inclusion, and to increase the efficiency of tangible infrastructure in communities.

Research limitations/implications

The scoping review included literature from 1997 to 2022 to understand the development trends in CbFM in developing communities. It is possible that literature from a broader timeframe could have produced more in-depth understanding of the subject investigated.

Practical implications

The paper articulates a framework of CbFM models for public services in developing communities and developed a database of the relevant studies, which can further guide future researchers, stakeholders and policymakers in this area.

Originality/value

The comprehensive review produced a framework for community management of public services. It also identified that there is a paucity of literature on social infrastructure. It highlighted the need for skillsets to support community-based enterprises. There are limited studies that touch on the development of performance indicators for developing communities.

Details

Facilities , vol. 41 no. 13/14
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2023

Hannah Lester, Yana Ryakhovskaya and Titus S. Olorunnisola

Resilience is an increasingly important concept that contributes to sustainability and wellbeing of a community. Asset-based community development (ABCD) may offer promising…

Abstract

Purpose

Resilience is an increasingly important concept that contributes to sustainability and wellbeing of a community. Asset-based community development (ABCD) may offer promising approaches to boosting community resilience in Australia, especially within marginalised groups.

Design/methodology/approach

A scoping review was conducted to conceptualise existing literature on ABCD approaches to building resilience. Research databases were searched with relevant details.

Findings

Thirty-three sources were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria and were reviewed in terms of six themes: integration and identity, health, mental health, education, employment and community planning. Issues identified by the literature within these themes can be alleviated through asset-based approaches. Implications for planning of asset-based programs and policy change are discussed in light of the findings.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide several implications for practise, policy recommendations and future research into this area. Results suggest that increasing capacity around asset-based coping mechanisms, such as support networks through religious and cultural groups, would promote community development and foster resilience. Furthermore, policy on refugees in multiple areas, such as psychological service provision and employment, should be redesigned in a way that acknowledges their complex and diverse needs and facilitates their integration into the community. Though multiple ways to achieve this goal have been explored in literature, a sustained and broader approach is necessary to see widespread change. Further research and funding are required to explore and implement appropriate responses. Based on the findings and discussion above, the authors make the following policy recommendations. Service providers need to be aware of and incorporate culturally appropriate programs in the areas of mental health assessment and intervention, education and employment. The trauma-informed approach should be used when dealing with refugee groups and other groups who have faced hardships. Government policy should focus on improving community engagement to create and strengthen social networks, which are vital in boosting integration into the community and increasing health education and access to services. Government should focus on asset-based approaches in designing education and employment integration programs to promote social belonging and community engagement, and thus, community resilience, which will consequently have beneficial individual and group outcomes. The current governmental policy surrounding refugees should be overhauled with the goal of successful refugee integration in mind, such as incorporating the ability for refugees to access vital services such as employment and skills transferability programs. Due to current policy, these services are inaccessible to a large portion of refugees, hindering their integration. Government needs to create specific guidelines for the provision of psychological services to refugees to improve the quality of mental health services available to this group.

Originality/value

This paper comprises an original data analysis of the relevant existing literature by the project team. The process was rigorous, and no content of the analysis has been published previously except the material published by other authors. All previously published materials were duly acknowledged.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 166000