Search results

In this study, we drew on the theories of social exchange and social learning and hypothesized that the online social capital (SC) and offline SC of social networking affect the online self-disclosure (OSD) of individuals through social self-efficacy (SSE).

After retrieving 514 valid questionnaires, we used structural equation modeling to analyze the data.

The results indicated that the users’ SSE affected their OSD, and that both online and offline bridging and bonding SC increased their SSE. However, online bonding SC directly affected their OSD, whereas online bridging SC did not considerably affect their OSD. Given these findings, we presented both theoretical and practical implications to elucidate SSE and OSD behavior from the perspective of online and offline bridging and bonding SC.

In this study, we drew on theories of social exchange and social learning to examine the effects of online and offline bridging and bonding SC on users’ SSE and OSD on SNSs. Given the importance of SC and SSE in social relationships and the effects of OSD on SNSs, our goal was to provide SNS marketers with a thorough understanding of how to facilitate SSE and OSD from the perspective of online and offline bridging and bonding SC.

This study aims to introduce and define the concept of phygital brand community (PBC). It discusses the potential conflicts that can arise from engaging in multiple PBCs and propose an enriched netnographic methodological approach to explore the role of PBC engagement overlap and its influence on the phygital experience.

Following a critical analysis of the inherent limitations of netnographic methodological approaches in the context of PBCs, this study develops an enriched netnographic research protocol that accounts for the challenges of engagement overlap among PBCs.

This study proposes two methods of analysis, namely, “participatory netnography” and “witness netnography,” which are derived from a mixed-methodology approach that integrates elements of netnography.

The findings of this study underscore the requisite methodological refinements imperative for enhancing netnographic analysis, particularly in its application for a better comprehension of individual behaviors within the realm of PBCs. In pursuit of this objective, the identified adjustments encompass ethical considerations, evaluation methods and their application in a digital milieu, where intricate mechanics and technologies frequently elude conventional methodologies.

In this study, the authors present a novel conceptualization of PBCs, highlighting their role and development, as well as the challenges they pose. To adequately capture the impact of PBC engagement overlap, the authors propose the need for an enriched mixed-methodological approach.

Many believe that any social media harms kids because of frequent use. This study aims to examine these assumptions. It proposes and tests a model that considers two alternative pathways – one negative and one positive – through which social media affects teens’ self-reported subjective well-being.

This research used Preacher and Hayes process modeling to conduct path analysis on data collected on 585 teenagers from across the USA.

Results showed that along a negative pathway, frequent social media use leads to greater risky social media engagement that ultimately diminishes adolescent’s sense of well-being. Also, and perhaps simultaneously, frequent social media use leads to socially-connected social media use that enhances adolescent’s sense of well-being.

The research recommends ways parents, policymakers and platforms can encourage teens to use social media to connect with friends while guiding them away from pathways exposing them to risky behaviors.

Findings show more social media use is not necessarily harmful, but more of some types is bad, while more of others is good.

Given the limited literature on depression as a contributing factor to compulsive social media use, the present research examines the role of perceived depressive mood (PDM) in developing compulsive social media use behavior. The authors also identify and hypothesize channels such as contingent self-esteem (CSE), social interaction anxiety (SIA) and fear of negative evaluation (FNE), which may explain how PDM affects compulsive social media use.

The research model was empirically tested with a survey of 367 Chinese university students using structural equation modeling by drawing on the escape and self-presentation lenses.

The findings indicate that PDM contributes to compulsive social media use behavior both directly and indirectly through CSE. Furthermore, the impact of CSE on compulsive social media use is mediated by the FNE, whereas SIA fails to mediate this effect.

The results can advance the authors’ knowledge of the role and process by which depressive mood impacts compulsive social media use. These findings may add insights into psychological treatment and help in, for example, developing counseling programs or coping strategies for depressed people to protect them from using social media excessively.

This research identifies the pathway mechanism between PDM and compulsive use of social media. It also increases the understanding of how CSE and social interaction deficiencies contribute to compulsive social media usage (CSMU).

Many educators are increasingly acquainting themselves and becoming adept with interactive technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. Some of them are also looking forward to using Metaverse applications, as they want to benefit from its immersive three-dimensional capabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to critically review the extant literature to investigate how, why, where and when the Metaverse can be used for educational purposes. This study also discusses opportunities, challenges and risks related to this disruptive technology.

A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses rigorous protocol is used to search, extract, scrutinize and synthesize content from high-impact articles focused on the use of the Metaverse technology in the realms of education. Afterwards, this study theorizes on the costs and benefits of using this interactive technology with students.

A number of researchers are already experimenting with virtual technologies that are very similar to the Metaverse, in different contexts. This research indicates that most students are lured by immersive multi-sensory three-dimensional environments as well as by virtual reality applications that could simulate real-life situations and provide engaging experiences with virtual representations of people, places and objects. On the other hand, this study reveals that educators ought to consider the potential pitfalls of the Metaverse, including privacy breaches and security risks, as well as possible addictions and the development of mental health issues, among others.

Students and educators can use the Metaverse to catapult themselves in a simulated digital universe that could reconfigure their sensory inputs, definitions of space, time and points of access to information. This research calls for the development of regulatory instruments, including sound principles, guidelines and procedures that are intended to safeguard and protect Metaverse users.

This contribution implies that there is scope for educators to continue developing the Metaverse’s virtual spaces to improve their students’ motivations, aptitudes and learning outcomes. This study clarifies that the use of the Metaverse in education can create infinite possibilities to enhance their knowledge, competences and abilities through its immersive applications. Yet this paper also raises awareness about possible challenges in the short term as well on other risks associated to the prolonged use of this captivating technology.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the practices that owners of public profiles in social networking sites can leverage to actively build online reputation and to evaluate the impact of the adoption of such practices on the initial formation of trust toward these individuals when they are presented as new virtual work partners.

A theoretical model was developed and an experiment with 233 participants was utilized to assess the model using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results suggest that individuals can build their online reputations in public profiles of social networking sites via a series of practices of self-disclosure of information and that the adoption of these practices has significant effects on the initial formation of trust toward the profile owner in virtual work contexts. Categorization mechanisms such as stereotyping, unit grouping and reputation categorization have been found to contribute to the initial formation of trust, both from an affect and cognition-based perspectives.

Little is known about the information disclosure practices in public profiles of social networking sites that new work partners can adopt to facilitate the formation of trust between them before they start working together. This study has contributed to the existing body of literature by clarifying these practices and the relative importance of online reputation to the initial formation of trust during the outset of a new virtual work relationship.

Increasing incidents of privacy invasion on social networking sites (SNS) are intensifying the concerns among stakeholders about the misuse of personal data. However, there seems to be limited research on exploring the impact of specific privacy concerns on users’ intention to engage in various privacy protection behaviors. This study aims to examine the role of social privacy concerns, institutional privacy concerns and privacy self-efficacy as antecedents of privacy protection–related control activities intention among young adults active on SNS.

Data collected from 284 young adults active on SNS was analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling using Smart PLS.

The results indicate that institutional privacy concerns, social privacy concerns and privacy self-efficacy positively influence the control activities intention of SNS users. The extent of privacy self-efficacy and privacy protection-related control activities intention differs among users based on gender.

This study is limited to a population of young adults in the age group of 18–25 years.

The findings of this study form the basis for specific recommendations addressing the different types of privacy concerns experienced by social media users, promoting responsible privacy control behaviors on online platforms and discouraging the possible misuse of information by third parties.

This study validates a theoretical framework that can contribute to future investigations concerning the use of SNS. The study findings form the basis for a set of practical recommendations for policymakers, SNS platforms and users.

The study aims to determine the role of online retail website experience on brand happiness and willingness to share personal information using the theoretical lens of the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework. Further, it explores the role of brand intimacy and brand partner quality in mediating the path between brand happiness and willingness to share personal information.

This study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from 439 online retail consumers in India, using an online questionnaire. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling in IBM Amos.

The present study found that online retail website experience is significantly related to brand happiness. The finding also supports that brand happiness was positively and significantly related to ‘consumers' willingness to share personal information. This relationship was fully mediated by brand intimacy. Brand happiness also mediated the relationship between website experience and the willingness to share personal information.

This study contributes to the emerging literature on brand happiness and willingness to share personal information. It establishes a central role of brand happiness as a driver and a mediator of consumers' willingness to share personal information with e-commerce retailers, extending the stimulus-organism-response framework in the context of brand happiness and willingness to share personal information. Further, the study establishes the role of website experience as a marketer (and brand) led driver of brand happiness.

The results have implications for the role of the website in enhancing the consumer experience, which in turn is a driver of brand happiness. Further, managers need to promote brand happiness with the help of website experience to enable consumers’ willingness to share personal information and help organizations customize their marketing campaigns.

This is among the first studies to evaluate brand happiness from the perspective of an online retail website experience and consider consumers’ willingness to share personal information from a branding rather than a technological perspective. Additionally, the study introduces the SOR framework in the context of brand happiness, with website experience acting as a stimulus for consumers, resulting in brand happiness, which is mediated by brand partner quality and brand intimacy (organism), leads to consumers' willingness to share personal information with online retail brands (response).

Online reviewers' identity information is an essential cue by which consumers judge reviews on ecommerce platforms. However, few studies have explored how prior anonymous reviews and focal reviews affect reviewers' preference for anonymity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate why reviewers seek anonymity in terms of prior anonymous reviews and focal reviews.

Based on restaurant reviews collected from meituan.com, one of the largest group-buying ecommerce platforms in China, this study employed logistic regression to examine how prior anonymous reviews and focal reviews are associated with reviewers' preference for anonymity.

Results show that the volume and sequence of prior anonymous review are positively associated with the likelihood of reviewers' preference for anonymity, whereas focal review valence is negatively correlated with this preference. Focal review length is positively correlated with reviewers' preference for anonymity but negatively moderates the roles of review valence and prior anonymous reviews on this preference.

This study expands the information disclosure literature by exploring determinants of user identity disclosure from a reviewer perspective. This research also offers a methodological contribution by employing a more accurate measure to calculate reviewers' preference for anonymity, enhancing the empirical results. Lastly, this work supplements the online review literature on how prior anonymous reviews and focal reviews are associated with reviewers' identity disclosure.

This study aims to explore how social media affects decision-making among tourists and whether there is a potential effect of age, which is studied through generations. For this purpose, baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z tourists are studied and real-time implications are offered.

The study adopts a descriptive and exploratory design where the conceptual model of social media-based decision-making is developed through a review of the literature. Quantitative analysis is conducted on primary data from 600 Indian tourists. This is done using a self-administered questionnaire adopted from Gulati (2022) after checking its validity and reliability. The statistical analysis for hypothesis testing is done using PLS-SEM path modelling on pooled data. To study the categorical moderating effect of generations, partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) is performed as a paired comparison on every successive generation.

After testing every successive younger generation with an older generation through PLS-MGA, none of the pairs found any significant differences in path coefficients, as the values obtained were 0.05 < p < 0.95 for all five paths (SM → NR, SM → IS, SM → E, SM → P, SM → PPB). This indicates all the generations behave in a similar manner irrespective of them being older or younger, and age does not moderate social media’s impact on decision-making among Indian tourists.

The study establishes India as a unique geographical market and suggests tourism marketers to treat all generations at par, irrespective of age, as they behave and interact with social media in a similar manner. But, because this study is restricted to a single geographical location, i.e. India, further regions can be explored for global generalisation. Future research can also explore other demographics for combined, moderated analysis. Findings from the study suggest that marketers should ensure that equal attention is given to all generations as they engage with social media in a similar manner. Targeted marketing using artificial intelligence can help in ensuring custom ads. Personalisation according to generations can also facilitate greater purchases.

The study fills a major population and knowledge gap by exploring a topic that has been highly under-researched. Also, the study adopts an inclusive approach by analysing all the generations, both younger and older, to understand the potential effect of age on moderating the impact that social media has on tourist decision-making. Further, real-time suggestions and implications are offered to tourism marketers with special reference to the Indian tourism industry.