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1 – 10 of over 5000Taohua Ouyang, Xin Cao, Jun Wang and Sixuan Zhang
In this study, the authors aim to address the following two research questions: (1) How do technology innovation paradoxes manifest themselves in technological changes? (2) How do…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the authors aim to address the following two research questions: (1) How do technology innovation paradoxes manifest themselves in technological changes? (2) How do incumbent firms manage technology innovation paradoxes through multi-level organizational ambidexterity? To do so, the authors examine technology innovation in cloud computing, which has taken shape and brought about changes to the information technology industry. Specifically, the authors examine how a traditional software company, China Standard Software Co., Ltd. (CS2C), successfully navigated the technological transition to cloud computing from its existing operating systems business by managing innovation paradoxes through multi-level ambidexterity capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines a single exploratory case and conducts an in-depth analysis of how technology innovation paradoxes manifest themselves in technological changes and how incumbent firms manage technology innovation paradoxes through multi-level organizational ambidexterity. The data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously through three phases. In Phase 1, one of the authors who had worked at CS2C for many years enabled the authors to obtain access to the company. The data analysis during this phase provided the authors with the history and current situation of CS2C, enabling them to understand the external circumstances, such as particular historical period, and internal conditions, such as cultural and technological changes, that would be relevant throughout the course of their study. It also helped the authors identify organizational ambidexterity capability as the guiding theoretical concept for their research. In Phase 2, the authors engaged in site visits and conducted detailed interviews with employees working at CS2C. In Phase 3, most of the data analysis was conducted. When the interview data were not sufficient to support the theoretical analysis, additional data were collected via phone calls and emails, to assure data-theory-model alignment.
Findings
The authors’ findings show that technology innovation paradoxes manifest themselves as contradictory relationships and mutual support relationships between exploitative and exploratory innovation. In addition, the authors identify three integration mechanisms as key to multi-level organizational ambidexterity capabilities in managing technology innovation paradoxes in technological changes.
Originality/value
Three important theoretical implications can be drawn from our case analysis. First, this research contributes to the knowledge of innovation paradoxes during technological changes. Second, this research provides a model of multi-level organizational ambidexterity capability in technological changes. Third, this research proposes three integration mechanisms driven by three types of ambidexterity capability at different organizational levels.
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Ana Paula Borges and Luiz Antonio Joia
This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives and smartphones, as well as which of these paradoxes is most strongly detected in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
It was adopted the simple case study method, in which the individual is the unit of analysis. Therefore, a medium-sized company that operates in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market was chosen since the majority of its senior executives use the smartphone as a tool in their day-to-day work.
Findings
Two paradoxes generated strong ambiguity regarding the use of smartphones by the executives, namely continuity vs asynchronicity and autonomy vs addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives, namely freedom vs enslavement, dependence vs independence, and planning vs improvisation.
Research limitations/implications
By using only one organisation in the case study, the generalisation of results might be prejudiced.
Practical implications
The identification of technological paradoxes provides input for the development of strategies aimed at minimising these ambiguities on the part of executives.
Originality/value
This paper not only identified some smartphone-enabled paradoxes among Brazilian executives, but also established an approach to measure the intensity of these paradoxes.
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Weiling Zhuang, Maxwell K. Hsu, Kristen L. Brewer and Qian Xiao
The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationships between the paradoxes of social networking sites (SNSs) and users' loyalty toward these websites.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationships between the paradoxes of social networking sites (SNSs) and users' loyalty toward these websites.
Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 180 students enrolled in graduate and/or undergraduate level classes in three different universities in the Midwest and Southwest regions of the USA. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was employed to analyze data and examine the conceptual model proposed in the current study.
Findings
The results suggest that the paradoxes of social networking sites (assimilation/isolation and competence/incompetence) are significant antecedents of online social networking pleasure and loyalty. Furthermore, the results suggest that pleasure mediates the relationships between paradoxes of social networking sites and loyalty toward social networking sites.
Research limitations/implications
A sustainable business strategy for SNSs would be to maintain a safe environment that on one hand promotes continuous innovations and on the other hand facilitates desired feelings such as fun, pleasure, and adventure. Results based on student sample suggest more works are needed to generalize the findings.
Practical implications
This study points out online communication technologies (e.g., SNSs) are a double‐edged sword for consumers. Marketers need to manage consumers' feeling and experiences effectively.
Originality/value
This study with few other studies extends social marketing literature by offering theoretical and statistical evidence regarding how paradoxes of SNSs impact users' experience. Specifically, this study addresses the underlying reasons that may cause SNS users decrease their participation over time, and the role of SNS users' feelings play in forming their overall SNS usage experiences.
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Khaldoon Al-Htaybat and Larissa von Alberti-Alhtaybat
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting, and to determine the impact of Big Data and the current Big Data state of mind with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting, and to determine the impact of Big Data and the current Big Data state of mind with regard to corporate reporting, what accountant and non-accountant participants’ perceptions are of the phenomenon, what the accountants’ role is and will be in this regard, and what opportunities and risks are associated with Big Data and corporate reporting. Furthermore, this study seeks to identify the inherent technological paradoxes of Big Data and corporate reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study is qualitative in nature and assumes an interpretive stance, investigating participants’ perceptions of the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting. To this end, interview data from 25 participants, video and text material, were analysed to enhance and triangulate findings. A four-fold sampling strategy was employed to ensure that any collected data would contribute to the findings. Data were analysed on the basis of open and selective coding stages. Data collection and analysis took place in two stages, in 2014 and in 2016.
Findings
Three topics, or categories, emerged from the data analysis, which have sufficient explanatory power to illustrate the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting, namely the Big Data state of mind and corporate reporting, accountants’ role and future related to Big Data, and perceived opportunities and risks of Big Data. Features of a new approach to corporate reporting were identified and discussed. Furthermore, four paradoxes emerged to express inherent opposing positions of Big Data and corporate reporting, namely empowerment vs enslavement, fulfilling vs creating needs, reliability vs timeliness and simplicity vs complexity.
Originality/value
The original contribution of the study lies in the empirical investigation of the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting as one of the most recent and praised developments in the accounting context. The dual communication flows of corporate reporting with Big Data is an important element of the findings, which can enhance the prospective financial statements significantly. Finally, technological paradoxes of Big Data and corporate reporting are discussed for the first time, two of which are based on the literature and the remaining two are inherent in the phenomenon of Big Data and corporate reporting.
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Technology is profoundly changing the nature of services and the ways in which firms interact with their customers. The result, while positive, also has its downside. This paper…
Abstract
Technology is profoundly changing the nature of services and the ways in which firms interact with their customers. The result, while positive, also has its downside. This paper elaborates on the opportunities that technology presents for firms to develop new services, and provide better, more efficient services to customers as well as the paradoxes and dark side of technology and services. The paper concludes with a section on what customers expect from technology‐delivered services suggesting that “the more things change, the more some things remain the same”. Customers still demand quality service no matter how the firm chooses to structure the relationship. It is incumbent upon firms to develop technology‐based services that can provide the same high level of service that customers expect from interpersonal service providers.
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Steve Baron, Anthony Patterson and Kim Harris
To critically examine the current definitions of key constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a consumer technology‐based service.
Abstract
Purpose
To critically examine the current definitions of key constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a consumer technology‐based service.
Design/methodology/approach
Two qualitative research studies were undertaken that encouraged consumers to reflect upon their text message (short message service – SMS) behaviour.
Findings
The research highlights the inadequacy of a concentration on simple acceptance of technology where technology is embedded in a consumer community of practice. The existence of counter‐intuitive behaviours, technology paradoxes and intense social and emotional elements in actual text message usage all point to the need for a review of the definition of the key TAM constructs.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need to re‐examine the construct of use behaviour in the context of the practice of technology‐based services that owe much to consumer creativity. Theory development of the constructs of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment should not be constrained by adherence to the existing (well developed) quantitative models of technology acceptance. There is a methodological potential of employing consumers as practical authors.
Practical implications
Where there is evidence of counter‐intuitive consumer behaviour in the marketplace for technology‐based products or services, a study of practice, with a view to the subsequent derivation of adapted theory constitutes worthwhile research. This may be of special importance to cell phone operators promoting SMS to US consumers.
Originality/value
The approach offers a method of complementing the dominant quantitative modelling research on technology acceptance. The findings are relevant to an era where consumer co‐creation of value is of increasing interest.
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Renato Hübner Barcelos and Carlos Alberto Vargas Rossi
The purpose of this paper is to study paradoxes and strategies of social media consumption among adolescents. Young people belonging to Generation Y have enthusiastically embraced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study paradoxes and strategies of social media consumption among adolescents. Young people belonging to Generation Y have enthusiastically embraced social media as a means of achieving connectedness and managing social relationships. However, there is still a limited understanding of how adolescents actually differentiate between the media they use and of the effects of social media on their lives. This study differs from previous work by proceeding from the assumption that social media present a number of technological paradoxes and identifying what behavioral strategies they develop to derive the greatest possible benefit from, and cope with the ambivalent outcomes of, social media consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study design was chosen, combining the use of focus groups and in-depth interviews with 50 Brazilian adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years. Topics of discussion were designed to cover a range of social media relevant to young people.
Findings
The authors propose a conceptual model of social media consumption by young people and identify its positive and negative outcomes and the behavioral strategies of media selection and differentiation used to cope with them. These behaviors enable adolescents to derive maximum benefit from social media while minimizing the effort required to use them.
Originality/value
This research contributes to marketing theory and practice by assessing the adolescent perspective of social media consumption and offering an integrated model of outcomes and behavioral strategies which they use. This model provides insights relevant to the planning of marketing communications directed towards young people.
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Alexandros Skandalis, John Byrom and Emma Banister
The aim of this paper is to explore how the paradox of individualism/tribalism is brought into play and negotiated by consumers in the wake of the post-postmodern era.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore how the paradox of individualism/tribalism is brought into play and negotiated by consumers in the wake of the post-postmodern era.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on netnographic and interview data from the Greek football manager (FM) online gaming community. FM is a simulation strategy game in which players act as “real-life” managers from the screen of their computer.
Findings
A central paradox and a set of four supporting paradoxes are identified. These paradoxes give rise to a transitional mode of experience, which lies on the borders of reality and fantasy, and is realised both at the individual and the tribal levels.
Originality/value
This study makes a threefold contribution. First, it advances the understanding of the paradoxical aspects of consumption experiences in light of post-postmodern consumer culture. Second, it shows how these paradoxes are negotiated by consumers between individual and tribal levels. Third, it extends the understanding of the nature of consumption experiences through the development of the concept of the transitional consumption experience.
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Mohammadali Zolfagharian and Atefeh Yazdanparast
This paper aims to delve into the complexity and multiplicity of consumer experiences in relation to mobile and virtual technology, and provides a lived-experience account of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to delve into the complexity and multiplicity of consumer experiences in relation to mobile and virtual technology, and provides a lived-experience account of the Consumer Immediacy Pandemic (CIP) and related consumer experiences and responses.
Design/methodology/approach
Using open-ended, in-depth interviews, as well as personal essays, the research questions are addressed through the interpretive hermeneutic approach.
Findings
The CIP is an important, multifaceted consumer shift, whose ramifications are traceable in consumer behavior. It encompasses three consumer problem-solving styles (i.e. real-time, mobile and virtual problem-solving). Consumers adapt to the CIP through such strategies as unbundling of presence, temporal gain and synchronization, task continuity, work-fun integration and multi-tasking.
Research limitations/implications
With conventional theories ineffectively explaining consumer experiences with such products as smart phone, social media and selfie stick, this paper provides fruitful directions for studying consumer-technology relationships.
Practical implications
The findings point to untapped and novel needs rooted in consumer experience with mobile and virtual technology such as the needs for personal information management and/or professional counseling.
Social implications
The paper provides evidence as to a deep-seated shift in the role of technology in consumer life. Underestimating the ongoing and future success and power of mobile and virtual technology can be too costly for society at large.
Originality/value
This study exposes the dialogical interplay between consumer agency and structural influences that compels consumers to internalize immediacy as a taken-for-granted expectation. Such pandemic alters the ways consumers go about satisfying their needs and wants. The findings can help understand the twenty-first century consumer, theorize product agency and chart marketing and policy directions.
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Geng Cui, Wenjing Bao and Tsang‐Sing Chan
The purpose of this paper is to show how accelerated technology innovations lead to shorter product lifecycles, and consumers often face the dilemma of choosing between keeping…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how accelerated technology innovations lead to shorter product lifecycles, and consumers often face the dilemma of choosing between keeping the existing product and upgrading to a new version. They may enact certain coping strategies to deal with the stress and uncertainty. Based on the work of Mick and Fournier, this study aims to propose a set of coping strategies, which include refusal, delay, extended decision‐making, and pretest.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a survey of consumers regarding the 3G mobile phones, the authors test the effects of coping strategies within the framework of the technology acceptance model.
Findings
The results of canonical analyses suggest that coping strategies have significant influence on consumers' product beliefs, which in turn mediate the effects of coping strategies on consumers' attitude toward adoption and their purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
Coping strategies help better understand consumers' adoption of new technology products and furnish meaningful implications for marketing technology products to today's tech‐savvy consumers.
Originality/value
This study develops measures of coping strategies and provides an empirical test of their effect on product beliefs and behavioral intentions with respect to consumers' decision whether to upgrade to a new technology product.
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