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Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, education has shifted to online teaching and learning. Interactivity is a crucial tool used to make online education effective. This study empirically examines the role of interactivity in higher education and its influence on students' behavioral outcomes, specifically focusing on soft skills and personality upgradation.

A quasi-experimental research design was carried out for post-graduate students undergoing a business communication course from four major institutions. For analysis, t-test, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) have been employed. Experimental research has established the causal relationship between interactivity, personality and soft skill upgradation (SSU).

It was found that the theoretical structural model has a rational model-fit validity. Resultantly, practitioners may use prior knowledge of virtual community (VC) members to enhance web interactivity, thereby increasing social identity and social bonds in a group for more meaningful and effective delivery of online courses.

The major limitations lie in its context-dependent nature, predominantly influenced by the pandemic-induced mandatory online learning. The study's cross-sectional design also inhibits its ability to assess goal-directed behaviors over time, necessitating further longitudinal research.

The study is one of the pioneering pieces of research that examines the role of pre-defined grouping and enhanced web interactivity in VCs in the context of online learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrating theories of web interactivity, social bond theory (SBT) and social identity theory (SIT) provides a novel understanding of cognitive and social influences that drive meaningful online discussions and their impacts on knowledge enhancement and personality development. Its findings have implications for the design of effective online learning environments and e-learning pedagogy, contributing to the growing domain of information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled education.

This study aims to contribute to the field of customer portfolio management by proposing a novel approach rooted in dialectic critical realism (DCR). DCR, as an ontological theory, enables a fundamental reimagining of customer portfolio management as a dialectic process. The conceptualized dialectic portfolio management is motivated by the concept of “absence”, akin to Hegelian “antithesis”, which highlights limitations, problems and tensions in portfolio management. In essence, “absence” serves as a diagnostic tool that directs portfolio actions towards resolving problems by pursuing a more comprehensive “totality”, similar to the Hegelian notion of “synthesis”.

This conceptual paper theorizes DCR in business marketing and customer portfolio management.

DCR conceptualizes customer portfolios as relational structures characterized by omissions and tensions. These issues are addressed through a dialectic synthesis aimed at achieving a more comprehensive “totality”. Consequently, DCR guides portfolio management to continually re-think the connections and distinctions that define a portfolio within its network context. This dialectic process is facilitated by a novel vocabulary that enhances the understanding of network and portfolio relations, incorporating concepts such as “intrapermeations”, “existential constitutions”, “intra-connections” and “intensive” and “extensive” portfolio practices.

This study aims to foster a fresh and process-oriented perspective on portfolio management, drawing inspiration from the growing demand for enriched dialectic theorizing within the realm of business marketing. The adoption of a dialectic process orientation based on DCR revolutionizes the comprehension of portfolio management by fundamentally reimagining the underlying ontological assumptions that underpin the existing body of literature on customer portfolios. Moreover, DCR asserts that ethical considerations are inextricably linked to human experiences and associated practices, emphasizing ethics as an integral component of customer portfolio management.