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Article
Publication date: 13 February 2023

Shabnam Azimi and Yana Andonova

This paper provides a framework of the indicators of the quality of text in online reviews and their influence on the perceived helpfulness of reviews. First, the authors assess…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper provides a framework of the indicators of the quality of text in online reviews and their influence on the perceived helpfulness of reviews. First, the authors assess the effects of concreteness, readability and credibility on review helpfulness. The authors then test whether these effects change, based on review valence and readers' personality traits (specifically, extraversion and neuroticism).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an online experiment in the context of hotel reviews and tested our model using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE).

Findings

The authors' findings indicate that consumers consider all three quality features – concreteness, readability and credibility when evaluating negative reviews. However, they assess positive reviews based only on how credible they seem to be. Consumers with the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion value different review characteristics and this difference is dependent on review valence.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to examine the interactions between review valence and reader personality on review helpfulness. The authors' findings make important contributions to the literature on information diagnosticity and offer managerial implications related to customizing the presentation order of reviews based on their expected helpfulness for individuals with extraverted and neurotic personalities.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 January 2024

Ernesto Cardamone, Gaetano Miceli and Maria Antonietta Raimondo

This paper investigates how two characteristics of language, abstractness vs concreteness and narrativity, influence user engagement in communication exercises on innovation…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates how two characteristics of language, abstractness vs concreteness and narrativity, influence user engagement in communication exercises on innovation targeted to the general audience. The proposed conceptual model suggests that innovation fits well with more abstract language because of the association of innovation with imagination and distal construal. Moreover, communication of innovation may benefit from greater adherence to the narrativity arc, that is, early staging, increasing plot progression and climax optimal point. These effects are moderated by content variety and emotional tone, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) application on a sample of 3225 TED Talks transcripts, the authors identify 287 TED Talks on innovation, and then applied econometric analyses to test the hypotheses on the effects of abstractness vs concreteness and narrativity on engagement, and on the moderation effects of content variety and emotional tone.

Findings

The authors found that abstractness (vs concreteness) and narrativity have positive effects on engagement. These two effects are stronger with higher content variety and more positive emotional tone, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

This paper extends the literature on communication of innovation, linguistics and text analysis by evaluating the roles of abstractness vs concreteness and narrativity in shaping appreciation of innovation.

Originality/value

This paper reports conceptual and empirical analyses on innovation dissemination through a popular medium – TED Talks – and applies modern text analysis algorithms to test hypotheses on the effects of two pivotal dimensions of language on user engagement.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 27 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 April 2023

Jungmin Yoo, Jung-Hwan Kim, Minjeong Kim and Minjung Park

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual and verbal information presentations on mental imagery, perceived informativeness and purchase intention. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual and verbal information presentations on mental imagery, perceived informativeness and purchase intention. The study assesses two types of product-related information: (1) visual information: static product images and augmented reality (AR) and (2) verbal information: abstract and concrete product reviews.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 320 mobile consumers participated in the experiment. To increase external validity, this study was conducted in an existing digital shopping environment.

Findings

The results suggest that AR has a greater effect on consumers' shopping outcomes than static images. The findings further reveal that concrete product reviews are important in increasing mental imagery, perceived informativeness and purchase intention when visual information does not provide an AR function.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the current literature by providing empirical support for AR effects and concrete reviews on consumer responses. The results further provide an important perspective for retailers seeking ways to develop effective information presentations in digital retailing.

Details

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 December 2022

Zhangxiang Zhu, Yaxin Zhao and Jing Wang

This study aims to explore the relationship between the content characteristics of destination online reviews and travel intention under three individual circumstances: temporal…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between the content characteristics of destination online reviews and travel intention under three individual circumstances: temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on construal-level theory (CLT), this study divides online travel reviews into concrete and abstract reviews. Three experiments were conducted to test the moderating effects of temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance on the influence of review content characteristics on tourists' travel intentions.

Findings

The results show that abstract reviews would lead to higher travel intentions than concrete reviews. Furthermore, tourists' travel intentions differed depending on social distance and were significantly affected by reviews posted by reviewers similar to review recipients. In addition, the study contributes by discovering that the moderating effects of temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance were not significant, which differs from most of the previous research conclusions.

Originality/value

This study focused on review content characteristics, which provided a novel perspective for constructing online travel reviews. Furthermore, this research defined the concept of experiential distance in the context of online travel and expanded the research on psychological distance.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 76 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 September 2023

Shabnam Azimi and Sina Ansari

Recent research suggests that more than two-thirds of people use online reviews to find a new primary care physician (PCP). However, it is unclear what role review content plays…

Abstract

Purpose

Recent research suggests that more than two-thirds of people use online reviews to find a new primary care physician (PCP). However, it is unclear what role review content plays when a patient uses online reviews to decide about a new PCP. This paper aims to understand how a review's content, related to competence (communication and technical skills) and benevolence (fidelity and fairness), impacts patients’ trusting intentions to select a PCP. The authors build the model around information diagnosticity, construal level theory and valence asymmetries and use review helpfulness as a mediator and review valence as a moderator in this process.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use two experimental studies to test their hypotheses and collect data through prolific.

Findings

The authors find that people have a harder time making inferences about the technical and communication skills of a PCP. Reviews about fidelity are perceived as more helpful and influential in building trust than reviews about fairness. Overall, reviews about the communication skills of a PCP have stronger effects on trusting intentions than other types of reviews. The authors also find that positive reviews are perceived as more helpful for the readers than negative reviews, but negative reviews have a stronger impact on patients' trust intentions than positive ones.

Originality/value

The authors identify how online reviews about a PCP’s competency and benevolence affect patients’ trusting intentions to choose the PCP. The implication of findings of this study for primary medical practice and physician review websites is discussed.

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2023

Antonella Foderaro

This study introduces Simone Weil's impersonal justice concept and its relevance to libraries' identity and role in societies. The article presents the constituents of impersonal…

Abstract

Purpose

This study introduces Simone Weil's impersonal justice concept and its relevance to libraries' identity and role in societies. The article presents the constituents of impersonal justice and a theoretical justification for the coexistence of neutrality with libraries' commitment to social causes.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual analysis of 3 Weil's works, 13 scientific articles and 12 libraries' official documents was applied, looking at relevant concepts and findings, contexts of use, arguments and types of authority.

Findings

Five constituents of impersonal justice were found: universality, concreteness, unicity, inviolability and inappropriability. Impersonal justice, based on the inviolable value of each individual and the universal expectation of good, allows for a more accurate definition of social justice. Besides, it justifies libraries' commitment to climate change, migrants and Black lives matter, among other causes.

Originality/value

In contrast to previous works, this paper focuses on clarifying concepts by applying conceptual analysis to Weil's works, Library and Information Science (LIS) sources in scientific and normative contexts. Additionally, the analysis of arguments and types of authority for justifying claims pro and against neutrality allows the reconstruction of the argumentative discourse beyond the examined sources.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 79 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2023

Geoffrey Mark Ferres and Robert C. Moehler

Effective project learning can prevent projects from repeating the same mistakes; however, knowledge codification is required for project-to-project learning to be up-scaled…

Abstract

Purpose

Effective project learning can prevent projects from repeating the same mistakes; however, knowledge codification is required for project-to-project learning to be up-scaled across the temporal, geographical and organisational barriers that constrain personalised learning. This paper explores the state of practice for the structuring of codified project learnings as concrete boundary objects with the capacity to enable externalised project-to-project learning across complex boundaries. Cross-domain reconceptualisation is proposed to enable further research and support the future development of standardised recommendations for boundary objects that can enable project-to-project learning at scale.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrative literature review method has been applied, considering knowledge, project learning and boundary object scholarship as state-of-practice sources.

Findings

It is found that the extensive body of boundary object literature developed over the last three decades has not yet examined the internal structural characteristics of concrete boundary objects for project-to-project learning and boundary-spanning capacity. Through a synthesis of the dispersed structural characteristic recommendations that have been made across examined domains, a reconceptualised schema of 30 discrete characteristics associated with boundary-spanning capacity for project-to-project learning is proposed to support further investigation.

Originality/value

This review makes a novel contribution as a first cross-domain examination of the internal structural characteristics of concrete boundary objects for project-to-project learning. The authors provide directions for future research through the reconceptualisation of a novel schema and the identification of important and previously unidentified research gaps.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 16 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 January 2024

Clare Horackova, Sarah Bloomfield, Carla Roberta Pereira and Fidèle Mutwarasibo

The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) was approved for delivery in the UK in 2015 (IfATE, 2023). The CMDA offers future managers the opportunity to gain a recognised…

Abstract

Purpose

The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) was approved for delivery in the UK in 2015 (IfATE, 2023). The CMDA offers future managers the opportunity to gain a recognised degree as well as the practical skills to thrive in today's competitive job market. A number of studies have been written on the development phase of the CMDA in various institutions, but to date no systematic review exists to provide an overview of commonalities and insights gained across these studies. This review aims to fill this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) was used to identify studies written on the CMDA since its introduction. In total, 12 papers met the authors' selection criteria, and thematic coding was used to analyse and present the findings.

Findings

Findings were grouped into five themes: (1) curriculum design; (2) programme delivery and support for apprentices; (3) portfolio of evidence and End Point Assessment (EPA); (4) working with employers and (5) recruitment and onboarding.

Originality/value

This review is the first synthesis to date of literature written on the CMDA. The authors' analysis has allowed them to formulate recommendations for future practice that will be of use to providers in the next phase of the CMDA's development.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 May 2021

Saadan A. Edson and Adam M. Akyoo

An increasing demand of agricultural intensification and value addition necessitates the use of improved inputs such as improved seed. Smallholder farmers contribute about 70% of…

Abstract

An increasing demand of agricultural intensification and value addition necessitates the use of improved inputs such as improved seed. Smallholder farmers contribute about 70% of agricultural production in Tanzania. Agriculture sector in Tanzania contributes about 24.1% of the GDP, 30% of exports and 65% of industrial raw materials. Thus, agriculture development, economic growth and industrialization are inseparable. Due to the nature of the product, smallholder farmers cannot judge the overall excellence of seed at the time of buying. This paper assessed quality uncertainty in maize and vegetable seed and its implication for market exchange between farmers and seed sellers in Kilolo district, Iringa Tanzania. The study used a random sample of 130 smallholder farmers and representatives from ten seed companies. Asymmetric information prevails between the two trading sides, i.e. sellers and buyers, leading into quality uncertainty. Moreover, product augmentation is profoundly overlooked whereby most of seed companies have not augmented their products. Because an improved seed is a quintessential example of an experience good, quality uncertainty of some crop varieties under field conditions favored some seed brands to be used more by farmers compared to others. This paper offers a thorough deduction on quality uncertainty under farmers' field condition and its implication on market exchange. It adds information in the body of knowledge on how an improved seed can contribute to sustainable production of food and industrial raw materials, which is a step towards desired industrialization agenda in Tanzania.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2024

Yingying Huang and Dogan Gursoy

This study aims to examine the interaction effects of chatbots’ language style and customers’ decision-making journey stage on customer’s service encounter satisfaction and the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the interaction effects of chatbots’ language style and customers’ decision-making journey stage on customer’s service encounter satisfaction and the mediating role of customer perception of emotional support and informational support using the construal level theory and social support theory as conceptual frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a scenario-based experiment with a 2 (chatbot’s language style: abstract language vs concrete language) × 2 (decision-making journey stage: informational stage vs transactional stage) between-subjects design.

Findings

Findings show that during the informational stage, chatbots that use abstract language style exert a strong influence on service encounter satisfaction through emotional support. During the transactional stage, chatbots that use concrete language style exert a strong impact on service encounter satisfaction through informational support.

Practical implications

Findings provide some suggestions for improving customer–chatbot interaction quality during online service encounters.

Originality/value

This study offers a novel perspective on customer interaction experience with chatbots by investigating the chatbot’s language styles at different decision-making journey stages.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

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