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This paper presents a qualitative study of penetration testing, the practice of attacking information systems to find security vulnerabilities and fixing them. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether and to what extent penetration testing can reveal various socio-organisational factors of information security in organisations. In doing so, the paper innovates theory by using Routine Activity Theory together with phenomenology of information systems concepts.

The articulation of Routine Activity Theory and phenomenology emerged inductively from the data analysis. The data consists of 24 qualitative interviews conducted with penetration testers, analysed with thematic analysis.

The starting assumption is that penetration testers are akin to offenders in a crime situation, dealing with targets and the absence of capable guardians. A key finding is that penetration testers described their targets as an installed base, highlighting how vulnerabilities, which make a target suitable, often emerge from properties of the existing built digital environments. This includes systems that are forgotten or lack ongoing maintenance. Moreover, penetration testers highlighted that although the testing is often predicated on planned methodologies, often they resort to serendipitous practices such as improvisation.

This paper contributes to theory, showing how Routine Activity Theory and phenomenological concepts can work together in the study of socio-organisational factors of information security. This contribution stems from considering that much research on information security focuses on the internal actions of organisations. The study of penetration testing as a proxy of real attacks allows novel insights into socio-organisational factors of information security in organisations.

Social enterprises (SEs) face tensions when combining financial and social missions, and this is particularly evident in the scaling process. Although extant research mainly focuses on SEs that integrate their social and financial missions, this study aims to unpack social impact scaling strategies in differentiated hybrid organizations (DHOs) through the case of African SEs.

The study entails an inductive multiple case study approach based on four case SEs: work integration social enterprises (WISEs) and fair trade producer social enterprises (FTPSEs) in Uganda and Kenya. A total of 24 semi-structured interviews were collected together with multiple secondary data sources and then coded and analyzed through the rigorous Gioia et al. (2013) methodology to build a theoretical model.

The results indicate that SEs, as differentiated hybrids, implement four types of social impact scaling strategies toward beneficiaries and benefits (penetration, bundling, spreading and diversification) and unveil different dual mission tensions generated by each scaling strategy. The study also shows mutually reinforcing mechanisms named cross-bracing actions, which are paradoxical actions connected to one another for navigating tensions and ensuring dual mission during scaling.

This study provides evidence of four strategies for scaling social impact, with associated challenges and response mechanisms based on the cross-bracing effect between social and financial missions. Thus, the research provides a clear framework (social impact scaling matrix) for investigating differentiation in hybridity at scaling and provides new directions on how SEs scale their impact, with implications for social entrepreneurship and dual mission management literature.

The model offers a practical tool for decision-makers in SEs, such as managers and social entrepreneurs, providing insights into what scaling pathways to implement (one or multiples) and, more importantly, the implications and possible solutions. Response mechanisms are also useful for tackling specific tensions, thereby contributing to addressing the challenges of vulnerable, marginalized and low-income individuals. The study also offers implications for policymakers, governments and other ecosystem actors such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and social investors.

Despite the growing body of literature on scaling social impact, only a few studies have focused on differentiated hybrids, and no evidence has been provided on how they scale only the social impact (without considering commercial scaling). This study brings a new perspective to paradox theory and hybridity, showing paradoxes come into view at scaling, and documenting how from a differentiation approach to hybridity, DHOs also implemented cross-bracing actions, which are reinforcement mechanisms, thus suggesting connections and synergies among the actions in social and financial mission, where such knowledge is required to better comprehend how SEs can achieve a virtuous cycle of profits and reinvestments in social impact.

The study aims to present a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand the current status of research on social media usage among the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). The purpose of this study is to identify the research gaps in this domain and review future research agendas by using theory, context, characteristics and methods [TCCM] framework.

An SLR, keywords co-occurrence and TCCM analysis were used to analyse and synthesize insights from 44 studies gained from Web of Science and Scopus databases.

The findings suggest that the USA and India are popular contexts for studying BOP. The BOP population uses social media to gain utilitarian, hedonic and social values. Further, social media can help BOP explore “entrepreneurship” opportunities, value co-creation and bring innovations.

This study expands the intellectual boundaries of social media at BOP and suggests multidisciplinary research. Additionally, adopting novel theoretical lenses helped determine social media's impact on BOP.

Due to the high penetration of social media and mobile devices in the recent decade, especially with the coronavirus, digital media tools have become a priority for marketing managers. Digital content marketing (DCM) is one of the crucial ingredients of the digital marketing strategy of businesses, which proposes value to the audience through brand-related and relevant content. The tourism industry is also trapped in the digital wave and has witnessed fundamental changes in how customers communicate. The growth of investment in DCM in this industry to introduce tourist attractions and acquire tourists calls for more research to explore multiple aspects of these initiatives' implementation. Despite the importance of DCM, there is no clear understanding of its implementation's various components. Therefore, the primary goal of the current study is to design a new comprehensive framework of DCM implementation that integrates its antecedents, process, and consequences in the tourism industry.

The mixed method was applied to achieve the research goal. The initial criteria and main components of the framework were identified with a comprehensive literature review to develop the framework. To enrich the initial criteria, some semi-structured interviews with experts were conducted; then, the extracted criteria and sub-criteria were prioritized and weighted using the quantitative best-worst method (BWM).

The results indicate that the proposed integrated framework contains three categories of antecedents, processes, and consequences and 12 main concepts. The weights and ranks of the extracted concepts and their sub-criteria are calculated using BWM.

The proposed framework helps managers have a big picture of the DCM strategy to successfully implement and consider the multiple dimensions of such initiatives. The proposed framework provides actionable insight for digital marketing decision-makers to manage such projects effectively and plan appropriate actions for progress.

A review of content marketing reveals that there are few studies conducted that integrate the components of the DCM implementation process, including antecedents, process, and consequences. This research is one of the first in the field of DCM implementation in the tourism industry to fill this theoretical gap. The main contribution of this research is to design a new integrated framework for DCM implementation that offers a holistic view of antecedents, process, and consequences.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavior of self-disclosure among Saudi women and men in an attempt to understand gender differences in language. The study also gives insights about the cultural norms and how they affect language production.

The author utilized Levi-Belz and Kreiner's (2019) three-dimensional tool of self-disclosure; namely, the HOW MUCH dimension, the WHAT dimension and the HOW dimension. The HOW MUCH dimension is measured through word count of self-disclosure and the duration of self-disclosure in spoken discourse. The WHAT dimension is measured through analyzing the topics, emotions and social actors that are discussed during self-disclosure episodes. The HOW dimension is measured through examining the acoustic features of self-disclosure such as intonation, loudness and fluency.

Saudi women tend to engage in more self-disclosure than Saudi men, and their self-disclosure tends to be longer and more detailed. Women also tend to use more intonation variability and softer loudness, reflecting the cultural norms of politeness and reservation. Both genders tend to use similar frequencies of positive and negative emotion words in their self-disclosure, with positive emotion words correlating more with personal self-disclosure and negative emotion words with self-disclosures about loss, failure, conflict, rejection and uncertainty. The data also show that the use of reflective verbs leads to more authentic and empathetic communication and that pronoun use correlates with the type of emotional experience being discussed.

This study has limitations due to a small sample size. Future research should use larger and diverse samples to explore self-disclosure in Saudi televised interviews comprehensively. The study focused solely on televised interviews; future research can examine self-disclosure across various media platforms. Findings have practical implications for Saudi media and policymakers. Understanding self-disclosure in interviews can guide content creation, fostering open communication. Presenters consciously act as role models, influencing Saudi youth, emphasizing the role of positive self-presentation.

This study utilized Levi-Belz and Kreiner's (2019) three-dimensional tool of self-disclosure in a way that could be used for other languages and cultures. The study examines the Saudi cultural norms in self-disclosure, which has never been tackled before.

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review a large and heterogeneous body of academic literature on investors' feedback trading, one of the most popular trading patterns observed historically in financial markets. Specifically, the authors aim to synthesize the diverse theoretical approaches to feedback trading in order to provide a detailed discussion of its various determinants, and to systematically review the empirical literature across various asset classes to gauge whether their feedback trading entails discernible patterns and the determinants that motivate them.

Given the high degree of heterogeneity of both theoretical and empirical approaches, the authors adopt a semi-systematic type of approach to review the feedback trading literature, inspired by the RAMESES protocol for meta-narrative reviews. The final sample consists of 243 papers covering diverse asset classes, investor types and geographies.

The authors find feedback trading to be very widely observed over time and across markets internationally. Institutional investors engage in feedback trading in a herd-like manner, and most noticeably in small domestic stocks and emerging markets. Regulatory changes and financial crises affect the intensity of their feedback trades. Retail investors are mostly contrarian and underperform their institutional counterparts, while the latter's trades can be often motivated by market sentiment.

The authors provide a detailed overview of various possible theoretical determinants, both behavioural and non-behavioural, of feedback trading, as well as a comprehensive overview and synthesis of the empirical literature. The authors also propose a series of possible directions for future research.

The study aims to examine “Advertisement content likeability” and its relationships with consumers' purchase and sharing intentions.

Second-order factor analysis was applied. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to measure the moderating effects of technology adoption model, knowledge sharing and Internet maven traits on advertising content's virality.

Results indicate the dimensional structure of ad content likeability that is relevant in predicting consumers' sharing and purchase intentions. Furthermore, the moderating effects of technology acceptance factors (perceived usefulness and ease-of-use), knowledge sharing motives (altruism, reputation and expected reciprocal benefits) and senders' Internet maven characteristics were also found on “Ad content likeability” and “sharing intentions.”

The study expands the theoretical horizon of factors that significantly increase an advertisement's velocity to become more viral.

The purpose of this study is to understand customer experience (CX) in business-to-business (B2B) markets through the perspectives of buyer–seller dyads. This study aims to evaluate how customer journey, touchpoints and digital and social media (DSM) influence CX and offer avenues for sellers to align their efforts with buyers’ requirements to create and manage CX.

Integrating insights of practicing buyers and sellers in the pharmaceutical B2B industry, this study follows the phenomenological approach to understand their experience through their perspectives on the customer journey, touchpoints and DSM.

The findings of this study include convergence in the perspectives in journey stages, journey enablers, stakeholder involvement, touchpoint preference and DSM’s use. The study findings also include divergence in perspectives in the senior management engagement, journey enablers, selling center involvement, DSM purpose and usage of DSM platforms. These offer opportunities for sellers to align with buyer journey, touchpoints and DSM to create and manage CX.

Sellers in pharmaceutical B2B markets have been dependent on traditional knowledge to influence customer journey and touchpoints and the advent of DSM has enhanced the challenge. To avoid this confusion, sellers need to have clarity of customers’ expectations on the journey, touchpoints and DSM. This enables sellers to allocate their resources better to achieve the desired outcome in CX.

This first-of-its-kind study captured the convergence and divergence perspectives of pharmaceutical B2B buyer–seller dyads from the lens of the uncertainty reduction theory and social penetration theory. The study suggests opportunities for pharmaceutical sellers to create and manage CX.

This study aims to propose a conceptual framework for the acceptability of city branding on social media. The conceptual framework of the acceptability of city branding is necessary to achieve a successful city brand in the social media era. It tries to develop the use of social media in city branding practices and its acceptability, especially in the areas of urban planning and development. The study also explores important issues in the use of social media and its acceptability in city branding practices.

This study was initially conducted using a literature review of relevant, recent, and trustworthy scholarly publications (books, journals, reports, and proceedings) about city branding and acceptability from the electronic database by using relevant terms and keywords to find the relevant literature. The next step was to identify the essential variable described in the literature and assess how these are connected to one another. The last step was to create a conceptual framework using the variables that were found and their interrelationships.

Social media is crucial for determining a successful model of city branding strategy. Incorporating social media in the city branding process may lead to emerging bottom-up forms of influencing the city branding process, creating better-accepted city branding from wider audiences and guaranteeing a long-term successful city brand. The results of this paper indicate that one can utilize social media user-generated content (from residents and visitors), local government-created content, peer interaction, electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), and the engagement and participation medium to understand whether city branding is accepted by stakeholders through nine dimensions of acceptability: knowledge, information diffusion, experience, attachment, congruence, behavioral intention, perceived quality, engagement, and participation.

This research outcome can be used to evaluate and extend the classical theory of the acceptability of city branding, or even the overall umbrella term of branding, in the digital age. Despite its contribution, this study is not without limitations. The conceptual framework herein is best suited to a branded city with a high social media penetration rate to better represent real-life phenomena in the offline environment; in other contexts, it presents certain reliability concerns regarding its implementation.

The conceptual framework herein is best suited to a branded city with a high social media penetration rate to better represent the real-life phenomena in the offline environment; in other contexts, it presents certain reliability concerns regarding its implementation.

This research highlight some acceptability dimensions of city branding practice and also emphasize social media platform as useful tool to understand people's opinion, attitude and behavior. Combining these two concepts of the acceptability of city branding and the use of social media provides an opportunity to achieve the goals of meaningful, authentic and resilient city branding.