Search results

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of embedded social media channels and determine whether the embedded social media channels enhance the overall experience of travelers using the hotel Web sites.

A true-experimental, between-group and post-test-only design was used to address the primary research questions. Two privately accessible complete versions of the Web site (one with embedded social media channels and one without them) were designed for the experiment. The uses and gratifications approach was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were analyzed using ANOVA.

The results of this study revealed that embedded social media channels on the hotel Web site enhanced travelers’ social gratifications of perceived social interaction. Apart from these benefits for travelers seeking social gratifications, embedded social media channels did not enhance the overall experience (content and process gratifications) of travelers using the Web site.

In the case of embedded social media on hotel Web sites, this study suggests that hotel managers measure return on engagement to examine the effectiveness of embedded social media, instead of return on investment.

The study revealed that the emergence of embedded social media channels and their integration on hotel Web sites will have significant influence on travelers who seek social gratifications.

The findings of this study offer new empirical evidence that embedded social media channels enhance only travelers’ perceived social interaction during their first visit to the hotel Web site.

Internet2 research will lead to new technologies that will launch the Internet into another wave of unprecedented growth with enhanced interactivity and greater amounts of information delivered via richer communication. As a result, Web‐based retailers must begin to rethink the design of their sites, the amount of information to provide, and the degree of media richness to deliver. Based on a large sample of managers, this study examines media richness theory in the context of simple and complex products. The findings suggest that, overall, Internet users have more positive attitudes and higher levels of satisfaction with regard to rich sites than to lean sites, although the results for simple product sites were inconclusive. The study discusses the impact of the results for both simple and complex products and details the development of a new experimental instrument to measure user attitudes and satisfaction.

To argue that library web sites embedded in a new media environment initiate and demand new kinds of communication and new communication skills.

The paper is a short version of findings related to the author's research of the internet as a medium in libraries, especially in the domain of imaginative literature. The paper is based theoretically on findings of new media research. The approach is a theoretical clarification of what is new about new media and why new media may move librarians to new kinds of publicity and communication. This is illustrated by a presentation of the Danish library web site litteratursiden.dk, produced by librarians to inspire readers of fiction among library patrons.

Theoretical and practical findings by new media research have indicated several new media features concerning the internet and the web. The web is a hypertextual media environment – all web sites are part of a global media environment, a global publicity. Local web communication is already a global communication. The web interface is also a multimedia interface, and it gives the possibility of interactive, dialogic communication. Further web sites are “remediations” of media types and genres from other media. These features must be considered when analysing library web sites, and they must be considered in the education of librarians in the future. The Danish library web site litteratursiden.dk is used to demonstrate how a literary library web site may use the web as a medium, and how new skills are needed and developed. The site gives access to the fiction of library catalogues, but at the same time it is a literary magazine with news, essays and recommendations. The librarians operate in two kinds of space – the library space and the literary public space. The addressee is both the library patron and the common reader. This duplicity may be seen as an expansion of the reader advisory service and may be compared with similar advisory services in reader development programmes.

The world wide web and new media may change the roles of the librarian in public libraries. The library web site is embedded in a general media environment, which may demand new skills of media communication.

The paper aims to focus on the public librarian as a new media producer and communication expert.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Kent and Taylor's dialogic features are used by agricultural associations in the USA and Germany to engage media.

A content analysis of 51 American Farm Bureau Federation and 18 Deutscher Bauernverband web sites was conducted to evaluate the incorporation of the principles of ease of interface, usefulness, dialogic loop, conservation of visitors, and generation of return visits.

The study found mixed results for the incorporation of Kent and Taylor's five dialogic principles. At the time of the content analysis, these sites failed to provide a solid dialogic loop between the organisation and the visitor, and they did not encourage return visits. This weakens the sites' potential to move past information provision and build lasting relationships with reporters.

The findings of this research project provide benchmark numbers for the presence of the five dialogic principles in the agriculture industry. Further, the findings strengthen the growing evidence of the impact of the principles in various sectors. Previous research has examined how nonprofit social service and activist organisations have incorporated the principles as well as for‐profit organizations. The current results shine light on how other organisations are using their web site to develop relationships with visitors.

Research on agricultural communication indicates that the media increasingly are downplaying the significance of the industry in mainstream news. Scholars have suggested that the agricultural industry is not well versed in media training and media relations. However, the findings of this study indicate that the leading agricultural associations in the USA and Germany are still primarily using their web sites as one‐way information subsidies rather than capitalizing on the interactive nature of the web. By incorporating the five dialogic principles into their web sites, the agricultural communicators will be in a better position to interact with media in a lasting manner rather than simply serving as a source of one‐way information.

Though the dialogic principles have been studied in other settings, this paper examines their use by organisations in multiple countries. Given the increasing globalisation of the agriculture industry, it is vital to understand how this industry communicates with the media given that it has repeatedly complained about media coverage of agricultural issues and the push by the American Farm Bureau to assist other national agricultural associations around the world.

Espouses the Web with regard to the media and all its areas of relevance. Encourages and supports multinational forms of production as new but admits they may be no more sympathetic to social need and democratic practice than previous commercial media. Charts the market and the Web’s changes for commercial business.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the web-marketing behavioural models adopted in the wine industry using as case studies several leading Italian wineries. It aims to propose a new methodology to evaluate the impact of web marketing strategies on online brand visibility and image.

The paper is based on literature review and case study approach. The study uses six leading Italian wineries as case studies, selected by taking into account six strategic profiles: business size, business management, corporate brand reputation, competitive strategy, marketing orientation and marketing budget.

The proposed structured methodology highlights new key elements that could be implemented in a marketing plan. The research results propose a conceptual three-dimension approach that integrates a business's strategic orientation with its digital-marketing strategy and its social media tactics. It also includes specific evaluation criteria to measure the impact on the business's strategic objectives.

The applied research approach should be extended to other business typologies and wine-producing countries to allow the generalisation of results. In addition, the monitoring period should be extended to confirm the reliability of results.

The applied methodology can be adopted more broadly, and it underlines managerial implications that can be extended to the rest of the Italian wine industry, as well as to the parts of the wine sector that are dominated by the presence of SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and economic impact that the internet, specifically websites and social media, have on small businesses. It aims to investigate the benefits available from the use of the internet and social media sites for small businesses that operate in underserved regions.

The research utilizes a case study methodology based on two surveys and semi-structured interviews with the owners or managers of five small companies in the western mountain region of Maine, a region described as underserved by the state departments of tourism and economic development – generally economically depressed, where the businesses are often struggling to survive.

Benefits from the use of websites and social media sites include an increase in awareness and inquiries, enhanced relationships with customers, an increase in the number of new customers, enhanced ability to reach customers on a global scale, and co-promotion of local businesses that enhance the image of small businesses in the region.

The small number of firms from a specific region in the USA limits generalizations from this study’s findings. However, the findings offer preliminary insights for future studies on the use of the internet and social media sites for small businesses.

The research provides evidence of potential advantages of utilizing web pages and social media sites for small businesses in underserved locations. The findings show that a web presence integrated with meaningful and sustained social media promotion can have a positive impact on business success in terms of increased traffic, awareness and revenues. This study has the potential to shed light on how internet technologies and social media can help struggling small businesses to communicate cost effectively with customers on a global scale, opening new opportunities for sales and growth.

By exploring the value of social media to small businesses, the authors hope to contribute to enhancement of the quality of life in small business and society as a whole.

This paper is among the few reports on how small businesses learn about, utilize, and benefit from the web pages and social media sites.

This paper aims to evaluate Web-based applications for teaching critical media literacy. It proposes modeling for criteria to evaluate Web-based applications for critical media literacy learning. The study aims to critically analyze the applications based on their potential for critical media literacy learning (CMLL), learner compatibility, authenticity, beneficial impact, practicability, engagement and support.

The paper was addressed by the walkthrough method, which provides underpinning analysis of the applications combined with content analysis to gain further deeper insight into users’ applications and application appropriation to accommodate critical media literacy instructions. The applications are organized according to their utilization in each sort of CMLL, namely, media understanding and analysis, and media production.

The paper describes how to select appropriate applications for critical media literacy instruction. It suggests a list of applications that can help teachers integrate critical media literacy into their classroom instruction, as well as the results of each application’s evaluation. In summary, the results indicated the importance of meticulous selection criteria and evaluations of applications used for critical media literacy integration in teaching.

Because technology and applications are constantly evolving, ongoing research in this area is always required. Furthermore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses further.

The paper discusses the implications for technology selection in teaching, the development of selection criteria and managing the balance between technological advancement and teaching. In a nutshell, this paper practically contribute to shed light on the framework for CMLL application selection and adoption.

The paper provides comprehensive guidance for teachers on how to select applications for critical media literacy integration teaching, as well as lists of application evaluations that they can easily use.

This paper fills a gap in the literature by investigating how digital media and technologies can be used in the classroom and how they are chosen based on the needs of teachers and students.

This research examines how URLs in Chinese mass media advertising affect noticeability, perceptions and behavior among internet users and non‐users.

It uses advertising effectiveness measures to investigate the perceived effects of URLs in traditional media advertising. Six hundred and twenty‐seven random telephone interviews among adult internet users and non‐users were conducted in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.

Results showed the inclusion of a URL in an ad enhanced brand perceptions and increased consumers' likelihood to visit the web site.

Limitations include a low response rate, self‐reported data, and limited analysis of internet users and non‐users. Future research could use an experimental design and update data as web presence and internet usage grows.

This research adds to knowledge about web advertising in China and suggests that marketers may benefit from an early web presence.

It suggests that marketers need to be more strategic about how web presence affects brand perception among users and non‐users of the internet.