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1 – 10 of 102Kate Hogarth, Sumit Lodhia, Amanpreet Kaur and Gerard Stone
This paper aims to explore the extent, nature and communication potential of companies’ use of three popular social media platforms (Facebook, X and LinkedIn) to report on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the extent, nature and communication potential of companies’ use of three popular social media platforms (Facebook, X and LinkedIn) to report on sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative methodology through the use of the netnography approach was adopted to evaluate the use of social media for sustainability communication by the Top 50 ASX companies. Content analysis of all company posts determined those with social and environmental content. A thematic analysis was performed using the global reporting initiative (GRI) framework to examine the nature of the reporting. The media richness framework was used to measure the communication potential of the social media platforms for sustainability communication.
Findings
The results indicated that the extent of sustainability posts on social media represented less than 20% of total social media posts. The nature of posts by the Top 50 ASX companies was higher on social issues than on environmental issues, which is contradictory to many previous studies. The study also found that while the social media platforms afforded high levels of media richness, most companies failed to exploit the platforms’ full potential to disseminate sustainability information.
Research limitations/implications
This work provides both empirical and theoretical contributions to the ongoing debate concerning the use of social media for sustainability communication. The paper extends Lodhia et al.’s (2020) study of social media use for legitimation purposes and adapts Lodhia’s (2004) media richness framework to social media for sustainability reporting. It adds empirical insights into social media’s communication potential and value for communicating sustainability information.
Practical implications
The extent and nature to which organisations use social media to disclose their sustainability performance has significant practical implications for a variety of stakeholders. The results reveal to these stakeholders and the companies themselves the level of utilisation of social media along with the potential that can be harnessed. These results can potentially improve the quantity, timeliness and usability of sustainability reporting using social media platforms.
Social implications
The study provides valuable evidence to increase understanding of the sustainability social media communication landscape, which organisations can potentially leverage to communicate their messages. Additionally, sustainability awareness is increased across various demographics by disseminating sustainability information to the wider public. This study will assist policy-setters in developing guidance for using social media for sustainability reporting.
Originality/value
This study extends existing literature, particularly the Lodhia et al. (2020) study, which has primarily focused on examining sustainability content in the media with limited exploration of the communication potential of social media platforms to communicate sustainability content.
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This study aims to assess the effectiveness of online e-resource marketing tools used by university libraries to market e-resources. The specific objectives of this study were to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the effectiveness of online e-resource marketing tools used by university libraries to market e-resources. The specific objectives of this study were to uncover the e-resources that are showcased by university libraries, find out instructions posted by libraries to facilitate access and utilization of e-resources, examine marketing tools used, examine how current and relevant marketing messages and test the functionality of the marketing tools used.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory research design was used to assess the effectiveness of e-resources marketing tools. The study population included all public university libraries in Tanzania. The sample was purposively selected to include all publicly funded libraries as they work under similar management environments. Data collection involved the evaluation of online marketing tools using a matrix checklist.
Findings
It was revealed that most university libraries use websites for showcasing e-resources. The commonly used social media for marketing e-resources is Facebook followed by Instagram while Twitter and Ask a Librarian are the least used. The results further show that only a few universities provide instructions on how to access and use e-resources. The findings indicate that universities had active communication platforms for marketing e-resources. Furthermore, less than 50% of marketing messages are active and current. It is recommended that marketing e-resources should be integrated into the library’s plans and strategies and this should be informed by library policies.
Research limitations/implications
Given that, this study involved Tanzanian public university libraries, it is possible that the findings do not represent the same situation in all academic university libraries in the nation.
Originality/value
This study assesses the effectiveness of online tools used to market e-resources in university libraries in Tanzania. It reveals the e-resources that are showcased online, the instructions provided on how to access the e-resources and the functionality of the marketing tools. Unlike the previous research, which primarily focused on evaluating the Web-based tools in university and college libraries, this study focused on public libraries in the country. The results will not only contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of the functionality of the marketing tools but also provide actionable insights to decision-makers in libraries in marketing their e-resources.
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Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Raffaella Montera and Rocco Palumbo
The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.
Abstract
Purpose
The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique sample of Italian hotels with current and prospective customers in the digital environment is investigated. A taxonomy of user-provider interactions mediated by UGC is developed. A mixed approach was designed to meet the study aims. Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis was performed in order to illuminate different strategies of UGC and electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) management. Secondly, a cluster analysis was implemented in order to explain hoteliers' behavior toward users' contents.
Findings
The study results suggested the existence of three clusters, which reflected three different types of interactions between hotels and customers in the digital domain. Interestingly, most of Italian hotels were found to adopt a reductionist approach to UGC and E-WOM management, turning out to be ineffective to exploit them for the purpose of quality improvement and hospitality service excellence.
Research limitations/implications
Hotels were found to be largely unaware of the importance of UGC and web-based communication with customers to improve their digital business strategy. Tailored management approaches are needed to realize the full potential of hotels' online content responsiveness for the purpose of value co-creation and service co-production.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies investigating the strategic and management perspectives embraced by hotels to handle their interactions with customers in the digital arena.
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Chiara Valentini and Krishnamurthy Sriramesh
Personal influence is one of the most powerful strategies to influence publics’ behaviours. Yet, there is scant attention on how personal influence is leveraged for different…
Abstract
Purpose
Personal influence is one of the most powerful strategies to influence publics’ behaviours. Yet, there is scant attention on how personal influence is leveraged for different public relations purposes in different cultural contexts. This study empirically investigates the presence and use of personal influence among Italian public relations professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted through a self-administrated, web-based questionnaire and was developed from earlier studies investigating personal influence in public relations literature. Survey participants included public relations professionals across public, non-profit and private sectors.
Findings
The findings empirically show the presence and regular use of personal influence by professionals from all sectors to cultivate interpersonal relationships. Personal influence is considered a personal resource and used to leverage own influencing power. The findings also document four major manifestations of personal influence, which were named: relational closeness strategy, engagement strategy, expertise strategy and added value strategy.
Practical implications
This study enhances our understanding of personal influence in a specific cultural context and offers strategic insights for international professionals seeking to leverage influence in the socio-political environment of Italy. It also offers elements to improve public relations education and training.
Originality/value
The study offers some preliminary understandings of how Italian professionals leverage their personal influence in their daily public relations activities contributing with empirical evidence to the body of knowledge in public relations.
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Muddesar Iqbal, Sohail Sarwar, Muhammad Safyan and Moustafa Nasralla
The purpose of this study is to present a systematic and comprehensive review of personalized, adaptive and semantic e-learning systems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a systematic and comprehensive review of personalized, adaptive and semantic e-learning systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Preferred reporting items of systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines have been used for a thorough insight into associated aspects of e-learning that complement the e-learning pedagogies and processes. The aspects of e-learning systems have been reviewed comprehensively such as personalization and adaptivity, e-learning and semantics, learner profiling and learner categorization, which are handy in intelligent content recommendations for learners.
Findings
The adoption of semantic Web based technologies would complement the learner’s performance in terms of learning outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The evaluation of the proposed framework depends upon the yearly batch of learners and recording is a cumbersome/tedious process.
Social implications
E-Learning systems may have diverse and positive impact on society including democratized learning and inclusivity regardless of socio-economic or geographic status.
Originality/value
A preliminary framework of an ontology-based e-learning system has been proposed at a modular level of granularity for implementation, along with evaluation metrics followed by a future roadmap.
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Abdelsalam Busalim, Linda D. Hollebeek and Theo Lynn
Social commerce (s-commerce) offers community-based platforms that facilitate customer-to-customer interactions and the development of customers' social shopping-based experience…
Abstract
Purpose
Social commerce (s-commerce) offers community-based platforms that facilitate customer-to-customer interactions and the development of customers' social shopping-based experience. While prior research has addressed the role of customer engagement (CE) in boosting s-commerce-based sales and performance, insight into the effect of s-commerce attributes on CE remains tenuous. Addressing this gap, this study examines the role of specific s-commerce attributes (i.e. community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics) on CE, which is, in turn, proposed to impact customers' repurchase- and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A web-based survey was deployed to target users of a popular s-commerce platform, Etsy.com. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was, then, used to analyze the survey data collected from 390 users.
Findings
The results reveal that the four examined attributes positively affect CE. The findings also demonstrate CE's positive effect on customers' repurchase- and eWOM intention.
Originality/value
Though CE has been identified as a key s-commerce performance indicator, little remains known about the role of specific s-commerce attributes in driving CE, as, therefore, explored in this research. Specifically, the authors examine the role of s-commerce-based community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics on CE. Their analyses also corroborate that CE, in turn, drives customers' post-purchase (i.e. repurchase/eWOM) intention. Managerially, our findings can be used to develop more engaging s-commerce platforms.
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The purpose of this paper is to report on bibliometric research on the activities and services offered by distance libraries that serve distance learning institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on bibliometric research on the activities and services offered by distance libraries that serve distance learning institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis of scholarly communication has always been a valuable tool for researchers and policymakers in order to understand trends, gaps and patterns in a specific field. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis has been applied based on a well-known bibliometric tool called “VOSviewer.” The articles that constitute the dataset of current research were drawn from two journals: the Journal of Library Administration and the Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning.
Findings
The bibliometric analysis applied in distance libraries showed that the researchers in this domain are mainly introverts and need to prioritize engaging in the scientific research process over merely publishing good practices. Although there are a lot of libraries serving distance learning institutions (formal and non-formal), there is a notable lack of activity in the scientific publication field.
Originality/value
Distance libraries have played a significant role in supporting distance learning, and since distance education has become more important in the educational ecosystem, the analysis of its scholarly production would provide administrators, researchers and policymakers with insights for the next era of conventional libraries.
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Tiina Pesonen, Juhani Sulander, Hanna Tiirinki, Pekka Räsänen, Merja Sahlström, Ilmo Keskimäki and Timo Sinervo
Integrated care is the leading approach to developing health and social care services in Finland. After the national health and social care reform, the importance of assessing…
Abstract
Purpose
Integrated care is the leading approach to developing health and social care services in Finland. After the national health and social care reform, the importance of assessing integration has been emphasized. The aim of this study was to pilot the SCIROCCO tool, which assesses integration maturity, in Finland. The SCIROCCO tool was translated and adapted to the Finnish health and social care context. The feasibility and utility of this tool for assessing the maturity for integration across health and social care in Finland were evaluated using empirical pilot data collected among employees of selected well-being service counties. The study also provided baseline information on the maturity of integration after the national health and social care reform.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees (n = 111) of different personnel groups in health and social care services in four well-being service counties assessed the maturity of integration using a web-based survey. A pilot study design was used.
Findings
The SCIROCCO tool was found to be useful for assessing the maturity of integration in health and social care within the well-being service counties. However, the tool requires further development to be fully adapted to the Finnish health and social care system and to assess integration across sectors. The results emphasize the need to understand the perspectives of different personnel groups on integration and to consider them in the development work.
Originality/value
This was the first study conducted in Finland that provided valuable insights into the assessment of integration across the health and social care sectors. This study establishes the foundation for future research and development in the field of integration assessment.
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Ward van Zoonen, Toni van der Meer and Anu Sivunen
Enterprise social media (ESM) are expressive spaces where users exchange emotional workplace communication. While some studies have explored how positive emotions may be…
Abstract
Purpose
Enterprise social media (ESM) are expressive spaces where users exchange emotional workplace communication. While some studies have explored how positive emotions may be contagious, little research explored the notion that negative communication may accumulate on enterprise social media. This study explores perceived negativity bias and its correlates in the context of ESM.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on survey data collected from 599 employees of a global organization. The response rate was 18.7%. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results contribute to research on ESM by demonstrating that perceived negativity bias is positively related to feelings of accountability and negatively associated with social support. Furthermore, the results indicate that unmet communication expectations on ESM can have implications for perceived social support beyond online contexts and accountability through perceived negativity bias.
Research limitations/implications
The findings demonstrate how employees' unmet expectations about ESM use increase feelings that a digital environment is disproportionately negative, which may create an “unsafe” space for employees and a fear of being held accountable for their contributions. This study highlights how the Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory provides a fruitful framework for studying enterprise social technologies.
Originality/value
This study suggests that work is not merely a rational endeavor, and that emotions and personal feelings (including negative ones) may shape workplace communication on ESM. We contribute to research on ESM use by using the Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory as a lens to study antecedents and implications of perceived negativity bias.
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Armando Calabrese, Antonio D'Uffizi, Nathan Levialdi Ghiron, Luca Berloco, Elaheh Pourabbas and Nathan Proudlove
The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology entails the integration of service design (SD) and action research (AR) methodologies, characterized by iterative phases that systematically alternate between action and reflective processes, fostering cycles of change and learning. Within this framework, stakeholders are engaged through semi-structured interviews, while the existing and envisioned processes are delineated and represented using BPMN 2.0. These methodological steps emphasize the development of an autonomous, patient-centric web application alongside the implementation of an adaptable and patient-oriented scheduling system. Also, business processes simulation is employed to measure key performance indicators of processes and test for potential improvements. This method is implemented in the context of the CP addressing transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), within a publicly funded hospital setting.
Findings
The methodology integrating SD and AR enables the detection of pivotal bottlenecks within diagnostic CPs and proposes optimal corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted patient care, all the while advancing the digitalization of diagnostic CP management. This study contributes to theoretical discussions by emphasizing the criticality of process optimization, the transformative potential of digitalization in healthcare and the paramount importance of user-centric design principles, and offers valuable insights into healthcare management implications.
Originality/value
The study’s relevance lies in its ability to enhance healthcare practices without necessitating disruptive and resource-intensive process overhauls. This pragmatic approach aligns with the imperative for healthcare organizations to improve their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, making the study’s findings relevant.
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