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Article
Publication date: 6 May 2022

Yafei Zhang, Chuqing Dong and Yuan Cheng

This study seeks to understand the communication factors associated with effective social media for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Specifically, the study investigated how…

1014

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to understand the communication factors associated with effective social media for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Specifically, the study investigated how interactive and emotional communication strategies influence public engagement in different ways, and how the effects differ by service-oriented and other types of NPOs.

Design/methodology/approach

Using computer-assisted textual and emotional analyses, the authors examined the functional interactivity, contingency interactivity and emotion elements of 301,559 tweets from the 100 largest US nonprofits. Negative binomial regression was applied to test the relationships among these elements and public engagement on Twitter (i.e. likes and retweets).

Findings

Findings revealed negative effects of functional interactivity on likes, negative effects of contingency interactivity on likes and retweets but a positive effect of functional interactivity on retweets. The findings also showed negative effects of emotion valence on likes and retweets but positive effects of emotion strength on likes and retweets. There were varying effects of interactivity and emotion on public engagement for service-oriented and other types of NPOs.

Originality/value

This study advances the nonprofit social media scholarship in several ways. First, this study suggests a clear yet largely ignored distinction in the effects of functional and contingency interactivity on public engagement. Second, this study is an early attempt to examine the role and impact of emotion elements in nonprofit social media success without downplaying the role of interactivity. Third, this study is one of the earliest attempts to include interaction effects for different types of NPOs. Last, this study contributes to the organizational social media use research by demonstrating the benefits of computer-assisted approaches in processing text data on social media. From a practical perspective, this study provides strategic guidelines for NPOs to design effective communication contents and improve their public engagement on social media.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2017

Yafei Zhang and Li Chen

The purpose of this study is to explore possible factors leading to a successful mediation in Chinese mediation shows. In China, media always play an indispensable role in…

1171

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore possible factors leading to a successful mediation in Chinese mediation shows. In China, media always play an indispensable role in information dissemination, morality advocacy and policy explanation.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employed content analysis of 166 episodes of one representative mediation show, Gold Medal Mediation, and regression technique in data analysis.

Findings

Results of ordinal regression suggested that “secret talking”, rather than transparency, between disputants had significant influence on successful mediation. Function of mediators is limited in reaching full mediation. The effective factors leading to full mediation include compromise of rights, secret talking, attitude of the observer cohort. It suggests that the role of mediator is limited, rather than being over-exaggerated, in successful mediation. The successful mediation is largely dependent on disputants’ motivations. Additionally, “compromise of rights” by disputants is a key factor in solving disputes.

Research limitations/implications

Findings of this study revealed the role of Chinese mediation shows in propagating mediation in contemporary Chinese society and supporting upheld morality values. Due to the nature of the chosen mediation show, some disputes take more than one episode to solve. However, this study looks at each episode without considering the integrity of the dispute. That is, if the disputes take two episodes, the coder codes the two episodes as two separate disputes instead of looking at it as one dispute.

Originality/value

By exploring various aspects of mediations shows, including the role of mediators, disputants and a cohort of observers, this study can both explicitly show predicted factors to successful mediations on the shows, and can implicitly examine the power and perceived justification of mediation in contemporary China via media.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2021

Lu Guan, Yafei Zhang and Jonathan J.H. Zhu

This study examines users' information selection strategy on knowledge-sharing platforms from the individual level, peer level and societal level. Though previous literature has…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines users' information selection strategy on knowledge-sharing platforms from the individual level, peer level and societal level. Though previous literature has explained these three levels separately, few have simultaneously examined their impacts and identified the dominant one according to their effect strengths. The study aims to fill this research gap of the competitions among different levels of information selection mechanisms. Besides, this study also proposes a three-step decision-tree approach to depict the consumption process, including the decision of first-time exposure, the decision of continuous consumption and the decision of feedback behavior participation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyzed a clickstream dataset of a Chinese information technology blogging site, CSDN.net. Employing a sequential logit model, it examined the impacts of self-level interest similarity, peer-level interest similarity and global popularity simultaneously on each turning point in the consumption process.

Findings

The authors’ findings indicate that self-level interest similarity is the most dominant factor influencing users to browse a knowledge-sharing blog, followed by peer-level interest similarity and then global popularity. All three mechanisms have consistent influences on decision-making in continuous information consumption. Surprisingly, the authors find self-level interest similarity negatively influences users to give feedback on knowledge-sharing blogs.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills the research gap of the dominance among three-levels of selection mechanisms. This study's findings not only could contribute to information consumption studies by providing theoretical insights on audience behavior patterns, but also help the industry advance its recommendation algorithm design and improve users' experience satisfaction.

Peer review – The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2020-0475

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2021

Yafei Zhang and Chuqing Dong

This study aims to explore multifaceted corporate social responsibility (CSR) covered in popular English newspapers in the UK, USA, mainland China and Hong Kong from 2000 to 2016…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore multifaceted corporate social responsibility (CSR) covered in popular English newspapers in the UK, USA, mainland China and Hong Kong from 2000 to 2016 via a computer-assisted analytical approach. This study moves the understanding of CSR away from corporate self-reporting to the mass media and raises interesting questions about the role of the news media in presenting CSR as a multifaceted, socially constructed concept.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were retrieved from CSR-related news articles from 2000 to 2016 that were archived in the LexisNexis database. Guided by the theoretical framework of agenda setting, a computer-assisted content analysis (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) was used to analyze 4,487 CSR-related articles from both business and non-business news sources. Analysis of variance was used to compare salient CSR topics in each country/region.

Findings

This study identifies newspapers as an alternate to corporations’ attempts to distribute CSR information and construct CSR meaning. The findings revealed that the news communicates a variety of CSR issues that are aligned or beyond what CSR was defined in corporate CSR reporting, as suggested in previous studies. In addition, CSR news coverages differ between the business and nonbusiness news sources. Furthermore, the media tone of CSR coverage significantly differed across the regions and between the business and nonbusiness newspapers.

Social implications

Emerging topics in CSR news coverage, such as business education, could help companies identify untapped CSR realms in the market.

Originality/value

This study contributes to CSR communication research by adding a non-corporate perspective regarding what CSR means and should be focused on. The news media presents CSR using a heterogeneous approach as they not only provide surface reports on corporations’ CSR activities but also offer in-depth discussions.

Details

Journal of Global Responsibility, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2041-2568

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2020

Shan Lei and Yafei Zhang

This study aims to understand how media content and media sentiment in corporate social responsibility (CSR) news coverage affect investment performance, as reflected in the S&P…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand how media content and media sentiment in corporate social responsibility (CSR) news coverage affect investment performance, as reflected in the S&P 500 Environmental and Socially Responsible Index from 2010 to 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

Computer-assisted content analysis and sentiment analysis are employed to analyze 818 CSR-related newspaper articles from mainstream newspapers. Autoregressive model is used to comprehend socially responsible investment (SRI) performance.

Findings

This study reveals the impact of media content and media sentiment of CSR-related news articles on SRI. The authors’ findings indicate that such topics as recognition of a company's CSR contributions in CSR-related news articles are positively associated with SRI performance, whereas topics such as tax avoidance and environmental protection show a negative relationship with SRI performance. In addition, this study contributes to the authors’ understanding of framing bias in investment by confirming a significant positive association between an uncertain or constraining media sentiment and SRI performance, as well as a negative relationship between a litigious sentiment and SRI performance.

Originality/value

There has been limited attention to examining the effect of media coverage of CSR on the financial market. Since SRI is one of the most useful financial indices for SRIs, it is meaningful to explore the relationship between media coverage of CSR and SRI. To fill the research gap, this study specifically examines how media coverage of CSR-related issues is associated with SRI performance.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2023

Qi Zheng, Chuqing Dong and Yafei Zhang

This study examines how the different attributes of authentic leadership influence trust and employee organization fit and how such influences differ by gender and the level of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines how the different attributes of authentic leadership influence trust and employee organization fit and how such influences differ by gender and the level of positions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a survey to examine US employees' perceptions toward different attributes of authentic leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

The study showed that self-awareness, balanced processing and internalized moral perspective positively relate to trust in the employer, mediated through employee–organization fit. However, relational transparency has a backfiring effect, negatively related to trust through the mediation of employee–organization fit. Additionally, this study highlights the differences in gender and level of positions in reactions to authentic leadership.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of internal public relations in a turbulent crisis time by proposing a mediated model that explains the effects of authentic leadership on employees' trust through their fit with the organization. Additionally, it identified that gender and position level are important factors moderating such effects.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 January 2022

Yafei Zu and Ruonan Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to study enterprise innovation in the perspective of external supplier relationship. On this purpose, this paper examines the impact of supplier…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study enterprise innovation in the perspective of external supplier relationship. On this purpose, this paper examines the impact of supplier change on enterprise innovation with the moderating role of market competition.

Design/methodology/approach

Using 2012–2020 empirical data of Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises, this paper investigates the relationship among supplier change, market competition and enterprise innovation through a two-way interaction model.

Findings

The results show that supplier change has a negative impact on enterprise innovation. And market competition intensifies the negative relationship between supplier change and enterprise innovation. Additional analyses indicate that the main effect and the moderating effect are more significant when the enterprise is non-state-owned or has lower ownership concentration.

Originality/value

This paper studies enterprise innovation from the perspective of external stakeholders. It focuses on supplier relationship in a dynamic variation view, instead of the traditional static ones. Moreover, this paper explores the contingency effect of market competition and gives practical implications for managers to adjust innovation strategy flexibly.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2021

Ying Song, Yi Zhang, Yafei Wang, Bowen Zhang and Jiafu Su

Taking 30 provincial samples from 2001 to 2017 in mainland China as the research objects, this paper aims to evaluate the impact and effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on…

Abstract

Purpose

Taking 30 provincial samples from 2001 to 2017 in mainland China as the research objects, this paper aims to evaluate the impact and effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the urban–rural income gap and reveals heterogeneity across regions.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, the Theil index is used to measure the income gap between 30 provinces in mainland China from 2001 to 2017, then the spatial econometric model is used to empirically test the impact of foreign direct investment on China’s urban–rural income gap and its heterogeneity across regions. Finally, a robustness test is performed.

Findings

The results show that there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between FDI and the urban–rural income gap in China. That is, FDI expands the urban–rural income gap in the short term and helps to converge it in the long term. In the eastern region, FDI has a convergence effect on the urban–rural income gap in the short term, which increases the long term. However, in the central and western regions, the relationship between FDI and urban–rural income gap has a weak inverted U shape.

Originality/value

By assessing the impact of FDI on the urban–rural income gap, this work provides decision-making support for China and other developing countries to improve investment policies and income distribution policies.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 December 2023

Yafei Feng, Yan Zhang and Lifu Li

The privacy calculus based on a single stakeholder failed to explain users' co-owned information disclosure owing to the uniqueness of co-owned information. Drawing on collective…

Abstract

Purpose

The privacy calculus based on a single stakeholder failed to explain users' co-owned information disclosure owing to the uniqueness of co-owned information. Drawing on collective privacy calculus theory and impression management theory, this study attempts to explore the co-owned information disclosure of social network platform users from a collective perspective rather than an individual perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on collective privacy calculus theory and impression management theory, this study explores the co-owned information disclosure of social network platform users from a collective perspective rather than an individual perspective based on a survey of 740 respondents.

Findings

This study finds that self-presentation and others presentation directly positively affect users' co-owned information disclosure. Also, self-presentation, others presentation and relationship presentation indirectly positively affect users' co-owned information disclosure via relationship support. Furthermore, personal privacy concern, others' privacy concern and relationship privacy concern indirectly negatively affect users' co-owned information disclosure via relationship risk.

Originality/value

The findings develop the theory of collective privacy calculus and impression management, which offer insights into the design of the collective privacy protection function of social network platform service providers.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2022

Xiangfei Zeng, Ting Zhang and Yafei Zu

This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual…

1003

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual analysis, based on the empirical data of Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2010 to 2018. Additional analyses further investigate the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity on the relationship between management control matching type and strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method system with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical reference for the matching mode of dual control.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the text analysis method. The main explanatory variables are analyzed using the computer SQL Server database software through the relevant text of the board of directors report in the company annual report. Other financial data came from the CSMAR database, excluding ST and PT and companies with missing data, and 16,902 samples were finally obtained. This paper conducted statistical analysis through Stata12.

Findings

This paper shows that the matching pattern between formal and informal control is divided into three types. They have different impacts on strategy aggressiveness. Specifically, consistent matching type II significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of offensive strategy. Consistent matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of defensive strategy. Complementary matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of analytical strategy. Additional analyses find that compared with non-high-tech companies, high-tech companies have more significant influence on the relationship between management control matching pattern and company strategic aggressiveness. And compared with other two “strategy-control” matching patterns, both environmental uncertainty and product innovation have more significant influence on the relationship between consistent matching II and offensive strategy aggressiveness.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper divides the formal and informal control matching patterns of management control into three categories for the first time. It examines the relationship between the formal and informal control matching of management accounting and the degree of strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion provides new empirical evidence to promote the effective implementation of development strategies for companies. It can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method systems with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical references for the matching mode of dual control.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

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