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1 – 10 of over 4000José M. Ponzoa, Andrés Gómez and Ramón Arilla
This study aims to develop a proprietary indicator to measure the digital presence of the institutions: the digital presence index.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a proprietary indicator to measure the digital presence of the institutions: the digital presence index.
Design/methodology/approach
This research delves into how nonprofit institutions, specifically business interest associations (BIAs), have developed their internet presence by applying essential digital marketing techniques. To this end, and using big data mining tools, this study analyzes the tracking by internet users of 102 BIAs, with their respective websites in 36 countries in Europe and the USA. In addition, the presence and activity of the institutions included in this study on social networks are considered.
Findings
This research serves as a basis for discussing the current gap between social reality and the digitalization of institutions. In this sense, conclusions are drawn on the importance of managerial profiles in decision-making on digitization and the necessary knowledge that, together with Web and social network managers, they must have to articulate the means and techniques that promote the internet presence of the organizations they manage.
Originality/value
Conclusions are drawn according to the geographical scope of the BIAs, and an argument is made about the difficulties of connection and loss of prominence of this type of institutions among their different target audiences, especially among the youngest and most digitized.
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This study aims to examine digital consumer culture and behavior in the community, namely, 180° Movement Digital Training Center (DTC), in Jakarta, Indonesia. It aims to describe…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine digital consumer culture and behavior in the community, namely, 180° Movement Digital Training Center (DTC), in Jakarta, Indonesia. It aims to describe the dynamics of digital consumer culture in contemporary society, particularly as experienced by the youth community in Jakarta in the context of socio-technology relations and incorporates it into the diagram of digital consumer culture network.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a constructivist qualitative approach and socio-technical relation analysis through actor-network theory and digital consumer culture.
Findings
The study finds that the individual model of digital consumption is constructed through the process of problematization, interessement, enrollment and mobilization of individuals. It generates a culture in which consumers are constantly up to date with high-intensity information, but within increasingly shorter timeframes, while also considering principles of affordability, needs, desires and satisfaction. The network of digital consumer culture construction among informants is peculiar and unstable.
Research limitations/implications
The study of digital consumer culture within the 180° Movement DTC community highlights how consumer behaviors of its members are facilitated and interconnected within a digital cultural network. However, this research is constrained by the dialectical interplay between Christian principles and the emerging values of consumer culture, a result of the scarcity of theoretical resources and information. This study also provides a specific contribution as a foundation for mapping the volatile digital consumer culture for researchers.
Practical implications
Understanding the socio-technological relationships and consumption behavior of the youth community could help digital platforms tailor their services more effectively. It could also guide the 180° Movement DTC in developing programs that resonate with the youth, bridging the gap between the physical and virtual realms. Ultimately, this could lead to a more engaged and digitally literate society.
Social implications
This study contributes to a broader societal understanding of how digital technology is shaping consumer behavior and identity within youth communities, which can influence social dynamics and interactions. It provides insights into the potential social impacts of digital technology, such as changes in relationships, communication patterns and self-perception, informing societal discourse on digital culture.
Originality/value
In addition to presenting socio-technological analysis on Indonesian consumer culture using actor-network theory, some also show that studies on digital connectivity ambivalence that concern the relationship between humans as actors and non-humans as actors have become one of the popular sociology studies at present.
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At the beginning of the 21st century, a new class of information workers, the “information have-less” has risen. This class of workers alleviates the influence of information and…
Abstract
Purpose
At the beginning of the 21st century, a new class of information workers, the “information have-less” has risen. This class of workers alleviates the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) revolution on poverty and unemployment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of this class of workers in Egypt and assess the size and potential growth of this category of workers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study clarifies the conceptual framework of the new division of labor, in the information age. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Information and Decision Support Center websites provided secondary data for this study. These data are used to assess the size of “the information have less” in Egypt.
Findings
The division of work and class, in the 21st century, depends on the level of skills possessed to work with ICTs. So, class and labor nowadays could be divided into self-programmable labor (Innovators). Information have-less labor class, adding value to the economy by learning skills and presenting repetitive work. Generic labor class, who cannot work with ICTs, and work in jobs, that do not need computers or other ICTs. The study has shown that the “information have-less” labor class is present in Egypt since the beginning of the 21st century, in all its categories; entrepreneurism, the service sector and the manufacturing sector. There are approximately 50% of this labor class in the service sector and only 13% of the information have-less works in manufacturing sector despite the great opportunities that Egypt has to expand manufacturing to absorb more employment. The inclusion of information technology (IT), in all domains, has not decreased employment in Western countries but has reallocated information have-less employment toward the service sector, and there would probably be the same effect in Egypt.
Practical implications
The study highlights the need for Egyptian policymakers to encourage the manufacturing and service sectors to provide huge working opportunities. The Egyptian government has to change the educational policies, at all stages, to include digital learning skills so IT can be incorporated in a wide range of economic activities. Further research includes: conducting a survey to measure the contribution of the entrepreneurial part of the information have-less employment in Egypt. In addition, a model may be developed, by the researcher to examine the reallocation of employees in Egypt.
Originality/value
Studying employment, in Egypt, using the conceptual framework of the information age is rarely being done.
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Minghuan Shou, Furong Jia and Jie Yu
The aging population, a higher proportion of older adults (aged 65+), is considered a global and severe problem, while the information systems (IS) literature on detecting the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aging population, a higher proportion of older adults (aged 65+), is considered a global and severe problem, while the information systems (IS) literature on detecting the relationship between the aging population and the development of electronic commerce (e-commerce) is limited and insufficient. Hence, the main objective of this paper is to examine whether an aging population can moderate the effect of infrastructure constructions on e-commerce sales and whether an aging population can affect e-commerce sales.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate the relationship between the aging population and e-commerce sales, this study proposes two potential influential mechanisms: moderating the effects of infrastructure development on e-commerce sales and direct influence. Subsequently, a sample of 31 Chinese provinces from 2013 to 2019 is utilized to conduct regression analyses in order to examine these hypotheses.
Findings
The findings suggest that the development of urban transportation infrastructure and network constructions can significantly contribute to the enhancement of e-commerce sales, and the influence cannot be affected by aging population. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that an aging population can have a positive effect on e-commerce sales.
Practical implications
The findings can inform future infrastructure constructions by assessing the potential of infrastructure projects to boost e-commerce sales and examining whether this effect varies in an aging population context.
Originality/value
The findings substantiate the pivotal role of older adults in the e-commerce industry. Moreover, the obtained results establish a positive relationship between an aging population and e-commerce sales, thereby offering diverse perspectives on existing theories.
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Giulia Monteverde and Andrea Runfola
This paper aims to integrate the consumption perspective within the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) debate. The study delves into how consumer communities can be…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to integrate the consumption perspective within the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) debate. The study delves into how consumer communities can be conceived like other network business actors. The perspective of sustainable new ventures (SNVs) in the fashion industry is adopted, considering their specific connection with consumer communities.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a multiple case study methodology, this paper uses a qualitative approach. Data collection mainly relies on interviews conducted with 10 SNVs in the fashion industry; this sector is a fertile ground for studying sustainability and consumer communities. For data analysis, the abductive approach of systematic combining is applied.
Findings
The paper identifies four distinct types of consumer communities and four roles that they can assume as business actors in the business network. Owing to their engagement in these specific roles, consumer communities become part of the SNVs’ network, akin to other business-to-business players.
Originality/value
This study represents one of the initial endeavors to introduce consumption into the IMP theoretical framework. In this paper’s conceptualization, consumer communities are groups of consumers and collective actors in the business network. Additionally, this study advances the research on sustainability as a network concept by including consumer communities’ roles in business networks.
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This article conceptualizes and constructs a comprehensive framework that can better help to answer that question – Who is accountable for social and public problems? …
Abstract
Purpose
This article conceptualizes and constructs a comprehensive framework that can better help to answer that question – Who is accountable for social and public problems? – theoretically and practically.
Design/methodology/approach
Tracing the drivers behind two phenomena “accountability hole” and “accountability black hole”, stemming from “pushing power game” and “pulling power game”, respectively, this study considers (1) the three actors of society: citizens (civil society), corporations (market) and civil servants (government), and (2) the principal-agent relationship between the three actors in the face of social and public problems. As a result, the 4CAs framework that contains the three actors’ collaborative accountabilities to one another is presented.
Findings
The 4CAs model emphasizes (1) all three actors function as agents that are accountable to one another, (2) collaborative accountability beyond collaborative governance and (3) repowering citizens and corporations beyond just empowering them, i.e. returning their inherent rights and obligations to serve one another.
Originality/value
The 4CAs model may function as a descriptive and prescriptive lens through which the trilemma between market failure, government failure and citizen failure can be re-assessed and balanced. The model can also be used as a set of indicators for assessing and helping a society to better resolve the social and public problems collectively.
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Zhiqin Lu, Peng Li, Qinghai Li and Heng Zhang
This paper according to the logic of the “digital access divide--digital capability divide--digital outcome divide” aims to systematically discuss the impact of the digital divide…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper according to the logic of the “digital access divide--digital capability divide--digital outcome divide” aims to systematically discuss the impact of the digital divide on individual happiness in China, accounting for the variations that exist across different groups, as well as the corresponding mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents cross-sectional analyses of the relationship between the digital divide and individual happiness in China. The analyses are based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2017, which academic institutions run on the Chinese Mainland. This database contains information on respondents' Internet access, skills and consequences of use, which can measure the digital divide of Chinese individuals at three levels.
Findings
First, individual happiness declined when they experienced the digital access divide in China. For the digital capability divide, the lower the usage skills, the more individual happiness declined. When analyzing the digital outcome divide, the greater the negative consequences, the more individual happiness declined. Second, the impacts of digital access, capability and outcome divide vary according to age, gender, education degrees, hukou, region and sub-dimensions. Third, the digital access and capability divide reduce individuals' happiness by lowering their self-rated social and economic status, whereas the digital outcome divide reduce individual happiness by lowering their fairness perception and social trust.
Originality/value
The authors believe that this is the first study to examine the impact and its variations among different groups of the three-level digital divide on individual happiness, as well as its mechanisms.
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Abdulmuttalip Pilatin, Ali Hepşen and Onur Kayran
This study aims to reveal whether social capital has an effect on the housing price index in Turkey, which is a developing country. The research was carried out by using the data…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to reveal whether social capital has an effect on the housing price index in Turkey, which is a developing country. The research was carried out by using the data on the basis of 81 provinces of Turkey in a 12-year period covering the years 2007–2018.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were subjected to panel data regression analysis and the related models were tested using the Driscoll-Kraay (1998) Estimator.
Findings
According to the results of the analysis, it was understood that there is a negative and significant relationship between social capital (SC1) and the housing price index. The results were corroborated by susceptibility testing. As the level of social capital rises in the provinces in Turkey, the manipulative and opportunistic behavior tendencies of individual and corporate house sellers decrease. These results support the principal–agent theory and theory of moral hazard, which constitute the theoretical background of the study.
Originality/value
No study has been found in the literature on the effect of social capital on housing prices. This situation constitutes the main motivation source of the study and shows its originality.
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Bülent Doğan, Yavuz Selim Balcioglu and Meral Elçi
This study aims to elucidate the dynamics of social media discourse during global health events, specifically investigating how users across different platforms perceive, react to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to elucidate the dynamics of social media discourse during global health events, specifically investigating how users across different platforms perceive, react to and engage with information concerning such crises.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach was employed, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection. Initially, thematic analysis was applied to a data set of social media posts across four major platforms over a 12-month period. This was followed by sentiment analysis to discern the predominant emotions embedded within these communications. Statistical tools were used to validate findings, ensuring robustness in the results.
Findings
The results showcased discernible thematic and emotional disparities across platforms. While some platforms leaned toward factual information dissemination, others were rife with user sentiments, anecdotes and personal experiences. Overall, a global sense of concern was evident, but the ways in which this concern manifested varied significantly between platforms.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation is the potential non-representativeness of the sample, as only four major social media platforms were considered. Future studies might expand the scope to include emerging platforms or non-English language platforms. Additionally, the rapidly evolving nature of social media discourse implies that findings might be time-bound, necessitating periodic follow-up studies.
Practical implications
Understanding the nature of discourse on various platforms can guide health organizations, policymakers and communicators in tailoring their messages. Recognizing where factual information is required, versus where sentiment and personal stories resonate, can enhance the efficacy of public health communication strategies.
Social implications
The study underscores the societal reliance on social media for information during crises. Recognizing the different ways in which communities engage with, and are influenced by, platform-specific discourse can help in fostering a more informed and empathetic society, better equipped to handle global challenges.
Originality/value
This research is among the first to offer a comprehensive, cross-platform analysis of social media discourse during a global health event. By comparing user engagement across platforms, it provides unique insights into the multifaceted nature of public sentiment and information dissemination during crises.
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The primary objectives of this article are to systematically explore whether and how certain WeChat use motives could lead to bridging social capital, bonding social capital and…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objectives of this article are to systematically explore whether and how certain WeChat use motives could lead to bridging social capital, bonding social capital and civic engagement among young people.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected from a large-scale online survey of 1208 young people in mainland China. Zero-order correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were carried out to examine the corresponding hypotheses.
Findings
Obtained findings show that WeChat use for informational and social motivations are positively associated with bonding and bridging social capital. Moreover, bonding social capital could mediate the relationship between WeChat usage for informational and relational motivations and civic engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this article underlines the unique social and technological affordances of WeChat by exploring mobile social media use and how it would contribute to the quality of democracy by fostering young people's engagement in civic life. Practically, bridging and bonding social capital play significant roles in enhancing young people's civic engagement, which could be the meaningful resource for mobile social media designers, managers and government officials.
Originality/value
These obtained outcomes underlined the vital role of these newly emerging communication technologies in fostering democratic involvement and production of social capital in contemporary socially networked society.
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