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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

XiaoMing Zhou, Qi Song, Yu-yin Li, Huimin Tan and Hang Zhou

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of the information value of enterprises’ micro-blogs, drawing on the consumer’s perspective. This paper examines the…

3724

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of the information value of enterprises’ micro-blogs, drawing on the consumer’s perspective. This paper examines the effects of such information value on consumers’ purchase intention through the building of online brand equity. The paper also investigates how perceived usefulness intervenes in the relationship between micro-blog information value and consumer purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed research model is examined empirically using a survey of 315 users of the Sina micro-blog. The statistical analysis applies a method based on variance using partial least squares.

Findings

The results show that online retailers’ micro-blog posts, which are characterized by informativeness and persuasiveness as perceived by customers, positively impact online retailers’ brand equity, which in turn influences consumer purchase intention. In addition, perceived information usefulness is found to be an important contextual factor that moderates the relationship between perceived persuasiveness and online retailer brand equity.

Originality/value

This work adds significance to the literature by extending the research on micro-blog marketing and also provides practical recommendations for online retailers on the operation of micro-blogs.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2013

Chin‐Lung Hsu, Judy Chuan‐Chuan Lin and Hsiu‐Sen Chiang

Blogging has become part of a consumer's decision making process when shopping online; however, the understanding of blog recommendation's effect on consumer purchase decision is…

32659

Abstract

Purpose

Blogging has become part of a consumer's decision making process when shopping online; however, the understanding of blog recommendation's effect on consumer purchase decision is still vague. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the blog reader's trusting belief in the blogger is significant in relation to the perceived usefulness of the blogger's recommendations; and how the blog reader's perceptions influence his/her attitude and purchasing behavior online. The moderating effect of blogger's reputation on readers’ purchasing intentions is also tested.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on various theories, a model was proposed in this study. A survey involving 327 blog readers as participants was analyzed in the empirical study to investigate whether the usefulness of bloggers’ recommendations and trusting beliefs toward blogger had influence on consumers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions toward online shopping.

Findings

The results indicated that perceived usefulness of bloggers’ recommendations and trust had significant influential effect on blog users’ attitude towards and intention to shop online. Moreover, the findings showed that different determinants affected the users of perceived‐high‐reputation and perceived‐low‐reputation blogs.

Originality/value

The findings suggest bloggers’ electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) to be a promising marketing strategy for increasing sales. The marketers should provide free trial products and services to the perceived‐high‐reputation bloggers who, as valued opinion leaders, will influence and prompt others to shop online through a trusting effect. As for perceived‐low‐reputation bloggers, the marketing strategists should strive to emphasize the usefulness of products and services being marketed, so these perceived‐low‐reputation bloggers can focus more on describing the advantages and benefits of products or services discussed in their blogs.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2018

Patrick van Esch, Denni Arli, Jenny Castner, Nabanita Talukdar and Gavin Northey

Reports show that 6.77m people published blogs on blogging websites and more than 12m people write blogs using their social network. However, few studies have explored consumer…

4121

Abstract

Purpose

Reports show that 6.77m people published blogs on blogging websites and more than 12m people write blogs using their social network. However, few studies have explored consumer attitudes toward bloggers and their advertising. Therefore, an effort to discover how paid blog advertisements influence consumer attitudes toward bloggers and the products they advertise will help marketers gain an understanding of how to use bloggers as paid sponsors to influence consumer purchase intent. Using online survey approach, a study recruited participants (n=210) through an online survey platform (MTurk). The results indicated that the similarity between the consumer and the ad creator is an important psychological reason why consumers are more likely to perceive advertisements as more authentic, more affective, less deceptive and more credible, and they are thus more likely to trust the blogger. On the other hand, the importance of ad attribute (authenticity) does not significantly influence consumers’ intention to purchase products advertised by a blogger. As consumers are becoming more skeptical of advertisements, blogs need to be entertaining and a pleasure to view. Not only does the content need to be interesting, the design, flow and clarity of the blogs must also be considered important factors. In addition, advertising needs to be believable, credible and honest. In the online world, trust and credibility are still paramount in attracting consumers’ engagement; hence, promoting companies’ products and services through blogs can be an effective strategy to lower consumer skepticism barriers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants answered questions about their attitudes toward bloggers and their advertising when purchasing products in an online retail environment. Furthermore, participants also answered questions about their perceived trust in the bloggers themselves as well as the authenticity and credibility of the brand-related communication received from bloggers. Moreover, they reported on their attitudes toward how deceptive they considered bloggers and their advertising to be. Finally, participants reported how paid blog advertisements influence their purchase intent.

Findings

Similarity toward the ad creator is an important psychological reason behind consumers’ attitude toward blogs. Consumers who follow a blog often have the same interests and are thus more likely to support bloggers. This idea can be used as a segmentation strategy to reach particular consumers. Consumers who perceive similarity with the ad creator are more likely to recognize the ads as more authentic, affective, credible and trustworthy as well as less deceptive, regarding the blogger. Blogs need to be entertaining and a pleasure to view. Not only does the content need to be interesting but the design, flow and clarity of the blog are also important factors. Blog advertising needs to be believable, credible and honest. In the online world, trust and credibility are still paramount in attracting consumers’ engagement with the website, bloggers or social media.

Originality/value

Trust in the blogger did not influence consumers’ purchase intent; however, it did influence their attitude toward how similar they are with the blogger. In an online shopping environment, the human touch and personal contact between consumers and retailers has been lost. Consumers often leave the online transaction due to a lack of trust. Therefore, bloggers can be replacements for the missing “salesperson” in online interactions. Companies can use bloggers as the mediating person to reach their intended audiences, bridging the gap between the company and consumers.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 36 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2011

Anders D. Olofsson, J. Ola Lindberg and Trond Eiliv Hauge

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of blogs as part of a formative assessment practice, to report how reflective peer‐to‐peer learning can be designed and provided in…

2537

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of blogs as part of a formative assessment practice, to report how reflective peer‐to‐peer learning can be designed and provided in online higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The research relies on a qualitative approach. The empirical setting comprised an online higher education course in which 23 students were enrolled. All students wrote individual blogs, and the analysis was done using all postings and comments from the blogs. For the analysis the ICE (Ideas, Connections, and Extension) three level classification model was used.

Findings

The designed blog exercise turned into an informal and formative type of assessment that scaffolds the students' learning, providing a reflective peer‐to‐peer technology‐enhanced learning design.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to one online higher education course. Additional research on educational technology and e‐assessment is needed. In particular, research on the informed design of technology‐enhanced learning practices characterized by formative e‐assessment and the role of the designed use of blogs in the facilitating and enhancement of the students' peer‐to‐peer learning.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates that the design and use of blogs embrace a formative assessment approach that cultivates the students' reflective peer‐to‐peer learning.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight into the designed use of blogs in online higher education together with the potential in formative assessment for learning. The ICE three‐level classification model provides a dynamic possibility to analyze online higher educational practices.

Details

Campus-Wide Information Systems, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-0741

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2011

Jeffery L. Wilson

The purpose of this research is to investigate the increasing use of online communication for sharing knowledge by examining what bloggers on an online academic newspaper have to…

411

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate the increasing use of online communication for sharing knowledge by examining what bloggers on an online academic newspaper have to say about diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

Ten diversity blogs from a popular online academic newspaper, The Chronicle of Higher Education, were analyzed for content to understand the extent to which bloggers responded to blogs related to diversity.

Findings

This study offers a glimpse about blogging posts as it relates to diversity and how individuals respond to the content of these diversity blogs. Some blogs took on a confrontational tone while others sought to engage and educate.

Originality/value

While research on technology is ongoing, the degree to which scholars discuss diversity with peers in an online format is relatively limited.

Details

Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-497X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2010

Tai‐Li Wang

The blogging phenomenon has become a primary mode of mainstream communication for the Web 2.0 era. While previous studies found that campaign web sites did not realise two‐way…

1112

Abstract

Purpose

The blogging phenomenon has become a primary mode of mainstream communication for the Web 2.0 era. While previous studies found that campaign web sites did not realise two‐way communication ideals, the current study aims to investigate potential differences in communication patterns between campaign blogs and web sites during Taiwan's 2008 general election, with the aim of exploring whether the blogging phenomenon can improve the process of online political communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a content analysis approach, the web style analysis method, which was designed specifically for analysing web content, and applied it to an online campaign context in a different political culture, using Taiwan's general election as a case study.

Findings

Results indicated that the themes of both campaign blogs and web sites focused on “attacking opponents” rather than focusing on political policies or information on particular issues. However, campaign blogs and web sites significantly differed in all other dimensions, including structural features, functions, interactivity and appeal strategies. Overall, in terms of the online democratic ideal, campaign blogs appeared to allow more democratic, broader, deeper and easier two‐way communication models between candidates and voters or among voters.

Research limitations/implications

The current study focused on candidates' blogs and web sites and did not explore the other vast parts of the online political sphere, particularly independent or citizen‐based blogs, which play significant roles in the decentralised and participant‐networked public spheres.

Originality/value

The study illuminates the role of hyperlinks on campaign blogs. By providing a greater abundance of external links than campaign web sites, campaign blogs allowed more voters, especially younger ones, to share political information in a manner that is quite different from the traditional one‐way communication model. The paper also argues that interactivity measures should be incorporated into the web style analysis method.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2013

Jenny Bronstein

The aim of this study is to investigate the creation of a virtual presence in personal blogs through self‐presentation and self‐disclosure. Five elements of self‐presentation and…

3481

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the creation of a virtual presence in personal blogs through self‐presentation and self‐disclosure. Five elements of self‐presentation and self‐disclosure were examined: the way bloggers present themselves in their blogs; the degree and frequency of disclosure of personal information in the blogs; the feelings or reactions bloggers have when posting or receiving a comment; the significance blogs have in the bloggers' lives; and the subjects bloggers write about in their blogs.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was designed for the study and 90 bloggers from six Latin American countries who maintain a personal blog participated in the study. In the first phase a statistical analysis yielded quantifiable demographic data about the participants, the personal information they disclose in their blogs, and statistical data on feelings involved in blogging. In the second phase a content analysis examined the bloggers' textual answers using open coding.

Findings

Findings show that bloggers created a virtual presence in their blogs perceived as a “protected space”. Bloggers reported feeling satisfied and drained when posting a new comment in their blog. Bloggers in this study described their blogs as being a part of their selves, a communication tool, a writing tool and their favourite hobby.

Originality/value

This study is relevant to the field of information behaviour because it provides an example of the fulfillment of different information needs through the creation of a virtual presence on a blog and examines the dichotomy present in blogging between the private and the public spheres.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 65 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2011

Reijo Savolainen

The major aim of this study is to find out whether people articulate their information needs and provide information to others differently in online sites of various types, more…

2446

Abstract

Purpose

The major aim of this study is to find out whether people articulate their information needs and provide information to others differently in online sites of various types, more specifically, blogs and internet discussion forums.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the analysis of ten blogs and 40 threads of Suomi24, a Finnish internet discussion forum. The blogs and discussion threads focus on the same topic, that is, coping with depression. For the study, 1,044 blog postings, 1,727 bloggers' and blog readers' comments and 1,236 messages written by the discussion forum participants were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The bloggers, blog readers and discussion group participants mainly articulated needs related to getting an opinion or evaluation of an issue, while needs for factual information and procedural information about possible ways of action were presented less frequently. Information provision drew strongly on the use of personal knowledge. There were no remarkable differences between the types of online sites with regard to the articulation of information needs and using sources for providing information to others.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on the analysis of a limited number of Finnish blogs and discussion threads in the field of coping with depression. Thus, the findings cannot be generalized to all online forums of these kinds.

Practical implications

Blogs and internet discussion forums provide useful sites to pose questions for online contributors and to get opinions as well as factual information about the ways to cope with depression.

Originality/value

The study is unique in that it compares information needs and information provision in online sites of various types.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 67 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2009

Barrie Gunter

The purpose of this paper is to show how blogging has grown as an online phenomenon.

2851

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how blogging has grown as an online phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

Examines the way that blogs have become a phenomenon that embrace private authors who go online to write personal diaries through to representatives from different types of commercial, political and voluntary organisations who utilise them for a range of information exchange, debating, promotional and support purposes.

Findings

As blogging grows as an online phenomenon its impact in areas such as news, politics, and social networking is being taken ever more seriously. While the internet has been held up by governments as holding great economic and political promise, acting as a vehicle that can enhance public services, empower and engage citizens, and trigger new ways of doing business, the reality in terms of how it is actually applied can be poles apart from the ideal.

Originality/value

The paper provides an overview of blogging and introduces the papers in this special issue.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 61 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Iina Hellsten and Eleftheria Vasileiadou

Research into the emergence of a hype requires a mixed methods approach that takes into account both the evolution over time and mutual influences across different types of media…

Abstract

Purpose

Research into the emergence of a hype requires a mixed methods approach that takes into account both the evolution over time and mutual influences across different types of media. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodological approach to detect an emerging hype in online communications.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time series modelling and semantic co-word networks, and this combination of methods provides a view on the emergence and development of a hype at the level of mutual influences across a heterogeneous set of newspaper and blog data. The subject scope of the paper is the climategate hype. The climategate hype was triggered by the online publication of a set of hacked e-mails belonging to climate researchers at the East Anglia University in November 2009.

Findings

The main findings show that the climategate hype was initiated in the blogs, and the newspapers were reacting to the blogs. At the level of semantics, the blogs and the newspapers framed the issue from opposite perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

The combination of methods contributes theoretical insights to how blogs interact with more traditional media on hype generation and methodological insights to internet researchers investigating emergent online hypes. The method calls for further validation.

Practical implications

Investigating the emergence and evolution of a hype, and the interaction of the two media is relevant for journalists in becoming more reflexive in their practices and the cues from the outside world.

Originality/value

The paper is novel in its combination of the two specific methods, ARIMA time series modelling and co-word networks and its attempt to identify the media origins of a hype, and especially the interaction between blogs and newspapers.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

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