The Impact of e-Government Dynamic Capabilities on Information Flow Strategies in Disaster Relief Supply Chains: An Inter-Organizational System Perspective

History has shown that local, state, and federal governments are not well-equipped with the flexible and responsive abilities necessary to manage the short supply chain life-cycle inherent in providing appropriate disaster relief resources in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, in these unique situations these inefficiencies can cause considerable harm to the citizenry, the financial economy, and the physical infrastructure of the affected area. In this study, we provide an examination of the cross-agency capabilities and relationships that impact the flow of information within disaster relief supply chains. Through an inter-organizational systems approach, a theoretical framework is provided to assess the efficacy of e-government dynamic capabilities in disaster relief supply chains. Future research plans include further developing this conceptual understanding of e-government dynamic capabilities through a qualitative research approach. The results of analyzing the qualitative data will aid in the further development of the proposed research model

Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

The Role of Social Capital on Social Commerce: An Empirical Study of Facebook Users

This study proposes an integrated research model to validate the effects of social capital (e.g., cognitive, relational and structural) on social commerce among Facebook users’ from the perspective of the uses and gratifications (U&G) theory. This study collects 525 valid samples and indicates that social capital significantly and positively influences on social commerce. This study contributes to the research on uses and gratifications (U&G) theory in two different ways. Firstly, it indicates that social capital influences social commerce  activities. Secondly, it validates the roles of social capital in the relationship between social interaction and commerce in Facebook. Keywords: social capital, social commerce, uses and gratification theor

THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON BRAND EVANGELISM IN ONLINE BRAND FAN PAGE: THE ROLE OF PASSIONATE BRAND LOVE

In recent years research studies have tackle the issue of brand fan economy and their behaviours, however little is known about brand evangelism. Given that many consumers are crazy in love with brand fan page on Facebook, understanding how fans behave in brand fan page is crucial in determining brand evangelism. Our main goal is to understand how different dimensions of social capitals in online fan page exert influence on brand love and how the underlying mechanism in turn facilitates consumers to develop brand evangelism. By using partial least square (PLS), the results show that the three dimensions of social capital impose differing effects in influencing the establishment of brand love and its consequent effect on brand evangelistic behaviours in SNS. It is found that relational capital in brand fan page serves as the most influential antecedent to drive brand love. The findings of this study have significant implications to both marketers and researchers

“Will They Merge?” – Financial Event-Related Information Processing in Social Media

A merger is a complex process and for investors it represents a situation of uncertainty on many levels. Investors may engage in online information exchange in order to reduce informational uncertainty. Social media can facilitate effective information exchange among investors. Drawing on the concepts of information processing and sense-making, I investigate information processing activities on blogs related to merger-related uncertainty. Furthermore, I investigate information generation, information depth, and the variety of information provided by blogs related to the completion likelihood of a merger. The analysis shows that financial event-related uncertainty can be related to information processing activities in social media

Twitter tsunami early warning network : a social network analysis of Twitter information flows

In the aftermath of earthquakes, tsunamis, such as the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, caused enormous damage around the world. With the extreme disaster events of the past, nations improved disaster preparedness and response through sensors and tsunami early warning systems. Even with system usage, however, governments still need to warn the targeted citizens &ndash; who may be anywhere within the vulnerable areas &ndash; of predicted tsunami and ordered mass evacuations within a very limited lead time. While social media research is on the rise outside the domain of social networking, very little is written about Twitter use for tsunami early warning. In this research, therefore, we examined the utility of Twitter as a tsunami early warning network, which engages citizens and disaster management agencies in diffusing disaster information. We conducted a social network analysis of Twitter information flows among the central disaster warning agency&rsquo;s Twitter followers during the 2012 Indonesia Earthquake.<br /

An Introduction to Social Networks for Engaging the Community in Climate Policy

A review of the potential role and importance that social networks can play in engaging the community in climate policy and initiatives. View/download https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/Cvitanovicetal2014socialnetworksclimatepolicy.pd