A Conceptual Framework of Reverse Logistics Impact on Firm Performance

This study aims to examine the reverse logistics factors that impact upon firm performance. We review reverse logistics factors under three research streams: (a) resource-based view of the firm, including: Firm strategy, Operations management, and Customer loyalty (b) relational theory, including: Supply chain efficiency, Supply chain collaboration, and institutional theory, including: Government support and Cultural alignment. We measured firm performance with 5 measures: profitability, cost, innovativeness, perceived competitive advantage, and perceived customer satisfaction. We discuss implications for research, policy and practice

Shedding Light on Participation in Open Government Arenas: Determinants of Platform Activity of Web and App Users

This article develops and tests a model to explain web-based and mobile devices usage by citizens to interact with their local government. By employing literature from diverse fields of information systems research, the authors derive an integrated model that investigates citizen participation on a city improvement platform. The model proposes three overall influences on platform activity: technological influences (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness), motivational influences (intrinsic motivation and prosocial motivation), and socio-demographic influences (gender, age, education), and is tested among two groups of users (i.e. web page and mobile app users). Empirical results show that platform activity of both web and mobile users is mainly driven by intrinsic and prosocial motivation. Whereas perceived usefulness is positively associated with platform behavior of web users, TAM variables have not effect on mobile users’ activity. While gender and age play a role regarding web activity, age and education influence mobile participation

Investigating the effect of media synchronicity in professional use of video conferencing applications

Thomas, M. A., Sandhu, R. K., Oliveira, A., & Oliveira, T. (2023). Investigating the effect of media synchronicity in professional use of video conferencing applications. Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-12-2021-0887---Funding: This work was supported by national funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) under the project - UIDB/04152/2020 - Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC).Abstract Purpose This research aims to gain a holistic understanding of how video conferencing (VC) apps' media characteristics influence individuals' perceptions of VC apps and, ultimately, their use and continued use in professional settings. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual research model is developed by integrating constructs from media synchronicity theory (MST), social presence theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model, as well as ubiquity, technicality and perceived fees. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to empirically test the conceptual model using data collected from 252 working professionals from the European Union. Findings The results reveal that while performance expectancy (PE) and facilitating conditions (FC) are fundamental to VC app use, these factors alone do not explain the use and continuing use of VC apps in the professional context. Media characteristics that include synchronicity, social presence, and ubiquity are equally crucial to professionals using VC apps. It also confirms the moderating effect of convergence on the relationship between synchronicity and PE and the moderating effect of technicality and perceived fees on the relationship between ubiquity and FC. Originality/value For researchers, the study offers insights into the extent to which technological and socially derived characteristics of VC apps influence the routine tasks undertaken by professionals in virtual work settings. For practitioners, recommendations pivotal to the use of VC apps are presented to promote higher acceptance and improved well-being of the professional workforce.authorsversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Internet Information and Communication Behavior during a Political Moment: The Iraq War, March 2003

This article explores the Internet as a resource for political information and communication in March 2003, when American troops were first sent to Iraq, offering us a unique setting of political context, information use, and technology. Employing a national survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life project. We examine the political information behavior of the Internet respondents through an exploratory factor analysis; analyze the effects of personal demographic attributes and political attitudes, traditional and new media use, and technology on online behavior through multiple regression analysis; and assess the online political information and communication behavior of supporters and dissenters of the Iraq War. The factor analysis suggests four factors: activism, support, information seeking, and communication. The regression analysis indicates that gender, political attitudes and beliefs, motivation, traditional media consumption, perceptions of bias in the media, and computer experience and use predict online political information behavior, although the effects of these variables differ for the four factors. The information and communication behavior of supporters and dissenters of the Iraq War differed significantly. We conclude with a brief discussion of the value of "interdisciplinary poaching" for advancing the study of Internet information practices

The development of IT identity due to social media use : antecedents and impact on computer-based office work during COVID-19 pandemic

IT identity is a relatively new concept in the area of Management Information Systems (MIS). Its importance has become increasingly pronounced as identity is one of the predictors of human behavior. At the same time, understanding the behavior of individuals when using information technology (IT) in the workplace represents the link between technology investments and increased performance through IT. In this respect, one of the most used communication technologies recently, social media, allows individuals to extensively experience different facets of their identities. The overall objective of this thesis is to understand the development of IT identity due to social media use and assess its impact on computer-based office work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three specific objectives were defined for this purpose. Thus, the thesis is structured in three papers that sought to respond to each of the specific objectives, which are: (i) identify the possible antecedents of the development of IT identity due to social media use, (ii) the connection between them and the three reflective dimensions that constitute the identity of IT and, finally, (iii) the impact of IT identity due to the use of social media in the organizational scope. The first paper is a theoretical study and proposes the adaptation and expansion of Carter's original theoretical model (2012) from the theoretical instances related to this technology and that can influence the development of IT identity due to social media use. As a result, a conceptual model was developed. Ten propositions related to the concepts derived from the literature and inserted in three main instances of IT identity development were presented due to the use of social media. The empirical investigation of the relationship between the antecedents of the model proposed in the first paper and the three dimensions of IT identity began in the second article of the thesis. For this purpose, a netnography was proposed and executed between 2019 and 2021. One of the paper's findings indicated that the frequency of use of WhatsApp can lead to precipitation of the most strongly polarized behavior and that one of the reflective dimensions of IT identity, relatedness with WhatsApp, can play a preponderant role in the precipitation of such behavior. From this result, in paper 3, a quantitative and exploratory study, based on duality theory, sought to develop and test hypotheses about how IT identity concerning social media can benefit, but at the same time bring negative consequences for computer-based office workers in the current period of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this, a model was proposed showing the relationship between the dimensions of IT identity and four facets of the so-called New Ways of Working. Among the study's findings, it was verified that IT identity in relation to social media platforms could be a positive factor in preserving the cohesion of employees professional identity since feelings of affinity and emotional energy in relation to these technologies favored access to organizational knowledge and colleagues when working remotely. This thesis can contribute to expanding Carter's (2012) model to contemplate a class of IT as social media is constituted (paper 1). In turn, the expansion of the original model can potentially contribute to broadening the understanding of this technology's role in fostering polarized behavior in the use of WhatsApp, one of the most used social media these times(paper 2). Finally, in the third paper, the indication that the frequency of WhatsApp use may be associated with a strong IT identity about this technology (verified in paper 2) led to the proposition of a model to empirically test how the three dimensions of IT Identity in relation to the use of social media, directly and indirectly, influence the aspects of new ways of working for workers using computer devices to perform their duties. Emotional energy in relation to social media (i.e., prolonged feelings of confidence, enthusiasm, and energy toward social media) is positively related to superior performance when individuals direct it to their work use, allowing them to better handle the work-life conflict. The thesis presents limitations regarding its ability to inferences that were addressed in each of the papers. Similarly, suggestions for future research were presented in each paper. Finally, the conclusion chapter presents the integration of the thesis papers to form the complete study, the overview of research objectives, the main results, contributions to academia and practice, its limitations, and suggestions for future research.A identidade de TI é um conceito relativamente novo na área de Gestão de Sistemas de Informação (GSI). A sua importância tem se tornado cada vez mais acentuada na medida que a identidade é um dos preditores do comportamento humano. Paralelamente, a compreensão do comportamento dos indivíduos ao utilizar a tecnologia da informação (TI) no ambiente de trabalho representa o elo entre os investimentos em tecnologia e o aumento do desempenho por meio da TI. Sob esse aspecto, uma das tecnologias de comunicação mais usadas em tempos atuais, as mídias sociais, permitem de forma extensiva que os indivíduos experimentem diferentes facetas das suas identidades. O objetivo geral dessa tese é compreender o desenvolvimento da identidade de TI devido ao uso de mídias sociais e avaliar o seu impacto para os trabalhadores de escritório que utilizam dispositivos computacionais para executar suas funções de trabalho durante o período da pandemia de COVID-19. Para isso foram definidos três objetivos específicos. Sendo assim, a tese está estruturada em três artigos que buscam responder a cada um dos objetivos específicos, quais são: (i) identificar os possíveis antecedentes do desenvolvimento da identidade de TI devido ao uso de mídias sociais, (ii) a conexão entre eles e as três dimensões reflexivas que constituem a identidade de TI e, por fim, (iii) o impacto da identidade de TI devido ao uso de mídias sociais no âmbito organizacional. O primeiro artigo, de natureza teórica, propõe a adaptação e expansão do modelo teórico original de Carter (2012) a partir das instâncias teóricas aderentes ao uso e que influenciam o desenvolvimento da identidade de TI pelo uso de mídias sociais. Como resultado, foi desenvolvido um modelo conceitual em que foram apresentadas dez proposições interrelacionando os conceitos derivados da literatura e inseridos em três instâncias principais de desenvolvimento da identidade de TI devido ao uso de mídias sociais. A investigação empírica da relação entre os antecedentes do modelo proposto no artigo 1 e as três dimensões da identidade de TI iniciou-se na sequência no segundo artigo da tese. Para isso foi proposta uma netnografia que foi executada entre 2019 e 2021. Um dos achados do artigo indicou que a frequência de uso do WhatsApp pode levar a precipitação do comportamento mais fortemente polarizado e que uma das dimensões reflexivas da identidade de TI, a afinidade com o WhatsApp, pode desempenhar um papel preponderante na precipitação de tal comportamento. A partir desse resultado, no artigo 3, de natureza quantitativa e exploratória, tendo como base a teoria da dualidade, buscou-se desenvolver e testar hipóteses sobre como a identidade de TI em relação às mídias sociais pode beneficiar, mas ao mesmo tempo trazer consequências negativas para os trabalhadores de escritório que usam principalmente dispositivos computacionais para cumprir suas tarefas no atual período da pandemia de COVID-19. Para isso, foi proposto um modelo apresentando a relação entre as dimensões da identidade de TI e quatro facetas das chamadas Novas Formas de Trabalho. Entre os achados deste estudo, foi verificado que a identidade de TI em relação às plataformas de mídias sociais pode ser um fator positivo na preservação da coesão da identidade profissional dos colaboradores, uma vez que sentimentos de afinidade e energia emocional em relação a essas tecnologias favoreceram o acesso ao conhecimento organizacional e aos colegas ao trabalhar remotamente. Destacam-se como contribuições dessa tese a expansão do modelo de Carter (2012) para contemplar uma classe de TIs como são constituídas as mídias sociais (artigo 1). Por sua vez, a expansão do modelo original contribuiu para ampliar a compreensão do papel dessa tecnologia em fomentar o comportamento polarizado no uso do WhatsApp, uma das mídias sociais mais utilizadas em tempos atuais (artigo 2). Finalmente, no terceiro artigo a indicação de que a frequência de uso no WhatsApp pode estar associada a uma forte identidade de TI em relação a essa tecnologia (verificada no artigo 2), levou a proposição de um modelo para testar empiricamente de que forma as três dimensões da IT Identity em relação ao uso de mídias sociais influenciam direta e indiretamente os aspectos das novas formas de trabalho para os trabalhadores que utilizam dispositivos computacionais para desempenhar suas funções. A energia emocional em relação às mídias sociais (ou seja, sentimentos prolongados de confiança, entusiasmo e energia em relação às mídias sociais) está positivamente relacionada a um desempenho superior quando os indivíduos a direcionam para o seu uso do trabalho, permitindo-lhes também lidar melhor com os conflitos entre a vida profissional e a vida profissional. A tese apresenta limitações quanto a sua capacidade de inferências que foram endereçadas em cada um dos artigos. Da mesma forma, sugestões de pesquisas futuras foram apresentadas em cada artigo. Por fim, o capítulo de conclusão apresenta a integração dos artigos da tese para a formação do estudo completa, a retomada dos objetivos de pesquisa, os principais resultados, contribuições para a academia e para a prática, suas limitações e sugestões para pesquisas futuras

Developing a Parasocial Relationship with Hotel Brands on Facebook: Will Millennials Differ from GenXers?

Facebook, particularly its brand page, is becoming one of the most powerful tool for relationship building and customer engagement for hospitality companies. As the social media marketing practices evolve in the hospitality industry, the industry starts to realize the importance of customer participation behaviors based on relationship quality rather than quantity of interactions and the rising significance of the Millennials generation. To respond to this trend, this study pursues an empirical investigation of the antecedents for consumer-hotel brand relationship on Facebook, and the potential differences between Millennials and non-Millennials, particularly the GenXers. It also examines the potential varying relational consequences on consumers\u27 online participation behaviors and brand loyalty between these two groups. More specifically, this study positions Facebook as an innovative communication medium, and applies the “parasocial relationship” framework in mediated communication literature as an overarching theoretical guide. Five social-media related factors are included to explain the psychological mechanisms of consumer’s parasocial relationship with brands: utilitarian benefits, hedonic benefits, perceived self-disclosure, perceived interactivity, and perceived information overload. This study also investigates the effects of parasocial relationship on Facebook users’ online participation behaviors with brands and their offline brand loyalty. The hypothesized model is tested with multi-group SEM modelling. Practical and theoretical implications are also discussed in the study

A LITERATURE ANALYSIS ABOUT SOCIAL INFORMATION CONTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Social networking sites (SNSs) have emerged as a center for daily social interactions. Every day, millions of users contribute information about themselves, and consume information about others on SNSs. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing number of studies on the issue of social information contribution and consumption behaviors on SNSs. This paper aims to provide a systematic literature review on this topic across different disciplines to understand the current research state and shed light on controversial findings of SNS usage regarding users’ well-being. We identified 126 relevant articles published between 2008 and 2014, and provide an overview of their antecedents and associated outcomes. Our analysis reveals that a majority of existing work focused primarily on social information contribution, its antecedents and favorable outcomes. Only few studies have dealt with contribution behavior and the dark sides of SNS use. Nevertheless, we could identify different characteristics of social information determining the favorability of contribution behavior. Further, we categorized the scarce papers of consumption behavior regarding the social information characteristics and identified different underlying processes: social comparison, monitoring and browsing. These findings contribute to the Information Systems (IS) discipline by consolidating previous knowledge about SNS usage patterns and individual well-being

Antecedents and performance consequences of international outsourcing

The outsourcing of intermediate products to international suppliers is believed to improve firm performance. We investigate this claim and test key dimensions of the decision to outsource internationally using survey data on 200 manufacturing firms located in the Netherlands. We find that most international outsourcing is intra-regional in nature. Furthermore international outsourcing is a consequence of a firm‟s ability to search and evaluate foreign suppliers, which is co-determined by its size, multinationality, and frequency of cross-border communications. Finally, no performance effects were observed for international or global outsourcing. We conclude international outsourcing is a balancing act between lower production costs abroad and lower transaction costs locally