Smart device interactivity’s impact on value co-creation in the sport industry

Resumen: El propósito de este estudio es investigar el impacto que tienen los dispositivos inteligentes en la interactividad del cliente y la co-creación de productos valiosos en la industria deportiva a través de la implementación del capital social y la eficacia colectiva. Una muestra de 262 estudiantes participaron en este estudio, y un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM por sus siglas en inglés) fue calculado para medir la relación entre las variables en el modelo conceptual. Los resultados revelaron que la interactividad que consiste de control del usuario, sensibilidad, y sincronización tiene un impacto significativo en el capital social. Además, ambas la interactividad tecnológica y el capital social son asociados positivamente con la eficacia colectiva. Finalmente, la eficacia colectiva tiene una influencia positiva en la co-creación de productos de valiosos, pero el capital social no aparenta afectar directamente la co-creacioón de productos de valor. Basado en estos resultados, este estudio sugiere la necesidad de aprovechar las nuevas plataformas que apoyen la co-creación de productos valiosos con los clientes en un ambiente de mercadeo constantemente cambiante. Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of smart device's interactivity on customer value co-creation in the sports industry through bridging social capital and collective efficacy. A sample of 262 students participated in the study, and a structural equation modeling (SEM) was carried out to measures the relationship between variables in the conceptual model. The results revealed that interactivity consisting of user control, responsiveness, and synchronicity had a significant impact on bridging social capital. In addition, both technological interactivity and bridging social capital were positively associated with collective efficacy. Lastly, collective efficacy had a positive influence on co-creation value, but bridging social capital did not appear to directly affect co-creation value. Based on these results, this study suggests the need to take advantage of new platforms that can build value co-creation with customers in the rapidly changing marketing environment

Enhancing Consumer Engagement in an Online Brand Community via User Reputation Signals: A Multi-Method Analysis

Generating and maintaining consumers’ engagement in online brand communities is critical for marketing managers to enhance relationships and gain customer loyalty. In this research, we investigate how the type of signal used to indicate user reputation can enhance (or diminish) consumers’ community engagement. Specifically, we explore differences in perceptions of points (i.e., point accrual systems), labels (i.e., descriptive, hierarchical identification systems), and badges (i.e., descriptive, horizontally-ordered identification systems). We argue that reputation signals vary in the degree to which they can provide role clarity—the presence of user roles that deliver information about expected behaviors within a group. Across several studies, including a natural experiment using panel data, a survey of community members, and two controlled experiments, we show that signals that evoke a positive social role have the ability to drive greater engagement (i.e., creating discussions, posting comments, and future engagement intentions) than signals that do not provide role clarity. The effect is moderated by user tenure, such that new consumers’ engagement is particularly influenced by signal type. These findings have important implications for marketers as they use reputation signals as a strategic tool when managing online communities

Citizen Journalism and Public Participation in the Era of New Media in Indonesia: From Street to Tweet

Citizen journalism was initially practiced via mass media. This is because citizens trusted mass media as an independent information channel, and social media like Twitter was unavailable. Following mass media’s affiliation to political parties and the rise of social media, citizens began using Twitter for delivering news or information. We dub this as citizen journalism from street to tweet. This study found that such process indicates the waning of mass media and the intensification of social media. Yet, the process neither strengthened citizen journalism nor increased public participation as it resulted in netizens experiencing severe polarization between groups critical and in support of the government instead. We consider this as a new emerging phenomenon caused by the advent of new media in the post-truth era. In this context, post-truth refers to social and political conditions wherein citizens no longer respect the truth due to political polarization, fake-news-producing journalist, hate-mongering citizen journalism, and unregulated social media activities. Primary data were obtained through in-depth interviews with four informants. While conversation data of netizens on Twitter were acquired from a Twitter conversation reader operated by DEA (Drone Emprit Academic), a big data system capable of capturing and analyzing netizen’s conversations, particularly on Twitter in real time. This study may have implications on the shift of citizen journalism due to its presence in the era of new media. The most salient feature in this new period is the obscurity of news, information, and opinions conveyed by citizens via social media, like Twitter

Designing social media analytics tools to support non-market institutions: Four case studies using Twitter data

This research investigates the design of social media tools for non-market institutions, such as local government or community groups. At the core of this practice-based research is a software tool called LocalNets. LocalNets was developed to collect, analyse and visualise data from Twitter, thereby revealing information about community structure and community assets. It is anticipated that this information could help non- market institutions and the communities with which they work. Twitter users send messages to one another using the ‘@mention’ function. This activity is made visible publicly and has the potential to indicate a Twitter user’s participation in a ‘community structure’; that is, it can reveal an interpersonal network of social connections. Twitter activity also provides data about community assets (such as parks, shops and cinemas) when tweets mention these assets’ names. The context for this research is the Creative Exchange Hub (CX), one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Under the theme of ‘Digital Public Space’, the CX Hub facilitated creative research collaborations between PhD researchers, academics and non-academic institutions. Building on the CX model, this PhD research forged partnerships between local councils, non-public sector institutions that work with communities, software developers and academics with relevant subject expertise. Development of the LocalNets tool was undertaken as an integral part of the research. As the software was developed, it was deployed in relevant contexts through partnerships with a range of non-market institutions, predominantly located in the UK, to explore its use in those contexts. Four projects are presented as design case studies: 1) a prototyping phase, 2) a project with the Royal Society of Arts in the London Borough of Hounslow, 3) a multi-partner project in Peterborough, and 4) a project with Newspeak House, a technology and politics co-working space located in London. The case studies were undertaken using an Action Design Research method, as articulated by Sein et al. Findings from these case studies are grouped into two categories. The first are ‘Implementation findings’ which relate specifically to the use of data from Twitter. Second there are six ‘situated design principles’ which were developed across the case studies, and which are proposed as having potential application beyond Twitter data. The ‘Implementation findings’ include that Twitter can be effective for locating participants for focus groups on community topics, and that the opinions expressed directly in tweets are rarely sufficient for the local government of community groups to respond to. These findings could benefit designers working with Twitter data. The six situated design principles were developed through the case studies: two apply Burt’s brokerage social capital theory, describing how network structure relates to social capital; two apply Donath’s signalling theory – which suggests how social media behaviours can indicate perceptions of community assets; and two situated design principles apply Borgatti and Halgin’s network flow model – a theory which draws together brokerage social capital and signalling theory. The principles are applicable to social media analytics tools and are relevant to the goals of non-market institutions. They are situated in the context of the case studies; however, they are potentially applicable to social media platforms other than Twitter. Linders identifies a paucity of research into social media tools for non-market institutions. The findings of this research, developed by deploying and testing the LocalNets social media analytics tool with non-market institutions, aim to address that research gap and to inform practitioner designers working in this area

UMSI Master's Thesis: Exploring Mental Models of Authenticity and Third Party Influence in Online Dating Interactions

This study assesses the mental models of online dating users surrounding the authenticity of one’s interactions with other online dating users and one’s self-presentation in profiles. We find that users understand authenticity as framework for constructing signals and cues online. To achieve what they perceive as an authentic self-image, users often consult close friends to pilot their signals and cues to aid in uncertainty reduction and attractive self-presentation. Our findings indicate a resounding approval of the third-party intervention when the advice does not involve blatant lies or deception. We also find online dating users are more likely to ask for advice in scenarios where they are seriously invested in developing a relationship with another individual.Master of ScienceInformation, School ofUniversity of Michiganhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148810/1/MSI Thesis - Alex Carey.pd

Social Media And Credibility Indicator: The Effects Of Bandwagon And Identity Cues Within Online Health And Risk Contexts

Three studies were conducted to investigate how social media affordances influence individuals’ source credibility perceptions in risk situations. The MAIN model (Sundar, 2008), warranting theory (Walther & Parks, 2002), and signaling theory (Donath, 1999) served as the theoretical framework to examine the effects of bandwagon cues and identity cues embedded in retweets and users’ profile pages for health and risk online information processing. Study One examines whether bandwagon heuristics triggered by retweets would influence individuals’ source credibility judgments. Study Two investigates how bandwagon heuristics interact with different identity heuristics in credibility heuristics on an individual level. Study Three explores bandwagon heuristics at the organizational level. Three post-test only experiments with self-report online surveys were conducted to investigate the hypothesis and research questions. Results indicate that different online heuristic cues impact the judgments of competence, goodwill, and trustworthiness at different levels. Authority strongly influenced source credibility perceptions. A reverse-bandwagon effect was observed in influencing source credibility judgments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Network Agency

The question of agency has been neglected in social network research, in part because the structural approach to social relations removes consideration of individual volition and action. But recent emphasis on purposive individuals has reignited interest in agency across a range of social network research topics. Our paper provides a brief history of social network agency and an emergent framework based on a thorough review of research published since 2004. This organizing framework distinguishes between an ontology of dualism (actors and social relations as separate domains) and an ontology of duality (actors and social relations as a mutually constituted) at both the individual level and at the social network level. The resulting four perspectives on network agency comprise individual advantage, embeddedness, micro-foundations, and structuration. In conclusion, we address current debates and future directions relating to sources of action and the locus of identity

CARBON EMISSION DISCLOSURES BY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UK - DETERMINANTS, CARBON REDUCTION TARGET, VOLUMETRIC AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE AND INSTITUTIONAL REPUTATION

This thesis investigates the determinants of the carbon emission disclosures (CED) in UK higher education institutions (HEI), relationship between such CED in terms of volume and quality and the role of such disclosures on HEIs’ green reputation. The study recognises that HEIs are distinct in characteristics from profit seeking organizations, which has been widely researched in literature. Generalizing the research studies on profit-oriented companies for the majorly publicly funded UK HEIs may mislead any outcome. This study examines three questions. First, what are the determinant factors for the CED by UK HEIs? (Based on stakeholder theory and institutional theory). Second, what is the relationship between CED volume and quality? (Based on stewardship theory). And finally, what is the impact of CED on institutional green reputation? (Based on signalling theory). An initial sample of all available UK HEIs in 2012 was taken to study the carbon emission disclosures made in annual reports. Carbon disclosures in standalone reports were also accounted for. The first part of the research investigates the determinants of CED in annual reports of UK HEIs, with a special concern of the impact of the carbon reduction targets set by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) on such disclosures. A disclosure index was prepared to capture both disclosure categories and types. The relationship between CED and its determinants were examined using TOBIT linear regression analysis, associated by sensitivity tests. Carbon reduction targets by HEFCE were found to have significant positive impact on CED. The results also show that carbon audit and HEI region have significant impact in determining CED volume. The second part of the study explores the relationship between quality and volume of CED in the UK HEIs, with a special concern of the impact of HEFCE carbon reduction target on such disclosures. CED volume has been criticised as being merely wordy and therefore is not good enough. This study explores the decision usefulness of the CED by HEIs i.e. whether the more CED means more useful it is. A framework was developed to measure the CED quality. The relationship between CED volume and quality were examined using Ordered PROBIT regression model. CED volume in annual reports and HEFCE carbon reduction target were found to have significant positive impact on CED quality. The third part explores the impact of CED by UK HEIs on their environmental reputation. The study is distinct in investigating whether and how the HEI CED contributes towards the environmental reputation of the institution. The green score was found from the People and Planet organisation database. All universities having a score were entered into the initial sample. The relationship between green score and CED was examined using robust least squared regression model. CED, Carbon emission and audit were found to have significant impact on green reputation. This study clarifies the impact of CED to motivate the HEIs to engage in such disclosure. This thesis contributes to the existing knowledge by presenting a framework for determinants and consequences of carbon emission disclosure with respect to UK HEIs. There exists a void in research with carbon disclosures by HEIs, which was widely researched for profit seeking organisations. The study adds to the earlier related studies by Godemann et al. (2011), Nejati et al. (2011) and Mazhar et al. (2014) by its own contribution to the disclosure literature. The thesis is distinct in finding causal determinants and impacts different from those found earlier for profit oriented companies and the relationship between the volume and quality of disclosures, which proves the worthiness of the study. Thus, the thesis findings open a fascinating area of investigation and expect to motivate further research in the area

The Labor of Fun: Understanding the Social Relationships between Gamers and Paid Gaming Teammates in China

Online video games support the development of social relationships through gameplay, however, gamers often cannot cultivate and maintain relationships based on social factors such as personality when using in-game matchmaking services. To address this, teammate matching sites external to games have emerged and enable gamers to offer to play games with others in exchange for payment. The affordances of these services are different from other existing gamer social sites, e.g., live streaming. Interviews were conducted with 16 dedicated users on Bixin, one of China’s largest paid teammate matching sites, to examine user motivations, practices, and perceptions. The interviews found that gamers selected paid teammates on Bixin using different criteria compared to in-game matchmaking services and emphasized the importance of real-life characteristics such as voice. To maintain connections, paid teammates often also extended communication to external communication services such as WeChat. Although most gamers expected to communicate with paid teammates as if they were friends, very few reported building real friendships with their matched counterparts

Perceptions Of Social Bonds, Social Engagement And Social Capital By Social Network Site Users

ABSTRACT PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL BONDS, SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL CAPITAL BY SOCIAL NETWORK SITE USERS by ALISHA M. BECKROW May 2015 Advisor: Dr. Matthew W. Seeger Major: Communications Degree: Doctor of Philosophy In this study we investigated the perceptions of social bonds, social engagement and social capital by users of the social network site Facebook. A survey questionnaire was distributed to three similar young professional organizations in the Midwest United States. The participants were asked about their use of Facebook as members of the organization. The results indicated that social network sites can be used to compliment other forms of user interactions, such as face-to-face, and can be a mechanism for building social bonds, social engagement, and social capital. The sites are utilized at varying degrees by members and the strength of the social bonds, social engagement, and social capital differed based on the demographic make-up of the group members with the more demographically similar groups reporting stronger bonds, engagement, and capital. Future research can expand this area of study by focusing on other social media sites and groups who utilize these sites