Impact of Social Media Usage on Organizational Performance in the Jordanian Dead Sea Cosmetic Sector

Due to the current debate on the positives and negatives of social media, most of the organizations are in an unclear state regarding the adoption of social media. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to extend previous research on social media use comprising three variables: social media for marketing, social media for customer’s relations and services, and social media for information accessibility and its impact on organizational performance in terms of rapid adaptation, time to market, cost reduction, and innovation in Jordan. The paper analyzed data obtained from a sample of 169 managers working at 23 different organizations in Dead Sea cosmetic sector in Jordan using a quantitative approach. Structural equation modelling used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that there is a strong positive impact of implementing and using social media on organizational performance in terms of rapid adaptation, cost reduction, and innovation. Also, social media usage is different among the companies’ characteristics in terms of type, age, and size. This paper offers a clearer understanding of the importance of social media and its benefits. Also, this paper is one of the first studies conducted in Jordan and especially within the Dead Sea cosmetic sector by demonstrating the different areas of organizational performance that can be enhanced by using social media in different ways. Keywords: Social media, social media marketing, customer relations, organizational performance, rapid adaptation, cost reduction, time to market, innovation, Dead Sea cosmetic, Jordan. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-2-0

Media consumption and creation in attitudes toward and knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease: web-based survey

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal condition affecting over 5 million people globally and 1.6 million in the United States but currently lacks a precisely determined cause or cure. The range of symptoms IBD patients experience are often debilitating, and the societal stigmas associated with some such symptoms can further degrade their quality of life. Better understanding the nature of this public reproach then is a critical component for improving awareness campaigns and, ultimately, the experiences of IBD patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore and assess the public's awareness and knowledge of IBD, as well as what relationship, if any, exists between the social stigma surrounding IBD, knowledge of the disease, and various media usage, including social media. METHODS: Utilizing a Web-based opt-in platform, we surveyed a nationally representative sample (n=1200) with demographics mirroring those of the US Census figures across baseline parameters. Using constructed indices based on factor analysis, we were able to build reliable measures of personal characteristics, media behaviors, and perceptions and knowledge of IBD. RESULTS: Among the American public, IBD is the most stigmatized of seven diseases, including genital herpes and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Additionally, IBD knowledge is generally low with 11.08% (133/1200) of the sample indicating no familiarity with the disease and 85.50% (1026/1200) of participants inaccurately answering two-thirds of the IBD index questions with which their knowledge was assessed. Increased knowledge of IBD is associated with lower levels of stigma. However, social media use is currently related to lower levels of IBD knowledge (P<.05). Furthermore, findings indicate that participants who most frequently engaged in producing social media content are less knowledgeable about IBD (P<.10), highlighting the potential for a dangerous cycle should they be contributing to a Web-based IBD dialogue. CONCLUSIONS: Greater efforts must be taken to stymie IBD misinformation across all media, but especially in social media channels, to increase IBD knowledge and reduce stigma surrounding IBD. These findings pave the way for further research qualitatively examining the pervasiveness of specific IBD messages found in today's social media landscape and their impact on enacted stigmas so as to better equip providers and patient advocacy organizations with impactful communication solutions

Does social media usage matter? An analysis of online practices and digital media perceptions of communication practitioners in Europe

A key aspect for understanding and explaining online communication is the micro level of communication practitioners’ social media usage and their general attitudes towards digital platforms. This paper investigates how public relations practitioner's personal and professional use of social media is related to their perceptions of social media. A quantitative methodology was applied to perform this research. A population of 2710 professionals from 43 European countries working on different hierarchical levels both in communication departments and agencies across Europe were surveyed as part of a larger transnational online survey. Results show that practitioners with a high level of usage of social media give more importance to social media channels, influence of social media on internal and external stakeholders and relevance of key gatekeepers and stakeholders along with a better self-estimation of competences. Issues about diverse levels of overestimation of social media use, application and importance in the professional arena are also debated

A comparison of social media marketing between B2B, B2C and mixed business models

This paper explores the implicit assumption in the growing body of literature that social media usage is fundamentally different in business-to-business (B2B) companies than in the extant business-to-consumer (B2C) literature. Sashi’s (2012) customer engagement cycle is utilized to compare B2B, B2C, Mixed B2B/B2C and B2B2C business model organizational practices in relation to social media usage, importance, and its perceived effectiveness as a communication channel. Utilizing 449 responses to an exploratory panel based survey instrument, we clearly identify differences in social media marketing usage and its perceived importance as a communications channel. In particular we identify distinct differences in the relationship between social media importance and the perceived effectiveness of social media marketing across business models. Our results indicate that B2B social media usage is distinct from B2C, Mixed and B2B2C business model approaches. Specifically B2B organizational members perceive social media to have a lower overall effectiveness as a channel and identify it as less important for relationship oriented usage than other business models

Web 2.0 and destination marketing: current trends and future directions

Over the last decade, destination marketers and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have increasingly invested in Web 2.0 technologies as a cost-effective means of promoting destinations online, in the face of drastic marketing budgets cuts. Recent scholarly and industry research has emphasized that Web 2.0 plays an increasing role in destination marketing. However, no comprehensive appraisal of this research area has been conducted so far. To address this gap, this study conducts a quantitative literature review to examine the extent to which Web 2.0 features in destination marketing research that was published until December 2019, by identifying research topics, gaps and future directions, and designing a theory-driven agenda for future research. The study’s findings indicate an increase in scholarly literature revolving around the adoption and use of Web 2.0 for destination marketing purposes. However, the emerging research field is fragmented in scope and displays several gaps. Most of the studies are descriptive in nature and a strong overarching conceptual framework that might help identify critical destination marketing problems linked to Web 2.0 technologies is missing

2012 Grantmakers Information Technology Survey Report

Together the Technology Affinity Group (TAG) and Grants Managers Network (GMN) conducted an information technology survey of grantmaking organizations in July 2012. This survey serves as a follow?up to similar surveys TAG has conducted in collaboration with the Council on Foundation (The Council) in April 2003, July 2005, and June 2007, and then independently in 2010

Nonprofit Management Tools and Trends 2014

The heightened importance of strong nonprofit management calls attention to a wide range of management practices that we call tools. Despite their importance, to date there has been no systematic attempt to understand what tools are being used or how effective they are. This report aims to fill that knowledge gap. It creates a "consumer report" for nonprofit leaders seeking to apply one or more of 25 popular tools to the challenges at hand. These tools can help organizations live up to their missions and meet funders' expectations for results. Many of the tools on our list, such as scenario planning and benchmarking, migrated from the business world. Others, such as funding models and constituent engagement, evolved specifically with nonprofit needs in mind.To understand how many tools a typical nonprofit uses, for what purposes, and how they perform, The Bridgespan Group developed a survey of the top nonprofit tools and trends in the social sector, nominated by a panel of more than two dozen practitioners, funders, and intermediaries. Overall findings confirm nonprofits' widespread use of management tools and their interest in using more in the future. The survey also provides insights into how well those tools help leaders respond to trends in the sector. It is our intent that this report will be repeated at intervals and should serve to stimulate questions, test practices, spark experiments, and ultimately help managers to get better results

Destination marketing organizations’ social media usage: a research on Balkan countries

Social media has fundamentally reshaped the way tourism related information is distributed and the way people plan for and consume travel. Since social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Trip Advisor began allowing businesses to create profiles and become active members, businesses have started incorporating these strategies into their marketing efforts. For Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have used these sites to promote special offers, for customer service and strengthen their existing brands; however, little is known about how DMOs are taking advantage of the social media marketing popularity. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of social media among the DMOs of Balkan countries through a content analysis of Balkan countries’ official web site profiles,. Also this study examines how social media is being used by the DMOs to enhance their brands and to reach potential visitf1ors. This study confirms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain and mostly DMOs use only Facebook and Twitter as a social media tools. Solely having a profile will not in itself increase awareness. DMOs should use more social networking sites to communicate with their consumers and give them the ability to broadcast opinions about service