Sustaining social capital online amidst social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic: web-based communities, their mitigating effects, and associated issues

COVID-19 prompted the enforcement of strict social distancing measures in most parts of the world. These measures have serious implications for how people interact, socialise, and collaborate with one another. As social distancing contradicts the social nature of human beings, social connections are still maintained even at a distance. Various forms of modern communication technologies (e.g., online social networking sites, video conferencing tools) allow people to sustain their social capital, even during a pandemic. Therefore, it is argued that web-based communities are instrumental in tackling the psychological costs of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, people's increasing dependence on advanced communication technologies during uncertain times are associated with several issues. COVID-19 is highlighting digital inequality, which makes it unthinkable for people in some parts of the world to proceed with their normal activities online. Moreover, increased use of these technologies has implications for people's online privacy and mental well-being

It’s Not About the Risks, I’m just Used to Doing It: Disclosure of Personal Information on Facebook Among Adolescent Dutch Users

A paper-based survey was conducted with 560 students of a high school in the eastern part of the Netherlands to determine the factors influencing their personal information disclosure behavior on Facebook. Results of the path analysis reveal that habits and perceived control strongly predict information disclosure of research respondents. Furthermore, information-related benefits also contribute to disclosure among adolescent Dutch Facebook users. Moreover, perceived control positively influences respondents’ trust (in Facebook and in their network members)

Understanding the Intention to Write Reviews for Mobile Apps among German Users: Testing the Expanded Theory of Planned Behavior Using a Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Online reviews can make or break a mobile app. Various studies have shown that reviews, especially when their valence is primarily positive, can contribute to the survival of a particular app in a stiffly competitive market. Hence, it is in the best interest of app developers to gain insights into the motivations of app users to review apps they have used. To address the question on the factors influencing people’s intention to write reviews for apps, an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (with the inclusion of various writing functions as predictors) was tested with data from 203 German mobile app users. Results of structural equation modeling reveal that people’s intention to review certain apps is a function of four factors, namely their attitude towards writing reviews, subjective norm, and review writing’s ego-defensive and emotional expression functions. Furthermore, both review writing’s ego-defensive and emotional expression functions positively influence app users’ attitude towards writing reviews

An experimental study into the effects of self-disclosure and crisis type on brand evaluations – the mediating effect of blame attributions

Purpose: Brands facing a crisis have to decide whether to disclose crisis-related information themselves or to wait and take the risk that a third party breaks the news. While brands might benefit from self-disclosing the information, it is likely that the impact of crisis communication on customers’ evaluation of the brand depends on the type of crisis. This study aims to investigate the influence of type of crisis on the relationshp between disclosure and brand outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment with 180 Dutch participants was conducted. Findings: Results show that self-disclosure of a negative incident positively affects consumers’ attitude, trust and purchase intention compared to third-party disclosure. Additionally, disclosure and crisis type interact. In times of a product-harm crisis, self-disclosure does not represent an advantage to third party disclosure, while in times of a moral-harm crisis disclosure by the brand is able to maintain customers’ positive attitude towards and trust in the brand compared to disclosure by a third party. Moreover, blame attribution mediates the effect of crisis type on brand evaluations. Originality/value: Recent research indicates that self-disclosing crisis information instead of waiting until thunder strikes has beneficial effects for a brand in times of crisis. However, these studies use the context of product-harm crises, which neglects the possible impact of moral-harm crises. Furthermore, this study adds the impact of blame attributions as a mediator in this context

Reading between the lines: a comparison of 480 German and Dutch obituaries

Obituaries do not only announce the death of a significant other but also provide insights into how a society deals with death according to the norms governing the rituals of individuals within that society. This study aimed at investigating possible differences between German and Dutch obituaries, specifically in terms of visual and textual elements, information about the deceased, and funeral ceremony-related information. Data used to address the research questions were the contents of 240 German and 240 Dutch obituaries published in 10 different newspapers (6 in Germany, 4 in the Netherlands). Results of this study show that statistically significant differences between German and Dutch obituaries exist. While German obituaries use illustrations more than Dutch ones, Dutch obituaries provide more information, in general, than their German counterparts. The types of deceased-related information on German and Dutch obituaries also vary significantly. Moreover, Dutch obituaries provide more funeral ceremony-related information than German obituaries

The impact of crisis response strategy, crisis type, and corporate social responsibility on post-crisis consumer trust and purchase intention

Organisational crises can have deleterious consequences for organisational reputation and sales. Hence, one exigent question pertains to the effects of a company's action prior to the crisis and its crisis response on customers' post-crisis attitude and behavioural intention. To address that question, a scenario-based 2 (rebuild versus diminish response strategy) × 2 (product-harm versus moral-harm crisis) × 2 (institutional versus promotional CSR program) experiment was conducted with 304 Dutch respondents. Main effects were found for all independent variables. Our research shows that a rebuilding strategy has a more positive effect on benevolence- and integrity-based trust. A product-harm crisis leads to a significant larger drop in ability-based trust and in purchase intention, while a moral-harm crisis damages more strongly integrity-based trust in the organisation. Furthermore, an institutional CSR program is advantageous for all outcome variables. Additionally, an interaction effect between crisis type and crisis response strategy is found. Results of the study have important practical implications, especially that companies must employ the most appropriate crisis communication strategy according to the type of crisis that confronts them