How Loyal are You? Continuance Intention and Word of Mouth in Free/Libre Open Source Software

Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) has begun to attract increasing numbers of non-technical end-users. Drawing upon information systems (IS) post-adoption research and other relevant research including IS success, consumer behavior, and FLOSS, the current proposed study will open a necessary but unexplored new research agenda: non-technical end-users’ continued FLOSS usage behaviors and examine the phenomenon by proposing a model. The study will further examine the proposed model by comparing two distinct user populations (i.e., regular loyal users vs. dedicated loyal users), and identify the factors that are more prominent in the dedicated loyal user population. The research will also conduct a case study on an exemplary community-led marketing campaign (i.e., Spreadfirefox.com) to examine how the practice of word of mouth is made more effective through its dedicated loyal users’ active contributions. In addition to its theoretical contribution to FLOSS research, the research will generate a range of practical implications for FLOSS communities as to how they can achieve a much stronger loyal user base and benefit from their contributions

Involvement and stickiness in online brand communities: an organizational citizenship behavior perspective

Advances in communication technologies geared toward helping people connect and collaborate with like-minded others have led to the rapid developments of online brand communities (OBComms). However, there are as yet few theoretical frameworks that conceptualize how to improve member involvement and retention. This study contributes to bridging this gap by applying organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) to the context of OBComms. More specifically, this study will explore the contribution of OCBs to member stickiness intentions as well as the role of the member-community relationship as a critical determinant of OCB (or member involvement) formation. Thus, from a theoretical standpoint, this study will illustrate how a well-established construct (i.e., OCBs) from organizational research can be applied to gain a more systematic understanding of OBComms. For practitioners, this study will provide insight into how to design and manage their OBComms

Web 2.0 Use and Organizational Innovation: A Knowledge Transfer Enabling Perspective

Over the last several years, a variety of Web 2.0 applications has been widely adopted by individual users and recently has received great attention from organizations. While an increasing number of organizations have started utilizing Web 2.0 applications in hopes of boosting collaboration and driving innovations, only a small number of different theoretical perspectives are available in the literature that facilitate a further understanding of the phenomenon of organizational adoption of Web 2.0 to drive innovation. In this paper, we propose a theoretical model explicating this phenomenon from the perspective that Web 2.0 use enhances knowledge transfer by fostering the emergence of informal networks, weak ties, boundary spanners and social capital. This model conceptualizes the process through which organizations drive innovations by utilizing Web 2.0 applications. Based on this perspective, suggestions for organizations to facilitate this process are also provided

Investigation of Factors That Influence Public Librarians’ Social Media Use for Marketing Purposes: An Adoption of the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior

This study aims to explore multiple factors that are associated with social media use by public librarians for marketing purposes. Based on the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior, the effects of five factors—usefulness, ease of use, attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control—on social media use intention were examined. A survey was conducted, and 462 valid responses were collected from public librarians across the United States. The findings revealed that all five factors have a significant impact on librarians’ intention to engage in social media activities for library marketing. Perceived behavioral control factors were the most influential on social media use intention. Both practical and theoretical implications are discussed based on the findings of this study

How Loyal Are Your Users? Loyalty and Loyalty Outcome Behaviors: An Empirical Study in the Free/Libre Open Source Software Context

The contemporary IS industry faces a challenge that is similar to brand proliferation in consumer products, that of identifying and nurturing loyal IS users. Also, there has been a growing interest in potential benefits that can be derived from loyal users\u27 contributions to IS, such as word of mouth (WOM) marketing, non-verbal endorsement, resistance to counter-persuasion, and brand extension behaviors. To address the increasing competition and the growing interest in user contributions in the IS industry, this study proposes a conceptual model to examine the relationships between loyalty and habit and their antecedents (satisfaction and investment), and the relationships between loyalty and habit and their outcome behaviors (WOM, non-verbal endorsement, resistance to counter-persuasion, and brand extension) in the presence of a moderating factor (s). The proposed model will be empirically tested in the Free/Libre Open Source Software context as it is one of the driving forces for the increasing competition in the consumer software market and as Free/Libre Open Source Software ideology may potentially moderate the relationship between loyalty and its outcome behaviors

Loyalty, Ideology, and Identification: An Empirical Study of the Attitudes and Behaviors of Passive Users of Open Source Software

Extant research on open source software (OSS) has primarily focused on software developers and active users but has paid limited attention to the less visible “passive” users who form the silent majority of OSS communities. Passive users play a critical role in the adoption and diffusion of OSS, and we need more research to understand their behaviors and motivations. We address this gap by drawing on the sociological theory of community markers. The three community markers in the context of OSS are loyalty, ideology, and identification. We also draw on marketing literature to propose four contributory behaviors of passive users of OSS that we theorize to be impacted by the community markers: user brand-extension, word-of-mouth, endorsement, and community involvement. We further classify passive users’ contributory behaviors according to the difficulty of their enactment and examine the differential influence of the OSS community markers. Partial-least squares (PLS) analyses of data obtained through a survey of passive users of an OSS product provide support for the majority of the hypotheses

Cultural Dimensions as Moderators of the UTAUT Model: a Research Proposal in a Healthcare Context

While a variety of information technology (IT) acceptance and use models have been extensively examined and validated in numerous contexts, most studies have been conducted in western cultures, and thus not much is known about the probable moderating role of culture on the relationships between the constructs in those models. To fill this gap in the literature, we propose to empirically investigate the probable moderating roles of national cultural differences on the relationships between the constructs in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): a model that consolidates the most prominent eight previous IT acceptance and use models. Hofstede’s five national cultural dimensions that provide a framework for national cultural differences are employed as the moderators. A self-administered survey questionnaire will be sent to healthcare practitioners in ten major healthcare organizations, five each from Taiwan and the U.S., to solicit their responses regarding their acceptance and use of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs). The findings from this proposed research are expected to generate both theoretical and practical implications

The context and state of open source software adoption in US academic libraries

The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers and drivers to open source software (OSS) adoption, and measures awareness and adoption stages of OSS in US academic libraries. An online survey of chief information officers, chief technology officers or heads for IT in US academic libraries was conducted. A total number of 179 responses were used for data analysis. From the survey, the authors identify significant barriers and drivers that US academic libraries may consider before adopting OSS and found that awareness itself is not a barrier. While about half of respondents confirmed using OSS, the authors found surprisingly low levels of intent to adopt from current non-adopters. This research offers insights for promoting OSS adoption. Also, it provides funding agencies and administrators with guidelines to encourage successful deployment of OSS in higher education. While extant research is mostly anecdotal, this research draws from an online survey to snap-shot the current state of OSS adoption in US academic libraries and provides a baseline for practice and research

Web 2.0 Use and Knowledge Transfer: How Social Media Technologies Can Lead to Organizational Innovation

The concept of Web 2.0 has gained widespread prominence in recent years. The use of Web 2.0 applications on an individual level is currently extensive, and such applications have begun to be implemented by organizations in hopes of boosting collaboration and driving innovation. Despite this growing trend, only a small number of theoretical perspectives are available in the literature that discuss how such applications could be utilized to assist in innovation. In this paper, we propose a theoretical model explicating this phenomenon. We argue that organizational Web 2.0 use fosters the emergence and enhancement of informal networks, weak ties, boundary spanners, organizational absorptive capacity, which are reflected in three dimensions of social capital, structural, relational, and cognitive. The generation of social capital enables organizational knowledge transfer, which in turn leads to organizational innovation. Based on this model, suggestions for organizations to facilitate this process are also provided, and theoretical implications are discussed