Storytelling:The Effects of Corporate Stories on the Appreciation of Organizations

Organizations increasingly resort to corporate stories in order to positively influence their stakeholders' perceptions. However, no substantive results are available that prove the effects of corporate stories. Apart from that, recommendations on which content elements should be included in corporate stories, nearly all rely on conceptual theories and not on empirical studies. The first goal of this study is to test whether corporate stories have more positive effects on the appreciation of organizations than a plain, factual summary of corporate information. The second goal is to take the first steps towards composing guidelines on what comprises a good story. Based on an online experiment among 201 participants, the effects of corporate stories as compared to corporate information on the appreciation of organizations were measured, in the context of a for-profit and a not-for-profit organization. Subsequently, the effects of including the elements `conflict' and `character' were examined. The results indicated that the effects of a story were less beneficial than expected. Statistical tests showed only a few differences between participants who read corporate information and those who read a story. In addition to that, no effects were found for the presence of a conflict and a character in a corporate story

Determinants of Internet skills, use and outcomes: A systematic review of the second- and third-level digital divide

Recently, several digital divide scholars suggested that a shift is needed from a focus on binary Internet access (first-level digital divide) and Internet skills and use (second-level digital divide) to a third-level digital divide in which the tangible outcomes of Internet use are highlighted. A plethora of studies have been conducted to identify determinants of digital divides. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consistency in the terminology used. Moreover, terms are often not theoretically grounded. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review of digital divide determinants. The results show that the third-level digital divide was underexposed. The primary focus is on Internet use. More importantly, the identified determinants show that digital divide research is largely limited to sociodemographic and socioeconomic determinants

Internet use in the home: Digital inequality from a domestication perspective

This study uses a domestication approach to digital inequality. The aim is to uncover whether and why less-educated families benefit less from Internet use than highly educated families. The predominantly quantitative approach of digital divide research provides little explanation as to why digital inequalities exist. Interviews were conducted with the heads of 48 Dutch families. The results showed that Internet use and routines in the home are shaped differently for families with different educational backgrounds. In all four phases of domestication, the highly educated demonstrated a critical view toward the Internet, resulting in considered use and redefinition. Less-educated members tended to be less interested in Internet developments and overall have a less reflective stance. Inequalities between different social strata already arise in the early stages of domestication and are magnified in the subsequent phases

Negative outcomes of Internet use: A qualitative analysis in the homes of families with different educational backgrounds

This study employs a qualitative approach to examine whether and why some societal groups are disadvantaged more by their Internet use than others do. Due to the quantitative nature of most digital divide studies, thorough explanations for why different outcomes exist are lacking. Interviews were conducted with 48 Dutch families selected on the basis of educational level (high or low) and household characteristics (children and marital status). A distinction was made between the types of negative outcomes that families are confronted with and how they cope with those outcomes. The results show that the confrontation with negative outcomes of Internet use in itself seems similar for both educational groups. However, the way Internet users cope with negative outcomes differs between the two educational groups. Members of highly educated groups mostly try to take control themselves when faced with a negative outcome, while members of less educated groups often just experience negative outcomes and do not remedial actions