Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs

The impacts of cloud computing adoption at Higher Education institutions: a SWOT analysis

The integration of advanced technologies within education has frequently enhanced teaching. In higher education it is not a surprise that using the latest developments in cloud computing improves learning practices and thus ensures they are more interactive, available, and convenient. The ease of integration, collaboration, and sharing of information and knowledge made possibleby cloud computing will be further enhanced if this technical advancement is used wisely and in a foolproof manner. In this paper, a SWOT analysis of the impact of cloud computing on higher education methodologies is presented. A SWOT analysis is here demonstrated to be a helpful guide in decision-making for all higher education institutions when considering the migration of their present learning systems to cloud based systems

Strategy and Organisational Cybersecurity: A Knowledge-Problem Perspective

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to frame organisational cybersecurity through a strategic lens, as a function of an interplay of pragmatism, inference, holism and adaptation. The authors address the hostile epistemic climate for intellectual capital management presented by the dynamics of cybersecurity as a phenomenon. The drivers of this hostility are identified and their implications for research and practice are discussed. Design/methodology/approach: The philosophical foundations of cybersecurity in its relation with strategy, knowledge and intellectual capital are explored through a review of the literature as a mechanism to contribute to the emerging theoretical underpinnings of the cybersecurity domain. Findings: This conceptual paper argues that a knowledge-based perspective can serve as the necessary platform for a phenomenon-based view of organisational cybersecurity, given its multi-disciplinary nature. Research limitations/implications: By recognising the knowledge-related vectors, mechanisms and tendencies at play, a novel perspective on the topic can be developed: cybersecurity as a “knowledge problem”. In order to facilitate such a perspective, the paper proposes an emergent epistemology, rooted in systems thinking and pragmatism. Practical implications: In practice, the knowledge-problem narrative can underpin the development of new organisational support constructs and systems. These can address the distinctiveness of the strategic challenges that cybersecurity poses for the growing operational reliance on intellectual capital. Originality/value: The research narrative presents a novel knowledge-based analysis of organisational cybersecurity, with significant implications for both interdisciplinary research in the field, and practice

A principled approach to knowledge elicitation and transfer in organisations

This thesis describes research carried out to investigate and address the problems related to the elicitation of knowledge from experts and its transfer to potential stakeholders in organisations. Essentially, knowledge elicitation and transfer is understood as a process of enabling people to acquire new capabilities while others who already have such capabilities explicate the domain specific knowledge underlying their performance. Knowledge elicitation and transfer have become essential processes in an environment influenced by the rate and direction of technological change, and characterised by an increasing complexity of tasks and greater employee mobility. The starting point of this research was the implementation of a knowledge elicitation and transfer strategy based on the use of social software at Cranfield University. Failure of that software to achieve its aims raised awareness of the limitations of purely technology-based approaches to knowledge elicitation and transfer. A collaboration with a gas turbine manufacturer then provided the setting for the trial of a people-based approach to knowledge elicitation and transfer. In a literature review an endeavour was made to study and provide an overview of the main contexts in which the knowledge elicitation and transfer problems have arisen. For each of the areas identified, an overview of the advantages and limitations of the techniques that have been used was provided. The literature shows that despite its importance for organisations, there is no method which is guaranteed to achieve knowledge elicitation and transfer. This motivated the researcher to formalise, refine and validate the newly developed approach by applying it in different organisations. The research has resulted in a number of contributions to knowledge and benefits for the organisations involved. A key contribution is a development of a new method called Concepts-Modelling-Experience (CoMEx), based on collaborative modelling of domain-specific knowledge. The applications of CoMEx in the field suggest that it overcomes some of the main deficiencies of well known approaches to knowledge elicitation and knowledge transfer, and that it brings additional benefits to organisations. However, the research has identified areas where there is significant scope for further research and investigationEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo