HOW SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS AFFECT CONSUMERS PURCHASE HABIT?

Longitudinal studies that measure the effect of bloggers on consumer purchase are essential to improve our understanding in how social media bloggers become role models in people lives. As the number of blog posts and bloggers are increasing rapidly, this rapid rise is causing changes in people’s (consumer’s) purchase habits. There are some conceptual studies conducted about the revolution of Web 2.0 technology and social media and some of them specifically studied the different type of blogs. But no study has focused on the factors causing the influence, specifically factors such as social attractiveness, credibility, experience and sponsorship. To fill this gap, this paper suggests and test a model that explains the factors that influence consumers intentions to adopt recommendations. A total of 202 questionnaires were returned in the survey to identify which factors have influence on blog readers” intentions to adopt recommendations”. Initially, data identified the demographic distribution of the respondents. Next, explanatory factor analysis was conducted to measure the validity and consistency of factors. Nine hypotheses were measured by conducting linear regression. Lastly, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed. The results from a sample of 202 show that the factors: trust, credibility, prior experience, perceived usefulness, sponsorship, social attractiveness, subjective norms, are influencing the intentions of consumers to adopt blogger’s recommendations. In addition, the results highlight that social attractiveness has a mediating affect between attitude and intentions. The implications of these findings for bloggers and consumers are discussed in detail

An Updated View of the Productivity Paradox in the Early 21st Century

Information Technologies (ITs) are an inseparable part of modern life and one of the key drivers of economic activity. However, rapidly growing investments in IT, since the 1970s, coincided with poor productivity gains. This problem of the ‘productivity paradox’ has attracted much academic attention. Using statistical data from 21 developed countries, this paper analyses the trends of productivity paradox from 1995 to 2005 employing three-level methodological approach to assess the productivity. The first level analysis examines macroeconomic indicators (GDP per capita and IT investment growth), the second level considers the internal structure of IT investments, and the third level analyses labour and multi-factor productivity. The findings of the study suggest there is a high positive correlation of IT investments with GDP growth. At the same time labour and multi-factor productivity do not significantly correlate with technology investments

IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT, IT’S ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW: SOCIAL MEDIA-USE IN ORGANISATIONS (8)

This paper investigates the impact of social media-use on communication processes within organisations. Findings from three qualitative comparative case studies are analysed through the lens of the resource based view of organisations. The analysis follows comparative logic focusing on similarities and differences in case-settings and outcomes. Each of the cases represents an organisation with workforces of similar size, composition and distribution but with qualitatively different approaches to social media-use and, as expected, different effects of social media on processes and capabilities. The findings suggest, that the value of social media in contrast to other IT technologies is derived from its use for relationship-building (who the users are connected to and how) rather than information storage and dissemination (what do the users know and where they find it)

Investment appraisal and evaluation: preserving tacit knowledge and competitive advantage

This research asks if intuitive investment appraisal and evaluation are appropriate under conditions of rapid change, uncertain outcomes, limited information, and when competitive advantage derives from tacit knowledge. Measures and rational approaches to appraisal and evaluation require distal knowledge made explicit in documents and techniques. Converting valuable tacit knowledge, residing in individuals and organisational context, into coded distal knowledge, which is more easily replicated, risks jeopardising the uniqueness of competencies and capabilities that underpin competitive advantage. The research investigates e-learning projects in higher education and finds little evidence of formal rational investment appraisal and evaluation in IS projects characterised by uncertainty and a lack of clear information

Towards understanding of value co-creation on web 2.0 platforms: an assessment methodology

Web 2.0 technologies and social media can be used as a platform for value creation. While some firms are successful in engaging with external audiences on social media, others are less so. Many of these firms have equal access to web 2.0 platforms and operate in similar or same conditions, the resource based view (RBV) offers an explanation for disparities in performance of these organisations: the differences are due to firm internal, valuable, immutable and rare resources. Comparing high- and low-performers in a comparative case study helps to identify and highlight firm internal idiosyncratic resources that result in better sustained performances. In-depth studies inside the organisations answer the questions how and why some firms on the same platform can attract higher engagement levels than others. The problem is how to recognise best and worst performance to conduct in-depth case studies? This paper introduces ALIAS – a methodology for identification of the relative firm performance within a population, and selection of theoretically relevant cases to conduct comparative case studies through the lens of RBV. The proposed methodology is a five step process and utilises the DART framework of value co-creation for identification and assessment of performance criteria

Theoretical Sampling – ALIAS: a Case Selection Framework for Research on Social Media Engagement

Web 2.0 is a platform that supports value co-creation. Firms engage with a variety of audiences to generate additional value. The study presented in this paper looks at employer/employee engagement and identifies high-and low-performers. By comparing successful and less successful firms, the firm specific idiosyncratic relationships are uncovered and firm specific resources as sources of superior performance identified. This paper introduces ALIAS – a methodology for identification of the relative firm performance within a population, and selection of theoretically relevant cases to conduct comparative case studies through the lens of RBV. The proposed methodology is a five step process and utilises the DART framework of value co-creation for identification and assessment of performance criteria

The Role Of Social Media In Human Resource Management

The impact of Social Media (SM) on Human Resource Management (HRM) strategies and practices is increasing and has not been fully explored yet. This research focuses on understanding the role of SM in HRM, specifically the contribution of SM utilization to the strength of HRM. Viewing SM as a User Generated Information System and HRM as a Communications System, the presented theoretical framework allows (1) understanding of SM utilization within HRM and (2) assessment of vertical and horizontal alignment of HRM practices which emerge through utilization of SM. Two pilot case studies demonstrate the application of this framework in a PhD research project

Digital Literacy And Exclusion In The Social Media Age

Digital Technologies are changing societal, personal and organisational lives. Access to some technologies becomes essential to fully participate in social interactions. Lack of access to necessary Information Technologies (Digital Divide) results in social exclusion. With the continuous evolvement of Information Technologies, the skills and capabilities required for digital participation are also changing. This paper aims at identification of current necessary and essential skills, capabilities and access to technologies from the viewpoint of service-dominant approach. An empirical investigation into ICT skills necessary for employment in different industry sectors is proposed to identify sets of necessary and transferable digital skills. The identification of these sets will not only enhance our theoretical understanding of how the digital divide changes over time, but will also allow policy and training efforts to be focused on (new) skills needed to reduce the gap

Inter-Personal Socialisation in Knowledge Transfer: Encouraging Personal ICT Use

Knowledge transfer and effective knowledge resource management facilitates organisations to innovate and develop new products and services. The knowledge transfer and creation processes require formal and informal networks and relationships. While the need for formal knowledge transfer networks may receive organisational attention, informal inter-personal networks, relationships and friendships also play an important role in knowledge transfer and creation. This paper suggests that rather than attempting to eliminate social activity such as personal use of information and communications technologies, socialisation activity should be encouraged to help build a culture of knowledge sharing and innovation

Social Media? What Social Media?

This developmental paper is flagging up the issue of insufficiently clear definition of two contemporary concepts: social media and enterprise social media. Drawing on the findings from empirical case studies, differences in users’ perceptions of what is and is not social media are highlighted. These are juxtaposed with extant definitions from IS literature. The concept of “in-house” or “enterprise” social media is introduced from the literature and its clarity and necessity is challenged based on the data from the case studies. The aim of this early research paper is to evaluate whether a re-definition of “social media”, for example through performative lens is meaningful, necessary and helpful