1,720,965 research outputs found
#Fakefamous: how do influencers use disinformation to establish long-term credibility on social media?
No full textPurpose: credible influencers play a key role in shaping the views and preferences of social media users. However, many influencers intentionally use disinformation (e.g. false narratives) to deceive users and gain their trust. This can have serious repercussions, not only for the firms that associate with these influencers but also for users. Further, and alarmingly, many influencers who use disinformation can sustain their credibility over time. This research explores how influencers use disinformation to establish long-term credibility on social media. Design/methodology/approach: drawing on self-presentation theory, we use an in-depth qualitative case study to address our research question, primarily relying on archival data obtained from multiple sources. Findings: our findings suggest that three stages of self-presentation are required to establish influencer credibility based on disinformation: backstage (preparing to deceive), experimentation (testing deception), and frontstage (launching deceptive ideas on a large scale). We also find that when fraudulent influencers simultaneously weaponise a counterculture and mindfully encase disinformation, users view them as highly credible. Practical implications: we offer practical suggestions for regulating fraudulent influencers, including enacting fact-checking procedures, using IT artefacts as reliability signals, and building awareness programmes to develop vigilance in social media communities. Originality/value: We contribute to self-presentation theory by adding experimentation as a critical stage in developing disinformation that works for long periods. We also contribute to the literature at the intersection of social media influencers and disinformation research by revealing why social media users believe in fraudulent influencers.</p
Stronger together: cultivating a sense of community in virtual communities during disasters
Get PDFPurpose – The presence of unverifiable, inaccurate, and irrelevant information during disasters can encourage people to withdraw from virtual communities. One way to combat this problem is to cultivate a sense of community. However, little is known about how a sense of community can be fostered quickly in virtual communities during a disaster. Our study addresses this limitation of prior research work.Design/methodology/approach – We conducted an in-depth qualitative case study of a Reddit community during Hurricane Harvey. The main sources were archival data, including community threads and associated comments. Data from newspapers, magazine reports, and government websites were also collected to capture contextual information about the disaster.Findings – Our findings indicate that socialisation and formal control can foster a sense of community. This is made possible through the strategic use of social media, which involves (i) endorsing emergent norms and (ii) enforcing those norms through a disciplining process.Practical implications – We offer practical suggestions for virtual community moderators and members on strategically using social media features to create, enforce and institutionalise emergent norms. We recommend that system designers develop adaptable social media features that can be reconfigured according to the context.Originality/value – We show how socialisation and formal control must coexist in virtual communities to foster a sense of community, rather than prioritising one over the other. We also unpack how the strategic use of social media can inform this process. We argue that social media features should be adaptable, rather than pre-set, to meet emergent needs
How do influencers use falsehoods to establish credibility on social media?
No full textCredible influencers play a key role in shaping people’s views, preferences, and purchase decisions. However, many influencers use falsehoods to gain followers’ trust. This can have serious repercussions not only for firms but also consumers. To this end, the purpose of this developmental paper is to explore how do influencers use falsehoods to establish credibility on social media. Drawing on self-presentation theory, we use a qualitative case study to address our research purpose. Our preliminary findings suggest three categories (i.e., backstage, experimentation, and frontstage) of self-presentation strategies that establish credibility based on falsehoods. We contribute to self-presentation theory by adding the experimentation stage as the critical link for self-presentation to work
From Normal to Disaster Response Mode: How Can Virtual Communities Reconfigure Themselves to Respond Effectively to a Disaster?
Get PDFDuring a disaster, many people seek information from virtual communities. However, information overload, falsehoods and unrelated topics hinder information flow in virtual communities, putting disaster victims at risk. Given many disasters are generally of a short duration, we explore how virtual communities can quickly reconfigure themselves to respond effectively to a disaster. Drawing on risk society theory, our findings suggest reconfiguration is done via a series of cycles initially involving community members and subsequently featuring both community members and moderators working together to mitigate risks. We contribute to virtual community discourse on disaster response by showing how a virtual community can configure IT features to bring about change. Practically, we find transforming a virtual community from a normal to a disaster response mode requires (1) creating a controlled information hub, (2) promoting identity revelation and (3) allowing for temporary emergent hyperlocal leadership. While earlier IS research suggests that anonymity, openness and geographical dispersion are important for information dissemination in virtual communities, we suggest these practices may need to be changed during a disaster
Mindful or mindless? How and why virtual communities fail to contain information pollution across different disasters
Get PDFPeople visit virtual communities to find trusted information (i.e., verifiable, accurate and reliable information) during disasters. Virtual communities are open spaces where people interact and share information. However, virtual communities often suffer from information pollution (including too much information and false or contradictory information) which decreases peoples' ability to find trusted information. Oddly, some virtual communities will develop useful practices for combatting information pollution during one disaster, but subsequently fail to effectively employ the same practices or adapt them in subsequent disasters. We conducted a longitudinal, exploratory cross-case study to better understand how and why this occurs. Using the lenses of organisational mindfulness/mindlessness, we find three factors: (i) organisational forgetting, (ii) blaming, and (iii) social fracturing that may cause virtual communities to act mindlessly and prevent them from containing information pollution during a disaster. Practically, virtual communities may avoid mindlessness by (i) codifying past successful practices and adapting them, (ii) monitoring the rhetoric of blame and building trust in authorities, and (iii) avoiding inconsequential debates and promoting shared values
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Self-Presentation Theory: A review
No full textSelf-presentation theory explains how individuals use verbal and non-verbal cues to project a particular image in society (Goffman, 1959). The theory draws on dramaturgy metaphors, such as backstage and frontstage, as a lens to explore human behaviour in everyday life (Goffman, 1959). Using dramaturgy as an analytical tool dates back to Nicholas Evreinov’s (1927) research on theatrical instincts, as well as Kenneth Burke’s (1969) work evaluating and scrutinising dramatic action (Shulman, 2016). Continuing this discourse, Erving Goffman (1959) offered a rich vein of theoretical concepts in sociology by drawing on theatre metaphors. While sociology research at that time focused on broader societal forces and structures, self-presentation theory emphasised individual behaviours and offered a lens to evaluate how performers interact with others to achieve personal goals (Goffman, 1959). Key to self-presentation theory is the notion of impression management and the routines that individuals play to manage an audience’s perception. As a result, self-presentation is crucial in developing one’s social identity. Thus, the theory paved the way for a better understanding of identity development through the performance acts of individuals in society
Hotels and multi-sided platforms: Coopetition and platform integration
No full textThis thesis aims to explore how hotels work with multi-sided platforms. Drawing on the relational perspective of resource based theory, this thesis first investigates how hotels simultaneously cooperate and compete (coopetition) with platforms, and subsequently explores cooperation with platforms (platform integration) in greater detail. Using a grounded theory approach, insights from 46 managerial interviews were collected and analyzed. The findings from these analyses are presented as three inter-linked studies. The first study focuses on the concept of coopetition, the ability to blend cooperation and competition in business relationships. This study is amongst the first to illustrate how hotels can balance cooperation and competition when working with platforms so that neither force dominates the other. A novel conceptual framework is presented to highlight the resources and managerial activities required to attain coopetition balance. The second study examines how hotels pursue coopetition with platforms close to the customer interface in areas such as marketing and sales. While prior research focuses on coopetition far from the customers (e.g., in procurement), this study is among the first to investigate coopetition near the customer. A novel conceptual framework is developed showing how coopetition patterns vary depending on the level of tension between hotels and platforms. The findings show that, contrary to current views, coopetition patterns are not competition dominant close to the customer. Rather coopetition patterns range between cooperation and competition-dominant approaches based on tension levels. The third study introduces a new concept coined “platform integration,” defined as the ability of hotels to enact coordinating and learning capabilities to align their operations with platforms. While prior research primarily focuses on channel integration capabilities to manage ii channels, this study shows that those capabilities are inadequate for hotels to deal with platforms. Instead, this study proposes platform integration as a specialized capability to effectively work with platforms. This thesis is practically relevant and timely. As we witness a proliferation of platforms in the hospitality industry, this thesis offers practical recommendations to hotels, platform firms, and policymakers on strategies for successful hotel-platform relationships. Finally, the limitations of the research are explained, and important future research themes are presented
Hotels and multi-sided platforms: Coopetition and platform integration
No full textThis thesis aims to explore how hotels work with multi-sided platforms. Drawing on the relational perspective of resource based theory, this thesis first investigates how hotels simultaneously cooperate and compete (coopetition) with platforms, and subsequently explores cooperation with platforms (platform integration) in greater detail. Using a grounded theory approach, insights from 46 managerial interviews were collected and analyzed. The findings from these analyses are presented as three inter-linked studies.
The first study focuses on the concept of coopetition, the ability to blend cooperation and competition in business relationships. This study is amongst the first to illustrate how hotels can balance cooperation and competition when working with platforms so that neither force dominates the other. A novel conceptual framework is presented to highlight the resources and managerial activities required to attain coopetition balance.
The second study examines how hotels pursue coopetition with platforms close to the customer interface in areas such as marketing and sales. While prior research focuses on coopetition far from the customers (e.g., in procurement), this study is among the first to investigate coopetition near the customer. A novel conceptual framework is developed showing how coopetition patterns vary depending on the level of tension between hotels and platforms. The findings show that, contrary to current views, coopetition patterns are not competition dominant close to the customer. Rather coopetition patterns range between cooperation and competition-dominant approaches based on tension levels.
The third study introduces a new concept coined “platform integration,” defined as the ability of hotels to enact coordinating and learning capabilities to align their operations with platforms. While prior research primarily focuses on channel integration capabilities to manage
ii
channels, this study shows that those capabilities are inadequate for hotels to deal with platforms. Instead, this study proposes platform integration as a specialized capability to effectively work with platforms.
This thesis is practically relevant and timely. As we witness a proliferation of platforms in the hospitality industry, this thesis offers practical recommendations to hotels, platform firms, and policymakers on strategies for successful hotel-platform relationships. Finally, the limitations of the research are explained, and important future research themes are presented
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