Understanding envy and users’ responses to envy in the context of social networking sites: A literature review

Envy is an ancient theme of interest and various academic disciplines researched the topic in the last decades. With the advance of technologies and the popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), there is a need to comprehend what is new and unique about envy in the SNS environment. To contribute to an improved understanding of this phenomenon, we investigate academic research on envy in the context of SNSs. Particularly, in this work, we review and clarify the concept of envy in the SNS context and how users respond to envy they experienced in an SNS environment. This allows us to (1) better comprehend the conceptualization and theorization of envy in the SNS context, and to (2) identify particularities of users’ responses to envy. Based on our analysis, we observe that there exists a need to contextualize definition, operationalization and theorization further. Responses to SNS-induced envy mirror findings from the offline context with purchase intentions as an interesting and relevant behavioral response for the SNS context, since most revenues are generated by advertisement on these sites. We provide directions for future investigations on the phenomenon of SNS-induced envy.     

Examining gender differences in people’s information-sharing decisions on social networking sites

Information systems research provides increasing evidence that women and men differ in their use of information technology. However, research has not sufficiently explained why these differences exist. Using the theory of reasoned action and social role theory, this paper investigates gender differences in people’s decisions about information sharing in the context of social networking sites (SNSs). We developed a comparative model of the information-sharing decision process across genders and theoretically explained why these differences exist. Data was collected from an online survey taken by American SNS users. We found that privacy risks, social ties, and commitment were more important in the formation of attitudes toward information sharing for women than men. Gender significantly moderates the relationship between people’s perceptions of information sharing and their intention to share information. This paper provides an enhanced understanding of gender differences in people’s decisions about sharing information on SNSs. It advances gender differences research into the use of newly emerged information technology and provides researchers insightful views of the role that gender plays in the social media era. Being aware of the research findings, practitioners may better engage their targeted stakeholders on SNSs and collect more useful information for business purposes.     

The reflection of offline activities on users’ online social behavior: An observational study

The ever increasing presence of online social networks in users’ daily lives has led to the interplay between users’ online and offline activities. There have already been several works that have studied the impact of users’ online activities on their offline behavior, e.g., the impact of interaction with friends on an exercise social network on the number of daily steps. In this paper, we consider the inverse to what has already been studied and report on our extensive study that explores the potential causal effects of users’ offline activities on their online social behavior. The objective of our work is to understand whether the activities that users are involved with in their real daily life, which place them within or away from social situations, have any direct causal impact on their behavior in online social networks. Our work is motivated by the theory of normative social influence, which argues that individuals may show behaviors or express opinions that conform to those of the community for the sake of being accepted or from fear of rejection or isolation. We have collected data from two online social networks, namely Twitter and Foursquare, and systematically aligned user content on both social networks. On this basis, we have performed a natural experiment that took the form of an interrupted time series with a comparison group design to study whether users’ socially situated offline activities exhibited through their Foursquare check-ins impact their online behavior captured through the content they share on Twitter. Our main findings can be summarised as follows (1) a change in users’ offline behavior that affects the level of users’ exposure to social situations, e.g., starting to go to the gym or discontinuing frequenting bars, can have a causal impact on users’ online topical interests and sentiment; and (2) the causal relations between users’ socially situated offline activities and their online social behavior can be used to build effective predictive models of users’ online topical interests and sentiments.     

Exploring askers’ switching from free to paid social Q&A services: A perspective on the push-pull-mooring framework

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that prompt askers to switch from free to paid social question-and-answer (SQA) services. Prior studies have investigated users’ motivations and participation in free and paid SQA services; however, little attention has been paid to askers’ switching behavior. We empirically analyzed the content of qualitative interviews from 64 askers on a well-known SQA platform in China. Based on the push-pull-mooring framework, we identified and classified factors that influenced askers’ to switch from free to paid Q&A services, using the critical incident technique, after which we calculated the entropy weights of the 16 subcategories before and after the switch, using the entropy weight method. The findings suggest that askers’ switching behavior was influenced by push factors (i.e., dissatisfaction with the free SQA service), pull factors (i.e., satisfaction with the paid SQA service), and mooring factors (i.e., social factors, personal factors, situational factors). Moreover, the findings show that the effects of these factors vary significantly before and after a switch. Dissatisfaction with the quality of information from the free SQA service would influence users before a switch, whereas satisfaction with the quality of information from the paid SQA service would influence them after a switch. In terms of mooring factors, the effects of social and personal factors on askers’ switching behavior, especially subjective norms and cognitive lock-in, turn out to be less significant after a switch, whereas the effect of trust is more significant. Besides, the effects of situational factors are more or less the same before and after a switch. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is one of the first attempts to explore factors that affect askers’ switching behavior and to shed light on the managerial strategies of paid SQA services.     

How motivational feedback increases user’s benefits and continued use: A study on gamification,quantified-self and social networking

With the increasing provenance of hedonic and social information systems, systems are observed to employ other forms of feedback and design than purely informational in order to increase user engagement and motivation. Three principle classes of motivational design pursuing user engagement have become increasingly established; gamification, quantified-self and social networking. This study investigates how the perceived prominence of these three design classes in users’ use of information system facilitate experiences of affective, informational and social feedback as well as user’s perceived benefits from a system and their continued use intentions. We employ survey data (N = 167) gathered from users of HeiaHeia; an exercise encouragement system that employs features belonging to the three design classes. The results indicate that gamification is positively associated with experiences of affective feedback, quantified-self with experiences of both affective and informational feedback and social networking with experiences of social feedback. Experiences of affective feedback are further strongly associated with user perceived benefits and continued use intentions, whereas experiences of informational feedback are only associated with continued use intentions. Experiences of social feedback had no significant relationship with neither. The findings provide practical insights into how systems can be designed to facilitate different types of feedback that increases users’ engagement, benefits and intentions to continue the use of a system.     

Customers’ purchase decision-making process in social commerce: A social learning perspective

The proliferation of social commerce has changed customers’ purchase decision-making process. However, few studies have investigated the roles of social commerce factors on customers’ purchase decision-making. Based on the social learning theory, we develop a research model to examine how customers’ learning behavior along three main social commerce components (SCCs) affects customers’ attitude in both cognitive and affective dimensions and how such attitude determines customers’ purchase intention. The results from a survey of 243 actual users of social commerce websites suggest that cognitive and affective appraisals are the main predictors of purchase intention, with cognitive appraisal having a higher predictive power than affective appraisal. In addition, learning from forums and communities and learning from ratings and reviews have significant influences on both cognitive and affective appraisals, while learning from forums and communities plays a more important role in formulating affective appraisal and learning from ratings and reviews plays a more important role in determining cognitive appraisal. Contrary to our expectation, learning from social recommendations has no significant influence on either cognitive or affective appraisal. In summary, these findings provide a comprehensive understanding about customers’ purchase decision-making process and extend the application scope of social learning theory. The findings also provide social commerce managers guidance in designing more effective websites and allocating resources and efforts reasonably on different SCCs.     

An empirical study of brand microblog users’ unfollowing motivations: The perspective of push-pull-mooring model

Brand microblogs (BMs) have been increasingly utilized by companies to facilitate communication and foster deeper relationships with their customers. In addition to attracting new followers, retaining existing followers is equally, if not more, important to the success of BM operators. Drawing upon the migration theory, this study develops a push-pull-mooring (PPM) model of BM unfollowing motivations to enhance our understanding of the significant antecedents that promote BM users’ unfollowing intention. The study empirically investigates the three categories of antecedents of the BM unfollowing intention: push (dissatisfaction with information quality, dissatisfaction with service quality, and person brand unfit), pull (alternative attractiveness), and mooring (perceived unfollowing costs) effects. The results suggest that the three groups of unfollowing motivations display varying degrees of influence on BM users’ unfollowing intention. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings of this study are also discussed.     

Challenges of ethical and legal responsibilities when technologies’ uses and users change: social networking sites, decision-making capacity and dementia

Successful technologies’ ubiquity changes uses, users and ethicolegal responsibilities and duties of care. We focus on dementia to review critically ethicolegal implications of increasing use of social networking sites (SNS) by those with compromised decision-making capacity, assessing concerned parties’ responsibilities. Although SNS contracts assume ongoing decision-making capacity, many users’ may be compromised or declining. Resulting ethicolegal issues include capacity to give informed consent to contracts, protection of online privacy including sharing and controlling data, data leaks between different digital platforms, and management of digital identities and footprints. SNS uses in healthcare raise additional issues. Online materials acting as archives of ‘the self’ bolster present and future identities for users with compromised capacity. E-health involves actual and potential intersection of data gathered for the purpose of delivering health technological support with data used for social networking purposes. Ethicolegal guidance is limited on the implications of SNS usage in contexts where users have impaired/reduced capacity to understand and/or consent to sharing personal data about their health, medication or location. Vulnerable adults and family/carers face uncertainty in regard to consent, data protection, online identity and legal liabilities. Ethicolegal responsibilities and duties of care of technology providers, healthcare professionals, regulatory bodies and policymakers need clarification.     

Motivating information system engineers’ acceptance of Privacy by Design in China: An extended UTAUT model

Given the serious issues caused by privacy leakage, Privacy by Design (PbD) is gaining the attention of professionals as a new privacy protection paradigm with enormous potential. This study proposes a UTAUT-based integrated model from the perspective of information system (IS) engineers, and explores the determinants of PbD implementation. The implementation of PbD and privacy protection measures relay heavily on IS engineers. However, there is a paucity of research exploring IS engineers’ acceptance of PbD, particularly research that considers engineers’ individualized factors and personal attitudes. Empirical data collected from 261 IS engineers in China demonstrate the rationality of proposed model and the importance of integrating conceptual constructs. The findings suggest that IS engineers’ attitude towards PbD implementation significantly impacts both their behavioral intention and their implementing behavior. IS engineers’ awareness of PbD is a predictor of their effort and performance expectancies, and intention to implement; IS engineers’ effort and performance expectancies concerning PbD usage have significantly impact on their attitude towards PbD. This study reveals the factors that motivate IS engineers to implement PbD into their workflow and proposes for the first time that IS engineers’ attitude towards PbD usage is the key factor for PbD implementation.     

Exploring consumers’ impulse buying behavior on social commerce platform: The role of parasocial interaction

Social commerce, a recent branch of e-commerce, has made the experience of consumers on social commerce platform (SCP) different from other contexts, as the consumers have social interactions with each other. Growing evidence also shows that consumers on these platforms are prone to impulse buying behavior owing to the social interactions. However, existing research on online impulse buying was limited when illustrating the behavior of consumers on SCPs as social relationship constructs were not included. New theoretical developments are needed in regard to fill the research gap. In this research, parasocial interaction (PSI) theory is introduced in this research to examine the influence of social relationship factors on the formation of impulse buying behavior. An empirical research has been conducted on Mogujie (www.mogujie.com), one of the most popular image-sharing SCPs in China. Results indicate that PSI exerts an impact on impulse buying tendency, the social-relevant features of the SCP determine PSI, and perceived usefulness and PSI both significantly affect perceived enjoyment. In addition, consumers’ perceived enjoyment and impulse buying tendencies significantly affect their urge to buy impulsively. The implications, limitations, and discussions are provided.     

The interaction effects of online reviews and free samples on consumers’ downloads: An empirical analysis

Consumers’ software purchase decisions are influenced both by online reviews and by their experiences with free samples provided by firms. This paper empirically investigates the differential effects of online reviews (user and editor ratings) on consumers’ sample downloading behavior, using a dataset drawn from a large software free sampling website CNET.com. Our findings extend the previous research by suggesting that information disclosure levels of free samples (indicated by licenses) moderates the impacts of online reviews on consumers’ sample downloads. For samples that disclose a great level of information, higher user ratings can increase downloads; otherwise, higher user ratings fail to increase downloads. When both user and editor ratings are available to consumers, only user ratings can increase sample downloads. The findings can be explained by consumers’ two-stage information process whereby consumers first refer to online reviews and then determine whether to sample software. This study provides practical implications on the design of information disclosure channel and offers suggestions for firms regarding how to select and apply sample licenses.     

Investigating factors influencing the physicians’ adoption of electronic health record (EHR) in healthcare system of Bangladesh: An empirical study

Electronic Health Record (EHR) can promote awareness or knowledge about healthcare among patients and healthcare professionals to improve collaboration between different governmental bodies, and enhance healthcare quality. The aim of the study is to identify the critical farctors affecting the physicians’ adoption of EHR in healthcare system of Bangladesh by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to include Personal Innovativeness in Information Technology and Resistance to Change. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 participants in different private and public hospitals in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The study used partial least square (PLS) method, a statistical analysis technique based on the structural equation modeling (SEM), to analyze the collected data. The results of the study determined that Social Influence (β = 0.19, P < 0.05), Facilitating Conditions (β = 0.19, P < 0.05), and Personal Innovativeness in Information Technology (β = 0.19, P < 0.05) had a significant influence on physicians’ Behavioral Intention to adopt the EHR system, whereas Performance Expectancy (β = 0.08, P > 0.05), Effort Expectancy (β = -0.02, P > 0.05), and Resistance to Change (β = 0.03, P > 0.05) had no significant influence. The findings suggest that policymakers should increase the adoption of the EHR system by developing social strategies to encourage physicians to stimulate each other to use the EHR system and ensuring technical sufficiency, training to facilitate the use of the EHR system. In addition, the policymakers should identify physicians who possess a propensity to experiment with new information technologies as well as reduce existing challenges and barriers such as computers crush, poor infrastructure with erratic power supply etc. Moreover, we identify future research areas that provide scholars opportunities to push theoretical and empirical boundaries and offer further insights into the study of the EHR system.     

The impact of imitation on Chinese social commerce buyers’ purchase behavior: The moderating role of uncertainty

The purpose of this study is to explore how buyers’ imitation of others’ online behavior is positively associated with purchase behavior. In addition, we consider the moderating role that product uncertainty, seller uncertainty and product fit uncertainty play in the relationship between imitation and purchase behavior. Users in China who have purchase experience on Xiaohongshu were chosen to test the hypotheses. Finally, longitudinal data from 282 respondents was collected. The findings show that imitation has a positive impact on purchase intention. Purchase intention positively affects actual purchase behavior. Product uncertainty and product fit uncertainty positively moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. But seller uncertainty doesn’t moderate the relationship between imitation and purchase intention. Both theoretical and practical contributions are also considered.     

Third-party mobile app developers’ continued participation in platform-centric ecosystems: An empirical investigation of two different mechanisms

Platform-centric ecosystems run by Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. enable the companies to magnify the values of their products and services on an unprecedented scale, by harnessing third-party add-on software such as mobile apps. Despite the importance, however, there is a dearth of empirical research that investigates how third-party developers’ continued participation is actually determined. This paper examined two different mechanisms increasing dedication to a platform and constraining exit from the platform, respectively. Specific factors in each mechanism and their casual relationships were tested and discussed in the context of Apple’s mobile platform.     

Exploring the effects of extrinsic motivation on consumer behaviors in social commerce: Revealing consumers’ perceptions of social commerce benefits

The rise of social media has created a new e-commerce platform called social commerce. In social commerce, e-vendors such as Amazon may integrate social media with their traditional e-commerce sites. Based on self-determination theory and social commerce literature, we develop a model illustrating how social commerce features may impact consumer behaviors and facilitate social commerce benefits from the extrinsic motivation perspective. We identify four types of extrinsic motivation including external motivation, introjected motivation, identified motivation, and integrated motivation; and we examine their influences on consumers’ intention to contribute social commerce information, which in turn leads to their subsequent behaviors and increases the perceived benefit of social commerce. We also consider the moderating effect of gender in the formulation of social commerce benefits. Based on longitudinal survey data from Amazon consumers, we find that 1) consumers’ external and identified motivation has a positive impact on intention to contribute social commerce information; 2) consumers’ intention is positively associated with their future behaviors, which in turn facilitate their perceptions of social commerce benefits; and 3) gender moderates the impact of behavior on social commerce benefits.     

Social constructivist account of the world’s largest gay social app: Case study of Blued in China

Abstract

Given China’s political conservativism and limited social acceptance of sexual minorities, it is paradoxical to find that Blued, a gay social app headquartered in Beijing, has become the largest app of this kind globally. Informed by the social construction of technology perspective and based on a yearlong ethnography, this article identifies three major factors that have shaped the developmental trajectory of Blued: (1) work with the Communist Party of China to employ Blued as a health education platform; (2) switch in orientation from a hookup app to a social app; and (3) push for the commercialization and internationalization of the app. This article spotlights that the voices of users were missing in the development process and argues that, for Blued to continue maintaining its success, it must stop relying on the “I-methodology” in its design and development. Lastly, it contributes to the SCOT scholarship and social app studies by deciphering the role of the state in app development in the Chinese context.     

Artificial intelligence in E-commerce fulfillment: A case study of resource orchestration at Alibaba’s Smart Warehouse

Despite heightened interest, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into businesses remains challenging. Recent surveys show that up to 85 % of AI initiatives ultimately fail to deliver on their promises. Studies on successful AI applications that could provide invaluable lessons for organizations embarking on their AI journey are still lacking. Therefore, this study aims to understand how AI technology, people, and processes should be managed to successfully create value. Building on the resource orchestration perspective, this study analyzes the successful applications of AI at Alibaba's e-commerce fulfillment center. The findings indicate that the key AI resources include data, AI algorithms, and robots. These resources must be orchestrated (e.g., coordinated, leveraged, deployed) to work with other related resources, such as warehouse facilities and existing information systems, to generate strong AI capabilities. The key AI capabilities generated include forecasting, planning, and learning. More importantly, AI capabilities are not independent – they interact and coevolve with human capabilities to create business value in terms of efficiency (e.g., space optimization, labor productivity) and effectiveness (e.g., error reduction). The implications of understanding these social informatics of AI for research and practice are discussed.     

A walk on the wild side: ‘Predatory’ journals and information asymmetries in scientific evaluations

In recent years the academic world has witnessed the mushrooming of journals that falsely pretend to be legitimate academic outlets. We study this phenomenon using information from 46,000 researchers seeking promotion in Italian academia. About 5% of them have published in journals included in the blacklist of ‘potential, possible, or probable predatory journals’ elaborated by the scholarly librarian Jeffrey Beall. Data from a survey that we conducted among these researchers confirms that at least one third of these journals do not provide peer review or they engage in some other type of irregular editorial practice. We identify two factors that may have spurred publications in dubious journals. First, some of these journals have managed to be included in citation indexes such as Scopus that many institutions consider as a guarantee of quality. Second, we show that authors who publish in these journals are more likely to receive positive assessments when they are evaluated by (randomly selected) committee members who lack research expertise. Overall, our analysis suggests that the proliferation of ‘predatory’ journals reflects the existence of severe information asymmetries in scientific evaluations.     

Using computer vision techniques on Instagram to link users’ personalities and genders to the features of their photos: An exploratory study

Instagram and other photo-based social networking sites have emerged as a popular medium. Previous studies mainly focused on social media texts, but the current study deals with the relationships between the characteristics of Instagram users and the features of their photos. The Big Five personality traits and gender were employed as the variables for user characteristics. Content category, the number of faces, the emotions on the faces, and the pixel derived features were employed as the variables for photo characteristics. An online survey of 179 university students was conducted to measure user characteristics, and 25,394 photos in total were downloaded and analyzed from the respondents’ Instagram accounts. Results suggested that content category is associated with extraversion and gender of users. The number of faces is associated with extraversion, agreeableness, and openness of users. Extraversion, agreeableness, and openness of users were partly associated with emotions expressed on the faces in their photos. Correlations were observed among some pixel features and extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and gender of users. It was also observed that the Big Five personality traits, except for gender, can be predicted by above variables. Implications and limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are suggested.     

Can people hear others’ crying?: A computational analysis of help-seeking on Weibo during COVID-19 outbreak in China

Social media like Weibo has become an important platform for people to ask for help during COVID-19 pandemic. Using a complete dataset of help-seeking posts on Weibo during the COVID-19 outbreak in China (N = 3,705,188), this study mapped their characteristics and analyzed their relationship with the epidemic development at the aggregate level, and examined the influential factors to determine whether and the extent the help-seeking crying could be heard at the individual level using computational methods for the first time. It finds that the number of help-seeking posts on Weibo has a Granger causality relationship with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases with a time lag of eight days. This study then proposes a 3C framework to examine the direct influence of content, context, and connection on the responses (measured by retweets and comments) and assistance that help-seekers might receive as well as their indirect effects on assistance through the mediation of both retweets and comments. The differential influences of content (theme and negative sentiment), context (Super topic community, spatial location of posting, and the period of sending time), and connection (the number of followers, whether mentioning others, and verified status of authors and sharers) have been reported and discussed.