Social Capital Initiatives: Employees and Communication Managers Leading the Way?

Organizations’ development of social capital and their decision to give back to society are becoming increasingly important to the business of managing organizations as much more than profit-driven entities. This article focuses on the rationale for an Australian–Canadian study on employees’ involvement in social capital initiatives and the communication management of these initiatives. As employees are key stakeholders, they play a vital part in achieving organizational goals. This study, a work in progress, highlights an in-depth, qualitative analysis of two organizations—one in Canada and one in Australia—committed to funding community projects as part of their corporate social responsibility development and commitment. The importance of a qualitative study that focuses on subjective components of social capital is that it develops understanding of employees’ attitudes, feelings, and viewpoints. It also begins to investigate why employees might/might not be committed, to organizations’ social capital initiatives. Using an interpretative analysis lens, an understanding of the moral, relational, and communication dynamics is explored. Questions surrounding concepts such as the moral fiber of social capital are highlighted and critiqued in the context of community engagement and what organizations’ social capital investments mean as part of their responsibility to society.     

Social media engagement: a model of antecedents and relational outcomes

This article investigates individual-level antecedents and relational outcomes of social media engagement. Social media engagement approached in this study is a three-dimensional construct composed of affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions. Surveying more than 48 Facebook pages, spanning nine product categories and 448 consumers, the results show that product involvement, attitude towards the community and online interaction propensity all impact social media engagement. The study also reveals that high social media engagement increases brand relationships significantly, particularly affecting brand trust, commitment and loyalty. Additionally, community engagement appears as a precursor of brand engagement. These findings provide insight into antecedents and outcomes of engagement for academic research and bring value to online brand and community management.     

Drivers of brand community engagement

Brand community engagement is evolving as a prominent relationship marketing variable that yields promising outcomes for the firms. Drawing upon the relevant premises of social exchange theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model portraying the role of online brand community based benefits (experience based and self-esteem based) and the community relationship investment in predicting the levels of brand community engagement.Data collected through a survey questionnaire technique from 925 members of the firm created online brand communities was employed to test the measurement and structural theory using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling respectively. The empirical results reveal that the customers’ experiential and self-esteem based benefits drive their brand community engagement. The perceived community relationship investment of the members also drives their brand community engagement positively. The sequential structural model also supported a positive impact exerted by brand community engagement on brand community commitment and brand loyalty. Additionally, it is observed that the focal brand ownership moderates the effect of community benefits and community relationship investment on brand community engagement.This study contributes to the nascent academic research on online brand communities and to the existing understanding of the brand community managers in managing customer engagement in online brand communities, thereby of profound theoretical and managerial relevance.     

Service-driven social community and its relation to well-being

This study aims to develop a conceptual framework pertaining to a service-driven social community and its relation to customer well-being. This paper draws on motivations and self-determination theory to expand an existing empowerment framework for a better understanding of how a service provider, which aims at transforming its service offerings to achieve business sustainability, supports for his/her customers’ needs in value co-creation in the beginning and over the course of time, which subsequently drive their active engagement in co-creation. The framework reinforces the transformative role of a service to establish a social community to satisfy customers’ psychological needs for competence, autonomy and a sense of relatedness. The satisfaction will drive the community to form a collective commitment to shared goals and intercustomer support, which subsequently perpetuates community members’ positive experiences of living well. This is accomplished through a case study drawn from the cTaipei platform, where service providers interact with their networks and customers to co-create values in developing a creative Taipei city. This paper contributes to this practice by providing a roadmap for services and customers to be benefited from the proposed service-driven social community framework.     

A Study of Community Events Held by Not‐for‐Profit Organizations in Australia

This research questions the role and purpose of community‐based events hosted by not‐for‐profit organizations (NFPs), particularly charities. Followed by a review of the relevant literature, open‐ended interviews were conducted with managers of several Australian charities. The findings identify the key themes of strategic tension, stakeholder engagement, competitive pressures, event structure, event analysis, and review which are likely to be of importance to managers of NFPs who are involved in community events.     

“Happy Together”: Effects of Brand Community Engagement on Customer Happiness

Because the pursuit of happiness is fundamental, humans perform a wide range of activities, including consumption, to lead a happy life. For marketers, findings from positive psychology suggest that customer happiness may arise through customer engagement. This article proposes a conceptual framework of customer happiness in brand communities and analyzes the effect of customer engagement on customer happiness, as well as on the ultimate outcomes of word of mouth and purchase intentions. Structural equation modeling provides a test of the model through an empirical study with 518 members from the online brand community for a German automotive brand. Customer engagement exerts a significant positive effect on customer happiness, which in turn increases positive word of mouth and purchase intentions. Therefore, marketing managers should invest in brand communities to engage customers and build and maintain their happiness and loyalty.     

社会资本对网络群体行为影响的理论和实证分析

网络群体行为的影响因素和作用机理是以虚拟社区及其情境为载体的,可以从社会资本不同维度进行研究,这个问题的研究对象、基本架构及相应的理论分析,可通过虚拟社区平台为参照来建构分析模型。文章采用SEM技术对所建构的理论模型进行了分析讨论和实证检验,得出的重要结论是,在网络群体成员的关系网络中,社会资本对网络群体行为具有正向影响作用。文章讨论了西方学者所讨论的社会资本的结构维度、关系维度和认知维度的相关论述,认为社会资本不同维度对网络群体行为的作用是不同的;关系维度对网络群体行为的正向影响最为显著,结构维度对网络群体行为的促进作用要大于认知维度对网络群体行为的促进作用;通过对社会资本三维度影响网络群体行为的研究,文章在理论上对虚拟社区的网络群体行为有了一个从理论逼近现实的认识。     

Unhealthy and unsafe practices associated with symptoms of depression among injured patients

This study describes a process to explore factors which contribute to child-drowning deaths and allows the development of appropriate strategies to prevent similar deaths in a selected site in the Northern Philippines. Data collection techniques used in obtaining baseline data include: review of drowning mortality records; key informant interviews; focus group discussions; and community walk-throughs. Risk factors identified which could or did contribute to drowning events were: proximity to bodies of water; inadequate child supervision; lack of information/awareness of prevention strategies; and lack of drowning prevention programme(s). Measures on how to prevent drowning deaths were explored and initial interventions were implemented through a committee convened by the community. These interventions include: community education sessions; capability building measures; redesigning of community wells; development of playpens; and use of barriers. Community engagement is a crucial element in the development and implementation of any health programme. This study demonstrates that by engaging and working with the community action occurs, however, there is a need to conduct further evaluation activities to determine if the actions by the community continued beyond the project and have resulted in a decrease in drowning. One of the strengths of the process described is that it is culturally appropriate and site-specific and allows the community to find the solutions itself. Exploration and delivery of further projects in larger areas is required to reduce drowning in the Philippines. An imperative is the evaluation which will provide valuable information on whether barriers are a sustainable and acceptable means of prevention to the community in the long term.     

Social media influencers and consumer engagement: A review and future research agenda

The rise of social media influencers (SMIs) in the recent decade garnered wide interest from academicians and marketers. Academicians try to understand the effect of influencers on consumer behaviour, while marketers use influencers as part of their strategy to achieve marketing objectives. Although, plenty of practical and conceptual research is available in this area, literature reviews in the domain of SMIs and consumer engagement are scarce as it is still developing, and most of the studies have focused on these two concepts separately. In this study, the authors attempted to combine and understand how social media influencers affect consumers engagement. This systematic review of the literature offers a comprehensive view of previous research on social media influencers and consumer engagement. The study reviewed articles published in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC), Scopus, and Web of Science indexed journals till 5 June 2021. To understand consumers' engagement with SMIs, authors identified and theorized the antecedents, decision and outcome of such engagement. It also discusses the influencer-follower parasocial relationship on different social media platforms. The study proposes an integrated conceptual framework that can be further used to test and validate the impact of social media influencer's marketing efforts on consumer engagement. This framework also may serve as a foundation for marketers to develop effective influencer strategies for brand promotions. The review concludes the discussion by highlighting theories, methodology, and context of studies conducted by past researchers.     

Engaging Stakeholders in Emerging Economies: The Case of Multilatinas

Stakeholder engagement is central to organizations’ social impact. Engagement activities rely on mechanisms whose complexity increases for multinational corporations (MNCs). This study explores the boundary conditions of our Western/Northern-based knowledge of stakeholder engagement mechanisms through the examination of such practices in multinational companies founded in Latin America (Multilatinas—MLs). Based on previous studies on the identification of organizational stakeholders in the region, we aim to understand the specific engagement mechanisms MLs use. To this end, we analyze qualitatively 28 corporate sustainability reports by relevant firms. Our findings show that the community includes silent (or non-visible) stakeholders composed of subgroups not listed as organizational stakeholders but mentioned in the report as engaged by the company or a subsidiary. MLs in our sample use four main mechanisms to engage these subgroups: (a) strong, visible commitments to local social organizations; (b) continuous dialogue with members of the community; (c) networks of volunteers to help perform the social activities of the companies; and (d) creation of social infrastructure institutions. We end by detailing the theoretical implications for stakeholder engagement among emerging economies multinational companies (EMNCs) and for MNCs in general.     

Linking Customer Engagement to Trust and Word-of-Mouth on Facebook Brand Communities: An Empirical Study

Given the rise of social networking sites, particularly Facebook, companies have started engaging with customers in this newly emerged digital space. This study explores the role of customer engagement in enhancing trust and word-of-mouth on brand communities over Facebook. The effect of customer involvement on customer engagement is also checked. This study also investigates the direct relationship of customer involvement with trust and word-of-mouth. A pen-and-paper questionnaire survey of 450 Facebook account holder students was used. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that a higher level of involvement with the brand community leads to a higher level of customer engagement. Customer engagement leads to customer trust and word-of-mouth activities. The results further suggest a direct positive relationship of customer involvement with trust and word-of-mouth, but the mediation of customer engagement strengthens the mentioned effect.     

Developing an Integrative CSR Model: Imperative for Cultural and Consultative Dimensions

Corporate organizations conducting business in developing economies have increased their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities over time. However, some of these CSR projects have attracted criticism, controversy, and conflicts, thus creating an acrimonious relationship between affected corporate organizations and host communities. A deductive explanation of this phenomenon has been attributed to the default in the approach adopted by corporate organizations when initiating and implementing CSR projects. This has motivated the need to expand the categorization of CSR that was developed by Carroll, in order to incorporate additional dimensions that are environmentally specific and crucial to the success of CSR programs in South Africa. Using a case study research design and a qualitative research approach, this paper developed an integrated CSR model that provides a framework for CSR initiatives in South Africa.     

Crowdsourcing and brand control

Crowdsourcing is the deliberate use of crowds to solve problems, create new products, and improve consumer experiences. When used by brands, crowdsourcing engages consumers by asking them to be part of a deliberate call to action. Crowdsourcing provides interesting and dynamic marketing opportunities for brands, given the consumer engagement it entails. This conceptual study examines the literature on crowdsourcing and brand community, and makes a series of propositions regarding this rich marketing arena. Herein, we discuss managerial implications of the relationship between crowdsourcing and brand community dynamics and propose a typology for brands to better assess customer bases and market realities.     

Assessing the influence of goal pursuit and emotional attachment on customer engagement behaviors

This study draws on customer-dominant logic and self-expansion theory to examine the drivers of customer engagement behaviors in the context of emerging online interest communities. The engagement behaviors seen in online communities are operationalized into four types: augmenting, co-developing, influencing, and mobilizing. Goal pursuit (gratifying-the-self, enabling-the-self, and enriching-the-self) and emotional attachment to the community are found to be the key antecedent factors of these behaviors. The attainment of gratifying-the-self has a direct influence on these behaviors, whereas the attainment of enabling-the-self and enriching-the-self influences them via emotional attachment to the community.     

U.S. community foundations: building a generous society in challenging times

Community foundations are nonprofit organizations promoting philanthropy for projects useful in a defined geographic area. This paper aims to highlight how U.S. community foundations are building a generous society with the engagement of multiple stakeholders. Our study analyses the marketing strategies of a sample of 100 of the largest U.S. community foundations in 2010 and 2013. A cluster analysis examines financial performance, average number of recipients, and related organizations to discover the level of philanthropic activities and relationships, revenue diversification, and the level of competition on the fundraising side.     

The role of customer online brand experience in customers' intention to forward online company-generated content: The case of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine

The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, to assess the impact of customer online brand experience (COBE) with online banking on customer's intention to forward online company-generated content (CGC). Secondly, to explore the role of online brand community engagement (OBCE) and the perceived trust of brand community page (BCP) as mediating variables between COBE and the intention to forward online CGC. This research conducted an online survey among various Islamic bank customers in Palestine who were members of online brand communities (fan pages) on Facebook. 375 valid responses were collected and results revealed that COBE exerts a dual influence on intention to forward CGC. This study is a pioneering empirical research on the role of OBCE in customers' intention to forward online CGC within the fast-growing Islamic banking industry. This study contributes to fill this research gap by assessing the effect of COBE on OBCE and intention to forward online CGC within the context of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine. In this sense, this study is a first-of-its-kind research on the role of experience on customer engagement with regard to online brand communities of Islamic banks.     

How do relational bonds affect user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming? The mediating role of trust

E-commerce livestreaming depends heavily on user engagement. However, the effect of relational bonds (i.e., financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds) on user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming has not been well understood. Our study develops a conceptual model to investigate the impacts of relational bonds on user engagement and addresses the mediating role of trust. We collected data from users of the DianTao App. The results show that social bonds and structural bonds positively affect user engagement, while financial bonds have no direct impact on user engagement. Financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds are positively related to trust in the broadcaster. Similarly, financial bonds, social bonds, and structural bonds are also positively associated with trust in the platform. Furthermore, trust in the broadcaster and trust in the platform directly affects user engagement, fully mediating the impact of financial bonds on user engagement, while partially mediating the impacts of social bonds and structural bonds on user engagement. In addition, we find that experience moderates the mediating effects of trust between relational bonds and user engagement. The findings of this study provide useful insights for operators who should invest in building relational bonds and user trust to improve user engagement in e-commerce livestreaming.     

The impact of consumer local engagement on local store patronage and customer satisfaction

Abstract

This paper examines the drivers of local grocery retail patronage. Drawing on institutional and social network theory literature, we develop a framework to investigate how consumers’ personal values and engagement with local communities affect their satisfaction and local store patronage. We test our model with survey data on 1504 Finnish consumers. Our results show that the relationship between customer local engagement and local retail patronage is indirect rather than direct, and it is mediated by the vitality of local services, social interaction, and consumer satisfaction.     

U.S. Small Business’s Philanthropic Contribution to Local Community: Stakeholder Salience and Social Identity Perspectives

This study investigates relational attributes that explain small-business owners’/managers’ philanthropic contribution to their local community. Drawing on the theory of stakeholder salience and the social identity theory, we consider two facets of small-business–local-community relationship: a relationship with the local community as a stakeholder and a relationship with the local community as a social category that they belong. Data from 202 small-business owners/managers in the United States yielded support for the stakeholder salience and social identity perspectives. The results showed that the owners’/managers’ perception of legitimacy and urgency of local community’s claim and their social identity as a community member were important determinants of the small businesses’ philanthropic contribution. The findings provide strategic implications for local governments, civic organizations, and community authorities about managing the relationship with Small Business, Stakeholder salience, social identity, CSR, local community.     

Apprenticeships and ‘future work’: are we ready?

The paper evaluates the readiness of apprenticeship systems to cope with five major developments affecting the future of work. The institution of apprenticeship has evolved over time in all countries, gradually adapting to changes in industrial processes, the economy, the labour market and education systems. This paper suggests, however, that recent changes in the economy and the labour market, and their concomitant effects on the likely future of work, have the potential to disrupt apprenticeship systems quite radically worldwide, and/or to make them less relevant in the 21st century. The paper draws on data from recent Australian and international research projects undertaken by the author, as well as the author’s engagement in Australian government exercises to discuss the future of apprenticeships. The research found that adaptations of systems and processes were being undertaken at company level and by stakeholders such as trade union or employer peak bodies. They were less frequently apparent, however, in government policy. The paper analyses the data to produce a framework of readiness for ‘future work’, but also queries whether adaptation of apprenticeship systems is necessarily desirable in all instances. Although the presence of multiple stakeholders in the system has previously been viewed as a strength of the system, it can also make even minor changes difficult to implement. This could prove to be a major impediment to apprenticeship’s future or could be a means of preserving its essential features.