A morphological review of enterprise social media literature

Introduction of Enterprise Social Media (ESM) in organizations is driven by a need to improve communication and knowledge sharing within the enterprise. Studies show that soon after ESM adoption, there is some initial enthusiasm and subsequently there is a perceptible drop in usage. A review of ESM literature in a morphological framework, with the aim of demystifying the troubling trend, is presented here. Morphological analysis of literature helps exhibit relevant work on ESM in a framework consisting of dimensions and options from which insights can be derived. The framework developed depicts ESM literature through seven dimensions – organizational level factors influencing ESM, unit of analysis, business objectives of ESM adoption, individual level factors influencing ESM, theoretical framework used, outcomes of adoption, and context of ESM implementation. For each of the dimensions, relevant options were explored and listed. Preliminary observation indicates that at an individual level, themes such as absorptive capacity and lurking behavior of individuals need to be studied in the context of ESM. At an organizational level, the impact of human resources (HR) policies on ESM adoption, uses of ESM for internal crowdsourcing need to be evaluated. Practitioners can use these findings to assess and design their ESM strategies and for academicians, the morphological framework reveals the state of current research in the field and identifies gaps for further research in specific areas of ESM.     

WOM and social media: Presaging future directions for research and practice

Word of mouth (WOM) has become the focus of growing interest among marketing practitioners and consumers. However, the promises of WOM marketing are often oversold, and various assertions about the nature of WOM, its dynamics, antecedents, and consequences at times have been misstated in mass-mediated articles and books on the topic. In this introductory paper for the special issue on WOM and social media, we survey the current state of WOM knowledge and the role of WOM in contemporary marketing, reconsider common beliefs about the WOM process in an effort to separate WOM facts from fallacies, and presage some future directions and best practices in light of evolving online channels of WOM generation and transmission.     

Impulse buying: A systematic literature review and future research directions

This paper performs a comprehensive analysis of academic research on impulse buying following a systematic literature review approach. Drawing on the TCCM framework suggested by Paul and Rosado-Serrano, we synthesize the impulse buying literature and develop a future research agenda. Accordingly, this review synthesizes impulse buying research in terms of theory development, context, characteristics, and methodologies to examine the development of the literature over time. This systematic review shows that impulse buying research is fragmented and still developing due to its transition from a traditional retail environment into different online channels. Furthermore, this paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the literature synthesis, presenting antecedents and mediators of impulse buying behaviour. Finally, this review identifies overlooked areas in impulse buying literature and provides insightful directions to advance research in the domain. Overall, this research effort makes a significant contribution to consumer behaviour literature, specifically to impulse buying literature.     

Understanding online firestorms: Negative word-of-mouth dynamics in social media networks

Social media are, on the one hand, a highly beneficial environment for word-of-mouth (WOM) propagation of new ideas and products, and this has increasingly made them a focus of marketing communications. On the other hand, companies and their brands as well as politicians, governmental institutions, and celebrities have increasingly been facing the impact of negative online WOM and complaint behavior. In reaction to any questionable statement or activity, social media users can create huge waves of outrage within just a few hours. These so-called online firestorms pose new challenges for marketing communications. In this article, we group observations from recent online firestorms, identify related social and economic science theories, and derive generalized factors that form the basis for the proliferation of these dynamics. Furthermore, we discuss the consequences of online firestorms for marketing communications, and offer courses of action for marketers to navigate through crises of negative online WOM.     

Antecedents and consequences of brand attachment: A literature review and research agenda

Consumers develop powerful connections with brands and they feel a strong bond or attachment to favourite brands that can lead to re-purchase behaviour, reduced price sensitivity and increased customer loyalty. Gaining greater in-depth knowledge of brand attachment offers a powerful means of understanding and facilitates modelling the mechanisms for achieving greater profitability and increased revenue for firms. The purpose of this paper is first to map the antecedents, mediators and consequences of brand attachment; second to provide scholars with a map of prior research as a starting point for future research; and third to offer insights to extend understanding of how consumers relate to and engage with brands. The antecedents to brand attachment are categorized under five headings: brand-related concepts; self-brand connection and connection; congruence and the self; emotional drivers of brand attachment; and service-related concepts. The consequences of brand attachment are categorized as: brand loyalty and switching resistance; purchase intentions and willingness to pay; and word of mouth. The review and future research agenda utilize the Theory, Context, Characteristics, Methodology structure: (T) theory and concepts; (C) context and industry sectors; (C) characteristics (antecedents, mediators and consequences); (M) methods used in prior research. Recommendations focus on: social media marketing; social media marketing influencers and psychological ownership.     

Parents' perceptions of the sensitivity of their children's personal information and willingness to share with social media marketers: Implications for sharenting

Many stakeholders such as parents, companies, and policymakers play a role in children's online privacy. This study explores how parents who have at least one child age 10 and younger perceive the sensitivity of their children's personal information and willingness to share it with social media marketers. Survey results of 418 parents indicate that a variety of types of children's information is perceived as sensitive, with certain information (e.g., videos, photos) that parents readily share via social media as highly sensitive. Findings also suggest that fathers and single parents are more likely to perceive their children's information as sensitive and yet are more willing to share it. This research contributes to the consumer welfare literature on children's privacy by providing a baseline of parents' attitudes regarding their children's data, extending prior research that has examined adults' perceptions of the sensitivity of their own information and willingness to share with social media marketers.     

Customer experience in social commerce: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Social commerce (SC) is an upcoming trend that has changed the online shopping experience by allowing e-retailers to develop long-term relationships with customers and increase sales. Empowered by Web 3.0, SC offers many-to-many interactions, enhancing the quality and quantity of social interaction related to the seller–customer, information searches, and product/service delivery. The customer experience (CEX) has been well developed both in the online and offline contexts. However, limited attention has been paid to examining CEX in the SC setting. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature to develop a conceptual framework exploring both the antecedents and consequences of CEX in the SC setting. In the process, we make three significant contributions to academia and practice. First, the study contributes to our understanding of CEX in the context of SC. Second, it proposes a conceptual framework by identifying antecedents of CEX and potential consequences using the consumer culture theory. Finally, it highlights a subject relevant to academia and practice while proposing recommendations for further research.     

Social media in marketing research: Theoretical bases,methodological aspects,and thematic focus

The widespread use of social media as a marketing tool during the last decade has been responsible for attracting a significant volume of academic research, which, however, can be described as highly fragmented to yield clear directions and insights. We systematically synthesize and critically evaluate extant knowledge of social media marketing extracted from 418 articles published during the period 2009–2021. In doing so, we use an organizing framework focusing on five key areas of social media marketing research, namely, social media as a promotion and selling outlet, social media as a communication and branding channel, social media as a monitoring and intelligence source, social media as a customer relationship management and value cocreation platform, and social media as a general marketing and strategic tool. Within each of these areas, we provide important theoretical, methodological, and thematic insights, as well as future research directions. We also offer useful managerial implications derived from the articles reviewed.     

Antecedents and consequences of idiosyncratic deals: A frame of resource exchange

This study examines the antecedents and consequences of both timing and content of idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) for attracting and retaining valuable employees. A resource exchange frame theorizes the influence pattern of personal individualism value, social skill, and perceived insider status on i-deals timing. Individualism and social skill are expected to relate to both ex ante and ex post i-deals; perceived insider status is anticipated to relate only to ex post i-deals. The frame also suggests that i-deals’ content and personal development relate primarily to relational and balanced psychological contracts; the other ex post i-deals, flexibility and workload reduction relate to transactional psychological contracts. The frame was tested with data collected from 289 Chinese employees in the telecommunication industry.     

Analyzing user sentiment in social media: Implications for online marketing strategy

This article examines restaurant customers’ online activity following visits to restaurants. Differences in customers’ opinions based on gender and location are discussed. Sentiment analysis was used to analyze customers’ social media behavior in terms of liking, rating, and reviewing restaurants. User‐generated reviews and comments about experiences influence potential customers’ decisions. The results of this study show that gender and location of customers influence restaurant ratings. This article shows that sentiment analysis (using Natural Language Toolkit and TextBlob) can help marketers by providing a useful tool for big data analysis. Sentiment analysis can be used to interpret customer behavior and highlight how presales, sales, and after‐sales strategies can be improved.     

Exploring online customer experience: A systematic literature review and research agenda

This review aims to examine the latest research on online customer experience (OCE), which can be defined as consumer's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response to interactions between customer and company occurring through digital channels (e.g., websites, social media, mobile apps). To achieve this, we utilized a hybrid review approach that incorporates quantitative bibliometric analysis and qualitative systematic literature review techniques. We identified publication trends, prominent authors and outlets, and the evolution of research themes based on 141 articles published since the last systematic review 11 years ago. Our framework-based review identified frequently studied antecedents, dimensions, and outcomes of OCE, and identified new themes related to m-commerce and augmented/virtual reality. We also identified gaps in the current literature and proposed 14 areas of future research using the TCM framework.     

Online grocery shopping: the impact of shopping frequency on perceived risk

Online grocery shopping has enjoyed strong growth and it is predicted this channel will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. While online shopping has attracted an abundance of research interest, examinations of online grocery shopping behaviour are only now emerging. Shopping online for groceries differs considerably from general online shopping due to the perishability and variability of the product, and frequency of the shopping activity. Two salient gaps underpin this research into online grocery shopping. This study responds to calls to investigate the online shoppers’ experience in the context of online purchasing frequency. Second, this study examines the mediating effect of perceived risk between trust and online repurchase intention of groceries. An online survey was employed to collect data from shoppers who were recruited from a multi-channel grocery e-retailer’s database. The online survey, comprising 16 reflective validated scale items, was sent to 555 frequent and infrequent online grocery shoppers. Results find that while customer satisfaction predicts trust for both infrequent and frequent online grocery shoppers, perceived risk fully mediates the effect of trust on repurchase intentions for infrequent online grocery shoppers. Furthermore, path analysis reveals that the developed behavioural model is variant across both groups of shoppers. Theoretically, we provide a deeper understanding of the online customer experience, while gaining insight into two shopper segments identified as being important to grocery e-retailers. For managers, this study tests an online customer behavioural model with actual purchasing behaviour and identifies the continued presence of perceived risk in grocery e-retailing, regardless of purchase frequency or experience.     

Advertising in social media: a review of empirical evidence

This article presents an up-to-date review of academic and empirical research on advertising in social media. Two international databases from business and communication studies were searched, identifying 51 relevant studies. The findings of the identified studies were organized by seven emerging themes: use of advertising in social media, attitudes about and exposure to advertising, targeting, user-generated content in advertising, electronic word-of-mouth in advertising, consumer-generated advertising, and further advertising effects. Besides researched topics and major results, year of publication, journal, theoretical framework, research method, sample, measured constructs, and way of analysis were examined regarding each article. The review concludes by providing an agenda for future research.     

Exploring social change through social media: The case of the Facebook group Indignant Citizens

This study examines the role of social media in facilitating the network of a social movement, the novel forms of exchange networks that are fashioned by participants of this movement and the drivers and effects of individuals’ engagement therein. Specifically, using the lens of political consumerism, we look at the movement of self‐described Indignant Citizens in Greece to reveal the underlying motivations for participants to engage in this social movement, the dynamics of their engagement and the ways in which Indignant Citizens’ online presence enables identity expression, community building and social change. We draw on interpretive analysis of findings from eight focus groups with members of Indignant Citizens. The findings reveal how this movement and the shared identity developed amongst its members empower our participants by giving them a voice and engage them in role mobilization, drive specific actions towards the conceptualization of a shared utopia and provide them with a platform to organize action and employ desired practices for the co‐creation of useful and gratifying exchanges.     

The effect of social networks structure on innovation performance: A review and directions for research

Research on growth of innovations introduced to the market has gradually shifted its focus from aggregate-level diffusion to exploring how growth is influenced by a given social network structure's characteristics. In this paper, we critically review this branch of literature. We argue that the growth of an innovation in a social network is shaped by the network's structure. Borrowing from the field of industrial organization in economics, which defines itself as the study of the effect of market structure on market performance, we describe this new wave of research on growth of innovations as the effect of social network structure on innovation performance. Hence, social network structural characteristics should be incorporated into research on new product growth as well as into managerial marketing decisions such as targeting and new product seeding.We review how social network structure influences innovations' market performance. Specifically, we discuss (1) a networks' global characteristics, namely average degree, degree distribution, clustering, and degree assortativity; (2) dyadic characteristics, or the relationships between pairs of network members, namely tie strength and embeddedness; (3) intrinsic individual characteristics, namely opinion leadership and susceptibility; and (4) location-based individual characteristics, namely the degree centrality, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality of an individual network member.Overall, we find that growth is particularly effective in networks that demonstrate the “3 Cs”: cohesion (strong mutual influence among its members), connectedness (high number of ties), and conciseness (low redundancy). We identify gaps in current knowledge, discuss the implications on managerial decision making, and suggest topics for future research.     

Cause-related marketing persuasion research: an integrated framework and directions for further research

This paper presents an integrative review of the literature on cause-related marketing (CRM) persuasion research (i.e. studies of how CRM influences evaluations of the partner brand). The aim of the study was to review CRM persuasion research and to integrate the findings into a theoretical framework that could direct future research efforts in the area. Drawing on Bergkvist and Taylor's model of Leveraged Marketing Communications (LMC), a dual-path model of CRM persuasion effects was developed. According to the model, CRM affects brand evaluations along two paths: the indirect transfer path which is mediated by attribution of motives and the direct transfer path in which attitude towards the cause is transferred to the brand. The model incorporates results from extant research and provides guidance for future studies.     

Managing relational conflict in Korean social enterprises: The role of participatory HRM practices,diversity climate,and perceived social impact

Social enterprises are hybrid organizations that primarily pursue social missions while also seeking economic gains. Drawing on workplace diversity and conflict theories, this article addresses recent calls for further research to explore how employees within social enterprises experience internal conflicts arising from the organizational pursuit of dual, competing missions (i.e., social and economic), and how social enterprises manage, and potentially overcome, these challenges. In the context of Korean social enterprise, we conducted a quantitative study that built on an initial explorative qualitative study. Our research examined whether perceived participatory human resource management practices and diversity climate increase employees’ affective commitment by reducing their relational conflict. We further explored a boundary condition, perceived social impact, which strengthened this mediation relationship. Our results offer significant insights into social enterprise, business ethics, and broader management literature. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.     

Drivers of eWOM engagement on social media for luxury consumers: Analysis,implications, and future research directions

The rapid industrialization and growth across the world have fostered the consumption of luxury fashion brands. Electronic word-of- mouth on social media (eWOM) is fast becoming an effective and germane strategy to engage luxury consumers through posting pictures, sharing reviews, and communicating information on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Extant research has not examined the antecedents and drivers that lead to eWOM behavior. We leverage self-congruity theory and through its focal lens, our study addresses this research gap through a survey conducted with 453 consumers in Mexico, Latin America's fastest growing market. Our results indicate that need for status, susceptibility to normative influence, and luxury brand involvement, moderated by authentic pride and social media influencers lead to eWOM behavior on social media. We also demonstrate that luxury brand involvement and susceptibility to normative influence mediate the relationship between need for status and eWOM behavior on social media. The study provides important implications to managers and researchers by suggesting long-term actionable strategies for growth that can help luxury firms develop a sustainable competitive advantage over rivals and competitors.     

A Strategic Social Action Framework: Theorizing and analyzing the alignment of social media affordances and organizational social action

Social media is a relatively new and dynamic field dealing with the development and use of social media technologies by individuals and more recently by organizations. Although several frameworks and models have been proposed for studying social media, most provide only limited insights into the complex social activities that are supported by the strategic usage of social media in organizational settings. In this article, we take up this challenge and introduce a Strategic Social Action Framework for analyzing social media technologies and their strategic usage in and by organizations. This framework is based on Habermas’ theory of social action and the idea that social media platforms serve as sets of rules and resources that mediate strategic organizational (inter-)actions involving these platforms. We demonstrate the value of the framework by theoretically delineating the appropriateness of the framework to specific social media tools, as well as by empirically analyzing the strategic use of two publicly available social media platforms—Facebook and Twitter—by three large airlines—Delta, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and JetBlue. Our findings reveal that when implementing social media in organizational contexts, developers and managers should critically evaluate (a) the need for supporting a rich variety of action types, (b) the possible role of social media support in the specific action situation, and (c) the strategic alignment of social media affordances and specific social action categories. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research.