Producing solidarity in social media activism: The case of My Stealthy Freedom

Solidarity, i.e., an individual's feelings of devotion and commitment to others in a collective, is one of the defining features of social movements. It is regarded as a key motivator of collective action in that it collectivizes what would otherwise remain individual experiences and emotions. However, as social movements are increasingly relying on Internet technology, particularly social media, for instrumental and expressive communication, some question whether solidarity plays any role in e-movements at all. Others propose that new forms of solidarity are developing in these mediated environments. Since most prior research fails to account for the role of physical bodies in online social movements, the objective of this paper is to explore the roles and forms of solidarity in contemporary social movements that hybridize online and physically-embodied action. To this end, we develop a multi-faceted and practice-based definition of solidarity through which we read two configurations of a social movement called My Stealthy Freedom (MySF), which opposes the compulsory veiling laws (i.e., hijab) in Iran. In both enactments of MySF, the activists' physical bodies played a significant role in the social movement's online presence but the forms of solidarity they produced differed. We therefore theorize the role of materiality – particularly social media and activists' physical bodies –in social media activism.     

Managing the digital supply chain: The role of smart technologies

This study investigates the approach required to achieve competitive advantages in the digital supply chain. Moreover, the study examines how digital transformation of companies can fuel smart technologies, leading to improved relationship performance. The results of the survey given to 280 Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) show that digital transformation of the companies alone cannot enhance relationship performance, and that it needs to be coupled with smart technologies to achieve this goal. This means that smart technologies fully mediate the relationship between digital transformation and relationship performance.     

The impact of oil prices and the financial market on cost efficiency in the insurance and Takaful sectors: Evidence from a stochastic frontier analysis

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) insurance industry, including conventional insurance and Takaful, has witnessed remarkable growth during the last decade. However, the economies of this region rely on oil as the primary stream of revenue and lack development in financial markets. This could affect the insurance industry. For this reason, this paper examines the impact of oil prices and the financial market on the cost efficiency of the insurance and Takaful sectors in GCC countries using a stochastic frontier cost function with data from 2009–2016. The results show that the relationship between oil prices and efficiency changes from positive to negative when the prices increase, whereas the relationship between the financial market and efficiency is negative. No clear evidence of the impact of oil prices on efficiency arises from the differences between conventional insurance and Takaful. However, there are differences regarding the financial market, with a negative impact on conventional insurance and a positive one on the Takaful business. The results of this study have implications for regulators and management. The Takaful industry is rapidly growing compared to conventional insurance in the GCC and, therefore, the financial market may have added benefits for the GCC region. However, caution is required in relation to the impact of the financial market on conventional insurance. Furthermore, management may require the development of strategies to deal with the nature of GCC economies to avoid shocks to oil prices.