Web 2.0 Social Networks: The Role of Trust

Online social networks (OSNs) have gained enormous popularity in recent years. Hundreds of millions of social network users reveal great amounts of personal information in the Web 2.0 environment that is largely devoid of security standards and practices. The central question in this article is why so many social network users are being so trusting. The focus is on theory-building on trust as a critical issue in OSNs. A theoretical framework is developed, which facilitates a multi-level and multi-dimensional analysis of research problems related to trust in OSNs. First, the structural and relational underpinnings of trust in OSNs are investigated from a governance perspective that integrates concepts of social network theory, social capital and the role of value in relational exchanges. Subsequently, the focus moves to the individual’s decision to trust and to processes through which trust actually emerges. Different types and sources of trust from the trust literature and their importance for trust-related decisions and behaviours in OSNs are discussed. Several research propositions are presented, which contribute to a better understanding of the role of trust and the relevance of facets of trust and social capital in OSNs.     

Entrepreneurship ecosystems and women entrepreneurs: a social capital and network approach

This study investigates the effects of venture typology, race, ethnicity, and past venture experience on the social capital distribution of women entrepreneurs in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Social network data from two municipal ecosystems in Florida, USA (Gainesville and Jacksonville), suggest that network connectivity and the distribution of social capital are significantly different for men and women entrepreneurs. This difference is contingent on the venture type. Male entrepreneurs show higher comparative scores of bridging social capital in aggressive- and managed-growth venture networks, while women entrepreneurs surpass their male counterparts’ bridging capital scores in lifestyle and survival venture networks. Lastly, experienced women entrepreneurs that self-identified as white showed a higher degree of network connectivity and bridging social capital in the entrepreneurial ecosystem than less experienced non-white female entrepreneurs. Implications for entrepreneurship practice and new research paths are discussed.

     

Interactive Mining of Strong Friends from Social Networks and Its Applications in E-Commerce

Social networks are generally made of individuals who are linked by some types of interdependencies such as friendship. Most individuals in social networks have many linkages in terms of friends, connections, and/or followers. Among these linkages, some of them are stronger than others. For instance, some friends may be acquaintances of an individual, whereas others may be friends who care about him or her (e.g., who frequently post on his or her wall). In this study, we integrate data mining with social computing to form a social network mining algorithm, which helps the individual distinguish these strong friends from a large number of friends in a specific portion of the social networks in which he or she is interested. Moreover, our mining algorithm allows the individual to interactively change his or her mining parameters. Furthermore, we discuss applications of our social mining algorithm to organizational computing and e-commerce     

Advertising effectiveness from a consumer perspective

Communication effectiveness research is moving away from investigations of advertising’s forms, content and the degree and type of consumer involvement, to a greater focus on the process of reception and the social and cultural roles that advertising plays in society and in individual lives. This shift in emphasis has been influenced by communication and media studies, which have prioritised the psychological, social and cultural contexts within which consumers relate to commercial information and the roles that advertising media play in their lives. The focus on the ‘receiver’ as the key actor in the advertising communication process has also coincided with increasing interest in consumer culture theory, brand communities and the new service dominant logic of marketing. This paper provides a useful perspective from which to view contemporary developments in advertising effectiveness research, and has important implications for future studies.     

Determining perceptions,attitudes and behaviour towards social network site advertising in a three-country context

ABSTRACT

Regardless of the growth in social media and social network advertising (SNA), little theoretical and empirical knowledge exists on the differences between countries, and the perceptions and attitudes towards social network advertising. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationships between users’ perceptions (personal and societal), their attitudes and their behaviour towards Facebook advertising, across three countries, as well as the moderating role of privacy and general advertising attitudes. Online surveys were administered and a convenience sampling resulted in 1,166 respondents. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed model.

The research indicates that the social support theory shows promise for examining the perceptions and attitudes towards SNA. Furthermore, the validity of the conceptual model is confirmed in all three countries; however, the strength of these relationships differs. Additionally, it is evident that consumers’ culture influences the role of privacy and trust in SNA perceptions.     

The Influence of Sender Trust and Advertiser Trust on Multistage Effects of Viral Advertising

A viral advertising message has two different sources: the advertiser as the message creator and a sender as the message distributor. This study examined the influence of sender trust and advertiser trust on four stages of viral advertising effects. Results from a field experiment demonstrated that sender trust and advertiser trust have differential influences on effect stages. Significant interaction effects show that if a viral ad is sent by a trusted sender, the influence of advertiser trust becomes non-significant or reduced, suggesting that a viral ad from a trusted sender can overcome the handicap a less trusted advertiser might have.     

Social media marketing: Who is watching the watchers?

The ready access to and availability of social media has opened up a wealth of data that marketers are leveraging for strategic insight and digital marketing. Yet there is a lack of professional norms regarding the use of social media in marketing and a gap in understanding consumers’ comfort with marketers’ use of their social media data. This study analyzes a census-balanced sample of online adults (n = 751) to identify consumers’ perceptions of using social media data for marketing purposes. The research finds that consumers’ perceived risks and benefits of using social media have a relationship with their comfort with marketers using their publicly available social media data. The research extends the applicability of communication privacy management theory to social media and introduces marketing comfort—a new construct of high importance for future marketing research. Marketing comfort refers to an individual's comfort with the use of information posted publicly on social media for targeted advertising, customer relations, and opinion mining. In the context of the construct development, we find that targeted advertising is the strongest contributing component to marketing comfort, relative to the other two dimensions: opinion mining and customer relations. By understanding what drives consumer comfort with this emerging marketing practice, the research proposes strategies for marketers that can support and mitigate consumers’ concerns so that consumers can maintain trust in marketers’ digital practices.     

The Gamification of Advertising: Analysis and Research Directions of In-Game Advertising,Advergames, and Advertising in Social Network Games

The study presents a framework for the analysis of advertising in digital games. It reviews literature on in-game advertising, advergames and advertising in social network games. The framework distinguishes between stimulus characteristics of the game as well as of the advertising that lead to psychological responses toward the game and the brand and to actual behavior toward the game and the brand. It takes into consideration individual factors of the player and social factors surrounding the player. In addition, theoretical models of advertising perception in digital games and issues regarding regulation are addressed. Directions for future research in the area of advertising in digital games are provided.     

Why we watch others' responses to online advertising – investigating users' motivations for viewing user-generated content in the context of online advertising

The study investigates Internet users' motivations for viewing user-generated content (UGC) in the context of online advertising. In addition, it is examined whether individual motivation patterns can be traced back to users' personalities and their attitudes toward advertising in general. An online survey of 181 social media users was conducted, surveying users' motivation, personality (big five), and attitude toward advertising in general. Path analysis was employed to examine the research model. The use of UGC was motivated by needs for information, entertainment, personal identity, and social interaction. While personality did not predict users' motives, their attitudes towards advertising in general explained individual motivation patterns to a large extent. It was consequently proposed and confirmed that users' motives mediate the influence of recipients' general attitude toward advertising on UGC usage. Results indicated a strong effective potential for UGC in online advertising: users view such content expressly to be influenced by others fulfilling their needs for information, personal identity and social interaction. Firms may lose some of their ability to precisely control brand messages when advertising in social media.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Social Issue Advertising Believability

ABSTRACT

Television advertising of social issues has become an important element of social marketing. However, little assessment of social advertising believability has been undertaken. This is further compounded by a lack of attention to the antecedents and consequences of how believable the target audience see the advertised message. This study focused on examining social advertising by gathering data on two social issues being advertised. The results indicate that involvement and attention paid to social advertising influenced social advertisement believability, and believability and involvement influenced attitudes toward social issues. Also, attitudes and believability influenced intention to comply with the social issue message.     

Stories as Artworks: Giving Form to Felt Dignity in Connections at Work

Controversial taboo appeals as an executional cue in viral advertising have commonly been used by advertisers. In this context, the study investigates the role of medium context on the effectiveness of controversial taboo ads. By implementing a tightly controlled experiment which deals with controversial taboo ads embedded in a press article and in a viral context, the study finds that the viral medium context does not lead to a more positive attitude toward the embedded brand or to more positive purchase intentions. In addition, a viral medium context triggers ‘unintended consequences’ that lead consumers to undermine the level of tabooness of the viral advertising and subjective norms. To increase the external validity of the research, the results were replicated for two kinds of controversial taboo appeals; one related to sexuality, and the other to death. The results provide useful implications for theory and practice. Extending viral advertising research, a different angle on controversial viral advertising has been taken, shifting from an advertiser and brand focus, to a societal and social one. The work leads to a better understanding of the ethics of controversial viral advertising, and demonstrates its role in the trivialization of taboo behaviors and imagery. The results confirm the need for more regulation of online buzz communication and encourage regulatory bodies to extend policies of viral advertising regulation.     

Opportunities for and Pitfalls of Using Big Data in Advertising Research

This editorial introduces the special section on big data. We define big data by examining how it is, or will be, created in advertising environments. We propose a conceptual framework for understanding the different types of digital advertising touch points that create big data, and use the framework for identifying research opportunities. We discuss the types of research questions that big data can inform, including developing and testing theories, identifying insights, and optimizing the delivery of messages. New methods that advertisers will need to use big data are identified. Recommendations are provided for how to think about and approach big data. Using the framework, we identify specific opportunities for advertising researchers to use big data. We also discuss pitfalls in using big data.     

Determinants of Opening-Forwarding E-Mail Messages

E-mail viral marketing is today perceived as a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) advertising in which firms use provocative content to motivate unpaid peer-to-peer communication of persuasive messages from identified sponsors. However, the success of this practice depends on a range of factors, including those we explore and refer to in the present research as individuals' opening and forwarding of messages. From the theoretical perspectives of the social capital theory and the processing-information approach in a persuasive context, we explore how individuals' structural, relational, and cognitive social capital; the message characteristics; individuals' motivations; and the situational context impact the intention to open and forward viral messages. The empirical analysis of the structural model provides new and relevant theoretical and business implications for advertising.     

Content Strategies for Digital Consumer Engagement in Social Networks: Why Advertising Is an Antecedent of Engagement

Advertisers need to optimize their efforts on social networks to engage consumers effectively. Existing literature on this topic has not yet explained how social network advertising (SNA) can be categorized into different content types and how to conceptualize and operationalize digital consumer engagement (DCE) in social networks. Thus, we derive seven content categories for social network advertising and a four-level model for DCE based on consumers' intermediate mind-set responses. We propose the impact of different SNA categories as an antecedent of DCE. Our results confirm a significant but unequal impact of at least four content categories on various engagement metrics. We therefore distill the successful content strategies and content attributes for specific types of engagement and confirm intermediate responses to advertising in a real market situation.     

Entrepreneurial network development: Trusting in the process

An entrepreneur's network can provide a significant source of social capital, which, in turn, may increase a new venture's likelihood of success. Entrepreneurship research has frequently examined how such networks develop, and reviewing extant studies suggests that trust plays a significant role in this process. Despite its recognized importance, limited research exists examining how trust evolves during and interacts with the entrepreneur's venture network development. Accordingly, we propose that an entrepreneur's reliance on exchange relationships based on affective and cognitive trust will vary as the entrepreneur moves through the network development process. We conclude by discussing both the model's implications and future research avenues.     

Groups Formation and Operations in the Web 2.0 Environment and Social Networks

The Internet and the Web are evolving to a platform for collaboration, sharing, innovation and user-created content—the so-called Web 2.0 environment. This environment includes social and business networks, and it is influencing what people do on the Web and intranets, individually and in groups. This paper describes the Web 2.0 environment, its tools, applications, characteristics. It also describes various types of online groups, especially social networks, and how they operate in the Web 2.0 environment. Of special interest is the way organization members communicate and collaborate mainly via wikis and blogs. In addition, the paper includes a proposed triad relational model (Technology–People–Community) of social/work life on the Internet. Particularly, social/work groups are becoming sustainable because of the incentives for participants to connect and network with other users. A discussion of group dynamics that is based on the human needs for trust, support, and sharing, regardless if the setting is a physical or virtual one, follows. Finally, future research directions are outlined.     

It's not what you know but who you know that's important: the influence of social networks on communities

Since its conception in 1945, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has been the focus of extensive political rhetoric regarding the involvement of patients and the public in the provision of health‐care services both locally and nationally. However, achieving substantial user involvement within local communities has proven to be a complex task. The exploratory research presented in this paper investigates the influence of social networks within local communities and its relevance for user involvement. Four main findings emerged: interviewees have strong informal social networks; there is a strong sense of generalized reciprocity; diversity is limited within the social groupings; and there exists a lack of trust in governmental institutions. With regards to health issues, there is an overriding feeling that ‘things like that should be left to the people who know’. If user involvement is to be achieved at the level envisioned by the UK government, achieving a greater relevance for users is essential.     

Project Communication,Individual Commitment,Social Networks,and Perceived Project Performance

This research examines the role of project communication, individual commitment, and social networks in explaining perceived project performance. Despite the increased involvement of commercial banks in citizenship projects in Uganda, anecdotal evidence reveals that over 70% of citizenship projects fall short of the expected quality, fail to boost bank awareness, are cost overrun, and are completed behind schedule. Based on data from 121 citizenship projects conducted by 16 commercial banks in Uganda, findings revealed that project communication, individual commitment, and social networks are significant predictors of perceived project performance. This study has managerial implications, which are presented in this article.     

How advertising in offline media drives reach of and engagement with brands on Facebook

ABSTRACT

Research investigating the drivers of consumers’ engagement with brands on social media is proliferating. However, little is known about how advertising outside social media drives engagement with brands on social media. This study aims to explore the relation between advertising spend in different offline media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, out of home), and reach of and engagement with brand pages on Facebook. The study uses a unique real-life data-set containing information about the Facebook pages of 45 brands for approximately three years combined with Nielsen Advertising Spend data. Results showed that while advertising in offline media influenced organic and viral reach, the number of page likes was directly influenced by advertising on Facebook only. It can be concluded that offline advertising is relevant in driving consumers’ online brand engagement; however, there is a unique set of drivers for organic reach, viral reach and likes.