Alexander Peter Schouten

The Effects of Other-Generated and System-Generated Cues on Adolescents' Perceived Attractiveness on Social Network Sites

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent other-generated and system-generated cues on social network sites (SNS) influence the popularity and attractiveness of adolescents. In a 2 (friends physical attractiveness: attractive, unattractive) ×2 (friends wall postings: positive, negative) ×3 (number of friends: low, average, high) factorial experiment, 497 high school students between 12 and 15 years of age were randomly assigned to one of the twelve experimental conditions. Results revealed that the profile owner of a SNS was perceived as being more attractive when the profile includes attractive friends and positive wall postings. The profile owners number of friends did not affect the perceived attractiveness of the profile-owner, only the perceived extraversion.

What one feels and what one knows: the influence of emotions on attitudes and intentions towards knowledge sharing

Purpose – This paper aims to provide theoretical and empirical insight into the relationship between emotions and knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses concerning the influence of pride and empathy on knowledge sharing attitudes and intentions are developed, based on prior research. The hypotheses were tested by means of a survey within the Dutch branch of a global IT organization, in which respondents (n=252) were asked to evaluate one of four different scenarios, invoking either pride or empathy. Respondents were asked their attitude and intention towards knowledge sharing in the situation sketched in the scenario.Findings – Pride and empathy were found to affect eagerness and willingness to share knowledge. Furthermore, these emotions also influenced knowledge sharing intentions, partly mediated by eagerness and willingness. Both eagerness and willingness mediate the relationship between pride and knowledge sharing intention, whereas only willingness turned out to mediate the relat...

Dimensions of quality and accessibility: Selection of human information sources from a social capital perspective

This study focuses on how the accessibility and quality of co-workers in organizations affect their use as information source. Prior research has produced inconsistent findings concerning these factors respective influence on source selection. In this article, we argue that one potential reason for this lies in the lack of coherent definitions of accessibility and quality. To bridge this gap, we unpack these concepts into their underlying dimensions, based on insights derived from social capital theory, more specifically Nahapiet and Ghoshals (1998) contribution, to uncovering the multidimensionality of social capital. We empirically test the dimensionality of accessibility and quality, as well as the relative influence of these concepts on human information source selection, in a scenario experiment within an organization. Findings support the proposed dimensionality, and lead to the conclusion that both quality and accessibility influence the selection of human information sources, although quality exerts a slightly stronger influence.

Explaining online ambassadorship behaviors on Facebook and LinkedIn

Abstract Due to technological advancement work is situated within a broader network where work communiques become public and observable by anyone at any time. This study draws on identity theory and boundary management preferences to examine the extent to which employees use their Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to share updates about their organization. This study reports on a two-wave panel study among Dutch employees (Nu202f=u202f515). Drawing on boundary theory and organizational citizenship literature this study shows that self-enhancement motives are important predictors for ambassadorship behaviors on Facebook and LinkedIn. Conversely, segmentation preferences and identification processes significantly affect ambassadorship behaviors on Facebook, but not on LinkedIn. Hence, social media afford similar behaviors across platforms but the antecedents may differ across social media platforms.