Eyal Eckhaus

Happiness in Fashion

Fashion marketing tactics often fall short due to unpredictable emotional consumer behavior. As a result, positive emotion elicitation towards products is well researched. However, temporary emotional states may have negative implications. Happiness is a stable emotional state, the impact of which as a pre-disposition on purchasing intentions has yet to be thoroughly investigated. In addition, fashion involvement has a known positive impact on purchasing. In this study, the mediating role of happiness as a pre-disposition on the relationship between fashion involvement and purchase intentions is evaluated. A model supported by empirical evidence is presented. Predicated on data gleaned from 849 respondents, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) followed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were employed. Results confirm that happiness constructs exhibit a multiple mediation effect on the relationship between fashion involvement and purchase intentions. While pursuit of pleasure and pursuit of engagement positively affect fashion involvement, pursuit of meaning negatively affects it.

Gossip and gender differences: a content analysis approach

Abstract In this study, we attempt to evaluate gender-based differences in gossiping habits, subjects and sentiments. In order to do so, a mixed methods research approach comprising qualitative and quantitative analyses was employed. Questionnaires were filled out by 2230 participants, and an open question format was used, with participants imagining a scenario in which they are invited to describe to a friend, a person they had just met. Our findings suggest that, quantitatively speaking, women and men engage in the same amount of gossiping activity. Nevertheless, gender-based differences are apparent in the subject of gossip. Women gossip more about social relationships and physical appearance than men. It was also found that womens gossip is more positive than mens. Qualitative analysis of the data provides a more complex picture. For example, while women gossip more about physical appearance than men, their descriptions tend to be couched in positive terms, although they are deployed to emphasize other salient negative traits. This research therefore contributes to the refutation of gender-based stereotypes about gossiping.

Factors affecting willingness to contribute goods and services on social media

Abstract The study focusses on online community (henceforth OC), a dominant factor in the social media domain. OCs are growing in popularity and offer an accessible outlet for individuals who genuinely wish to contribute for the good of society by identifying motivations for contributing goods and services to OCs. Examples range from Couchsurfing, a global online exchange community for coordinating free travel accommodations, to Freecycle, on which members offer a variety of items for free. Drawing on the Uses and Gratifications, Social Identity and Self-Categorisation theories and on data gleaned from 1,229 respondents, we validate and examine factors that affect willingness to contribute goods and services on social media. We construct and validate a Willingness to Contribute on Social Media (WCSM) Scale, employing SEM to analyse the data. Findings corroborate positive effects of self-esteem, social interaction, social importance, exposure to and subjective value of contributions on the willingness to donate. Self-esteem and interactions mediate the relationship between status-seeking and the willingness to donate.

The different impact of personal social capital and intra-organizational SC: The Enron case study

Purpose n n n n nThis study relates to two levels of organization social capital (SC): personal SC and intra-organizational SC. Personal SC is the utility derived from the person’s relationship, and his positioning in networks, inside and out of the organization. Intra-organizational SC is the benefit derived from interactions within, and between groups in the organization, and is based on trust, reciprocity, common goals, sharing information and knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to examine the difference between the SC levels by their connections to employee energy and success, before and after crisis. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nIn order to test the hypotheses, the authors used the Enron e-mails corpus, the texts were analyzed using SQL. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe findings suggest that the impact of personal SC and intra-organizational SC, on employee energy and success is different. Personal SC was found to have a higher impact on those two variables, than intra-organizational SC. After crisis, this gap became larger. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThe importance of the findings is in the distinction between the SC levels, and their different impact on the employees. However, the situation of Enron employees at that time implies that the more important level of SC is the intra-organizational SC.

Effects of Personal Social Capital on Managerial Positions

Understanding the role of Personal Social Capital in selection and promotion of managers is important. Nevertheless, a research gap exists in evaluating the antecedents and mechanisms of the effect of Personal Social Capital on managerial positions. The aim of this study is to assess effects of three sources of Personal Social Capital on managerial positions. These are: connections with colleagues at work; connections with people who possess social capital assets such as wealth, high status, or reputation; and connections with neighbors.

Measurement of Organizational Happiness

Personal well-being studies have reported a strong positive relationship between happiness and productivity, determining the need of the Human Resource (HR) function to regularly monitor and maintain employee happiness and satisfaction. However, lack of scientific precision in defining the term ‘happiness’ and inconsistency in its measurement have made this research area more challenging. The study proposes an automated detection technique that uses Natural Language Processing (NLP), to offer the HR function an easy means of implementing a technique that enables constant monitoring of happiness levels, and leverages the data into a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of programs, policies, and practices. A case study is presented to demonstrate the framework’s effectiveness.